The Perception of Africa as a Single Entity Essay

Europeans thought africans were the inferior race. The motivation behind conquering colonies in africa starts economically. The goal for europeans was to become bigger and bigger and so europeans were going to do anything to reach that goal. They invest in new markets which made the population grow.They did that by colonizing Africa. The governments wanted to maximize profits

The development and growth of civilizations in African history were contradicted by several American and European historians in the sixteenth and early twentieth centuries. The reason for this lack of understanding is because the focus was mainly on Europe’s chaotic society at the time. In addition, Africa didn’t have physically written documents to present their actual history. Instead, it was orally passed down. This is why historians have falsely concluded that Africa was an uncivilized “Dark Continent.” But what does it mean to be civilized? A group of people is characterized as civilized when they are organized as a society, and able to advance it. Since West and East Africa were able to develop advanced forms of economy, education, and government, they are characterized as civilized

In Basil Davidson’s video “Different but Equal,” he outlines the European perception of Africa upon their discovery of the continent. Claims that the Europeans were making about African culture, however, were far fetched and did not depict Africa in a positive manner. History according to pre-European Africa was rich and diverse, but once Europeans saw for themselves how different their continent was from Africa, they began to make up their own version of African history.

Africa DBQ     Africa is an extremely large continent filled with 54 countries. European occupation of Africa has shaped the very structure and function of many of these diverse countries. Socially and economically, European influence is very obvious through imperialism, the act of one country extending power and rule over another, as well as colonization, the act of establishing a colony in another country. The effects of European imperialism and colonization have greatly damaged Africa in many different aspects of life.     European imperialism as well as colonization worked to control much of Africa.

European imperialism started as a source for raw materials and a way to gain advantages over their rival countries (Spielvogel and McTighe 226). Yet, the African countries being imperialized were impacted by this settlement in many positive ways (Spielvogel and McTighe 231). Europeans brought ideas of Westernization and influenced the societies that were not yet industrialized and ones that lacked the modern elements many European countries had acquired (Spielvogel and McTighe 235). Through the spread of western ideals and democracy, the people of Africa were inspired to pursue their own self-rule and continuation of the modernization that the European imperialists left behind on the continent. When European nations first imperialized the African

European Imperialism heavily impacted the African continent through culturally, economic, and political ideas. This era of history is heavily drenched in the aspect of ethnocentrism, which is the belief that one’s own culture is superior that of another. The Europeans colonized Africa believing that they could bring civilization, but they were often ignorant of Africa’s very complex societies. The European powers divided up the continent of Africa among themselves, without any consent from the people who actually lived there. The tribal stratification was changed to a caste system where racial, ethnic, and religious differences were of utmost importance, as delegated by European rule. The structure and business of the African economy was

In the 19th and 20th centuries Europe was thriving and wealthy while most of their colonies in Africa were suffering under their rule. The Europeans all wanted a piece of Africa’s land with its plentiful resources and free labor. Around this time, Europe was going through the industrial revolution and because business was booming the European countries need more resources than they already had. The Africans had the land the Europeans wanted to use to continue having booming businesses, they also had African slaves and workers that they can use so they don’t have to pay for labor. In the 19th century leader of the Europeans countries want to discuss how they will divide Africa without the leaders of Africa knowing. The Europeans then started to invade Africa and take control over the citizens. As the Europeans got more powerful, the Africans become more miserable. Unable to match the guns Europe had, African countries began getting claimed, one by one with the exception of two. The Europeans ruled in a cruel way that left many Africans dead or suffering. Many countries tried and successfully broke away from Europeans after many years under colonization. The Europeans had a negative impact on the lives of many Africans in the 19th and 20th centuries, especially with racism and assimilation. People were taught to be a human they had to be like a European which led to many racist views on African people and culture and is why some nations like France used assimilation to make

Keim suggests that colonization of Africa led to “direct or indirect” belief that African culture was inferior. The growth of colonization led to the term “Dark Continent” being thrown around in regard to Africa, ultimately leaving the continent with a single story.

European’s have had a dismissive attitude towards African’s accomplishments and activities. They 1) generally refused to allow the study of any knowledge that they do not control (Asante). 2) A number of white scholars tend to be limited in their interest to subjects that are valuable to the European project of self-glorification and triumphalism (Asante). Finally, to view Africa as a subject in history or as the starting place for an examination of anything is anathema to those who have always ignored the role of Africa (Asante). The Afrocentric school of thought has fought to combat these boundaries by giving the permission to investigate all aspects of Africa’s presence and involvement in the world.

Europeans were able to colonize Africa because of the many advantages they had over them. Firstly, the Maxim gun had been acquired. This was the first automatic machine gun to be produced. The Europeans were able to travel much more easily due to the steam engine.

When the Europeans arrived in Africa, they started to teach the natives that they were the “Lower race”. They were forced to change religions and ways of life. They lost everything that made them unique, they lost their identities. An African nationalist, Sekou Toure once stated that, “(the British) convinced us that our civilization was nothing less than savagery, thus giving us complexes which led to our being branded as irresponsible and lacking in self-confidence”. The African people were told that they could not be themselves.

Africa is a continent plagued by misinformed and false stereotypes, rarely being seen or portrayed as what it really is. Countless amounts of myths and ideas are formulated based off of single stories or one-sided stories from the region, often without a second thought. These stereotypes give Africa an overall negative image to the rest of the world and suppress the reality that is hidden behind the slew of stereotypes. The belief that all of Africa is poor and undeveloped is an uninformed statement that harms the reality and worsens the image of the continent by perpetuating an incomplete idea into the world.

The false perception of Africa has been engraved into multiple minds so the truth becomes impossible to comprehend. Overtime, the Europeans discovery of Africa has lead to numerous debates about how stable Africa truly was. Figuratively, Africa has always been viewed as place in need of constant saving, however, in actuality, Africa has always been a diverse continent, never requiring any saving.

This chapter in Africans and Their History by Joseph Harris presents some of the roots of the stereotypes and myths about Africa in the past and for the most part are still held today. Harris discusses how the “greats” of history, geography, and literature starting a path of devaluation of Africans that writers after their time followed. Harris also denounced the language that these “greats” used to describe and talk about Africans. He asserts that this language inherently painted Africans as inferior and subhuman.

For centuries Africa has been identified as a place where endless poverty, diseases, conflict, and violence exist. Studies show that the negative stereotypes and misconceptions about Africa come from different sources including movies, and mass media. There are other misconceptions, not only about their lifestyles, but also about their religious aspects and cultural standings.