Africa's Development
The European powers had created a situation of economic dependency, political fragmentation, and technological stagnation from the first days they set foot upon African soil. According to Walter Rodney, a black activist from Guyana, slavery and colonialism were the very movements Europeans implemented to divide and conquer the Africans, and exploit African resources for their own purposes. Walter Rodney is not alone in his beliefs, since many writers, movie producers, and activists have followed the same trend Rodney so intricately wrote about in his book, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. These other writers, producers, and activists strongly support Rodney's thesis in their own works. However, although it can be seen that the colonialists are to blame for the underdevelopment of African, one fault on the part of the current African population is that they have become strong admirers of European culture. Therefore, the undermining of African culture continues even today. This fault can be attributed to the Europeans for pushing their culture into the minds of the Africans, and against the Africans for not remembering their roots. Although slavery and colonialism implemented by the Europeans thoroughly underdeveloped Afric
The second step in Europe's conquest for power was to colonize the African land by dividing it up amongst the European nations. The need to colonize grew with the fact that resources and precious metals were discovered to be in abundance in African soil. With this realization, the European powers exploited the land of the black Africans by establishing private industries that benefited only the colonialists, and left the Africans with nothing. This was a major factor in the underdevelopment of Africa in economic terms. For example, in the 1870s, large diamond deposits were uncovered in South Africa. The amount of diamonds was so substantial that a monopoly on the world's supply of diamonds could be established. Without further ado, De Beers Consolidated Mines had "amalgamated and concentrated the diamond industry and possessed a virtual monopoly in diamond sales through a London syndicate" by 1899 (Curtin, 448). Additionally, Witwatersrand gold had also been discovered in South Africa. This industry was also under command of the Dutch in South Africa. In the context of literature, Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart gives a classical depiction of a traditional Igbo society being taken over by English colonialists. The source of the future political fragmentation and underdevelopment was the English interference in the African traditional way of life. The main point Achebe desires to convey is that the English were able to gain a foothold in the African land because they had divided the Igbo society by offering strength and recluse to the Igbo "efulefu," or those perceived as empty, worthless men. One of the great leaders of the Igbo tribe was Okonkwo, a man whose famous wrestling skills and fearlessness in wars had earned him a high place in this society. However, his attributes were counter-effective, since his son Nwoye becomes fed up trying to please Okonkwo, and enlists himself in an English missionary. England's post-slave trade involvement in the African land was highly divisive, separating families and tribes from each other, with some Africans rejecting the English presence, and others embracing it. Not only were traditional groups such as families and tribes separated, but the future of African politics also were affected. The key example of changes in behaviors and attitudes linked with colonial education in Nervous Conditions is Nyasha, Babamukuru's daughter. Nyasha is shown to undergo a startling inner recognition of the fact that her father, the supposed savior of the family and head patriarch, is simply a pawn in the hands of the British. Her recognition disrupts her learning because she becomes extremely skeptical about the goings-on in the family: the symbolism of the position her father has reached, the so-called favors he imposes on the less fortunate in the family, and the meaning of Tambu's, Nhamo's sister, admission to Sacred Heart, a previously all-white Catholic girls school. Nyasha views all these things as attempts to whitewash the family and embrace the European ways. By letting go o
Some common words found in the essay are:
Fall Apart, Nnu Ego, Jacobo Kenyan, Nervous Conditions, Walter Rodney, Africa Americas, Father Rafael, Cheik Tidiane's, Cunha Brazilian, Nyasha Babamukuru's, slave trade, nervous conditions, walter rodney, south africa, political fragmentation, nnu ego, african land, triangular slave trade, african people, black africans, triangular slave,
Approximate Word count = 2058
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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