Review Of ' The Great White Man '

Social Upheaval and Low Self Worth was another one of the major impacts of the European commercial activities on West Africa. As a result of the slave trade through raids and trade, there is no doubt concerning the social ills that plagued Western Africa. Many Africans were betrayed by their own political leaders

“A widely held fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing,” is the definition of a stereotype. More than often people use stereotypes to describe or make fun of other cultures without fully knowing the effects they may have on the other. Jaswinder Bolina an American poet from Chicago,Illinois, whom received many degrees in creative writing had the liberty of not living the difficult life that his parents, who are from Bolina Doaba, Punjab, went through. Expressing what it was like to be an outcast when they came to America to start a new life together, Bolina’s father tries to give him the American dream by putting him in many white schools helping him further his education so he can fit in where they were seen as outcast. Throughout Bolinas article, “Writing Like a White Guy” he expresses his experiences and educates his readers of his many struggles in what is considered a white-based society that is filled with stereotypes telling you what you should look and talk like in order to be a successful American. This often leaves people to reject their native culture, constantly having to prove themselves and give white people an upper hand in many situations.

“African Perspectives on Colonialism” is a book written by A. Adu Boahen. This book classifies the African responses to European colonialism in the 19th century. Boahen begins with the status of Africa in the last quarter of the 19th century and follows through the first years of African independence. This book deals with a twenty year time period between 1880 and 1900. Boahen talks about when Africa was seized and occupied by the Imperial Powers of Europe. Eurocentric points of view dominated the study of this era but Boahen gives us the African perspective. There are always two sides of the story and Boehen tells us the side less talked about informing us of what he knows.

     The French policy was not towards forced labor as the Portuguese policy but was more towards the assimilation of Africans. However, it turned out that it was too difficult to convince the Africans to give up their culture for French culture in 1926 only “48,000 out of 1,500,000 Senegalese” were assimilated. Still, Senegal “produced the first African man in the French Parliament.” In 1914, Blaise Diagne, who was an African, was elected to the French parliament. Also, around that time about 200,000 African were sent to fight in World War I. An interesting fact is that Africans in the trenches of Africa were considered as equals, but when they got back to Senegal they were met with the same racism that existed before the war. Also, the French design the economy of Senegal to export the cash crops of Senegal to France. This was similar to the other European colonies were the wealth of Africa was exported to Europe as raw material then sold back to the colonies for a profit. This economic cycle collapsed in 1929 when the “world depression” occurred. The world depression caused an “African economic crisis” because Europe was the only buyer. This causes many African companies to go bankrupt and now the people of

Africa has had a long and tumultuous road of colonization and decolonization the rush to colonize Africa started in the 17th century with the discovery of the vast amounts of gold, diamonds, and rubber with colonization hitting a fever pitch during World War I. However, the repercussions of colonization have left deep wounds that still remain unhealed in the 21st century. Early on, European nations such as Britain, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany and Belgium scrambled for territories. Countries wanted land so they could harvest the resources, increase trade, and gain power. The European colonization of Africa brought racism, civil unrest, and insatiable greed; all of which have had lasting impacts on Africa.

Africa was once a thriving and wonderful continent filled with luxurious and wealthy kingdoms, but that had all changed when a new and appalling type of slavery was introduced. Around the 18th century, Africa became an ideal place for Europeans to trade and buy slaves from. The slave trade in Africa seemed to be manageable and somewhat peaceful before the Europeans brought in a new type of slavery. When the Europeans bought slaves from Africans, they kept them as slaves for life which were very different from how long slaves were kept in Africa. Europeans kept slaves in extremely poor conditions and treated them as if they were less than human. These actions caused a great spike in the slave trade all over the world and many

Africa were mainly, hunters, so they used agriculture to their full advantage. However, Africa’s resources were left untouched by the natives, so this gave easy access to the imperialists. Germany was in desperate need of fuel, before imperialism started, which was available in Africa. Gold and diamonds were (and still) the two most valuable resources, which were abundant in Africa, “The discovery of diamonds and rich gold deposits brought… European settlers” to Africa” (5). So, when imperialists came to German E. Africa, they took all of their available land. For all of the citizens in German E. Africa who needed the money had to work as slaves. In fact, most of them were forced to work for the German imperialists. There was a discrimination pattern of labor recruitment. While immigrants were skilled and paid relatively high. African migrants were unskilled and low paid, “Earning about 1/9 of the wage of white men” (6). Specifically, German E. Africans were forced to plant peanuts, cocoa and other cash crops. Imperialism destroyed German E. Africa’s economy and depleted their resources. After Imperialism, exportation of raw materials caused shortage in resources. So, German E. Africa was then a more dependant on an industrialized economy. By the end of Imperialism, the natives were put to work as cheap labour. Which affected their health since, most of them were restless, exploited, weren’t taken at their free will and the Germans took

Africa was an essential for Europe to gain power in economics and trading position and land. It was a great leap in the civilized world as said by Beaulieu “This area of the world [Africa] needs civilized people to intervene.”(Document S). The Imperialism of Africa was a success in the eyes of Europe, them walking away with the goods of the new land, but was a step back for the people in Africa them entering a cycle of slavery and unjust rule as talk about in Document

In the 19th century Europe underwent imperialism, Europe wanted to take control of different continents one of which was Africa to gain power, civilize the African people and grow the economy of Europe. With intentions to help, the Europeans moved to Africa in order to get the resources that were grown there forcing the Africans native to those regions to move to North and South America (Document 9). By 1885 the amount of people living in Africa had increased due to the amount of Europeans (Spielvogel and McTighe 234). The Europeans took resources and goods from Africa to sell and increase their capital. These reasons changed the way of life for the Africans making them adapt to the changes without being able to fight back. While imperialism

Amidst the thriving chaos of the Industrial Revolution and subsequent to the politically volatile French Revolution, Europe in the 1800s was an ever-changing realm of new systems, machines, methods of transportation, ideas, and leaders. Those leaders faced a plethora of challenges both internally and externally, as both their subjects and other countries were angry with them for various reasons. One of the problems these rulers faced was the matter of imperial power on other continents. So, the more relevant European leaders met at the Berlin Conference to decide what each country was allowed to colonize. In doing so, the rulers they legalized the Scramble for Africa, therefore allowing colonization

Africa faced many serious negative consequences because of imperialism. The resolution of the All African People’s Conference held in Ghana in 1958 said, “...Whereas fundamental human rights… freedom to live a full and abundant life… are denied to Africans through the activities of the Imperialists,” (Document 3). This resolution said that human rights, which are rights entitled to all humans regardless of any difference, were taken away. Because of this, the Africans were made to feel inferior which is not healthy for people and can cause serious consequences like the Africans assimilating to the European culture instead of preserving their rich, diverse culture. Sekou Toure, an African nationalist, had similar ideas, he said, “Our continent possesses tremendous reserves of raw material… with its potential sources of power, give it excellent conditions for industrialization,” (Document 2). So as well as the Africans being stripped of their basic rights

Of course, Dieng requests the help of several people in order to cash in his money order, which will be discussed more in the next paragraph. Even before the money order is cashed in, a lot of people come into contact with Dieng and/or his family because they know about the money order and they are ignorant of the slow process it takes in order to get the money order cashed in. They ask for money, loans, and/or food. Although Dieng does have a little self control, overall, Dieng’s generosity plays a role in him losing his possessions. In addition to all the fees he has to pay to try to cash the money order (the bus fare, paying middle men, fees for documents), he also gives away money and food to beggars and visitors even though he cannot really afford to give away these things. One woman he gives 20 cents to even tries to take advantage of Dieng by asking him for food later on in the

Society wants to promote a cashless society, oblivious to the obvious detriments to society. One of the possible risks

Microcredit is based on a separate set of principles, which are distinguished from general financing or credit. The savings-ed microfinance has gained recognition as an effective way to bring very poor families low-cost financial services. It’s not only provided in poor countries, but also in one of the world’s richest country USA, where 37 million people live below the poverty line (Grameen Bank). In Grameen Bank even a beggar gets special attention. A beggar comes under a campaign from Grameen Bank, which is designed to convince to join Grameen programme. The bank explains how she can carry some merchandise with her when she goes out to beg from door to door and earn money, or she can display some merchandise by her side when she is begging in a fixed place. Grameen's idea is to graduate her to a noble livelihood rather than continue with begging. Such a programme would not be a part of a conventional bank's work.

For example, some women use their microloans to create a family business based on local crafts. It is said that that “for every 100 taka lent to a woman, household consumption increases by 18 taka; interestingly the figure is 11 taka if the same amount was lent to a man”(Amin, Rai, and Topa). Although critics argue that loaning to women is not a shortcut to gender-equality, it is undeniably a step in the right direction. Some studies say that only 45% of loans given to women stay solely in women`s hands; yet, studies indicate that the very act of receiving a loan allows a woman to have more say in the household which, in turn, leads to the furthering of education and sanitation (mircoCredit). This supports the idea that loaning to women is not merely an investment in an individual, but an investment in a family. For example, Runi Mamun, of rural Nowapara, Bangladesh, uses her microloans to help the family. With only $1,000 worth of loans, she has started a jamdani (decorative sari) weaving business, which employees her family members, and bought a cow. On a more personal note, her newfound economic independence has earned her respect in her community. She plans not to marry unless her suitor is as financially stable as she (Burns). This ideology is a drastic departure from the male-dominated ideologies that pervade these rural, impoverished areas. In addition, the Grameen Kaylan