I understand the fact that the slave trade and colonisation highly affected the continent, but fact is African countries weren’t the only ones affected by that so it still puzzles me as to why African nations have failed to spring up like the Super power nations we have today
In: Economics
My explaination. Maybe more for a 12 – 14 year old, this is hard to explain to a 5 year old. I lived 25 years in Africa and have visited allot of it. These are my thoughts.
From the 10th – 18th centuries Europe and Asia went through a cultural change from tribal groups into nation states. This did not happen in Africa (or South America) especially below the Sahara. (I know a few exceptions).
Why this did not happen I suspect is enviromental. The climat which encouraged illness and plagues ment forming large settlements and cities was risky in this period. Also the size of the content and geography, allot of rain forest and desert, compared to the lack of population ment ideas spread very slowly before transport improved.
The lack of cohesion and nation states made Africa easy pickings for the colonist like it was in South America similar conditions.
In South America the local population was completely replaced by European settlers this was not the case in Africa except the extreme southern bit again I suspect because the climate is soo harsh.
The British saying ‘Beware beware the bight of Benin for not one comes out for two that go in’ comes to mind.
The colonial powers started building nations in Africa but only half hartedly as they where more interested in plundering the resources including human than building nations in such harsh climates.
Since indepedence the world powers have been more interested in using Africa for its resources and fighting proxy wars than in helping the countries form their own sense of nationhood and cultural identity.
Latest Answers