MAKING OF THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

From this weeks readings and lectures, there were main themes of the racist nature of representations of Africa and the different experiences of decolonization. The racist nature of representations of Africa, brought growth and advantages to European countries and African countries being controlled, but also disadvantages  in some instances to these African countries. The racist representations of Africa brought growth and advantages to Europe through money from ivory and slaves and new places to inhabit and rule after conquest. This lead to a better economy for European countries and more global power. The racist nature of representations of Africa also brought a few advantages to some African countries, like growing populations due to new world crops and new medicines that essentially cured the plague. These advantages lead to muslim revitalization movements around Africa, that brought a sense of traditional culture back to Africa. Disadvantages included all of the negative repercussions of slavery, inequalities, unnecessary ethnic divisions and artificially drawn boundaries just to name a few.

The different experiences of decolonization were caused by Europe’s past unfair control of African countries. This unfair control led to competition between Britain and France; that caused divisions in power over African countries which later led to easier rebellion for some African countries, because most European powers were unwilling to spend massive sums used to suppress the movements. Other countries like Algeria, Kenya, Congo, Southern Africa and Nigeria were not as fortunate in rebellion efforts due to, ethnic divisions, lack of preparation for independence, Cold War policies and large European settler communities. These setbacks caused these countries along with others to decolonize slower which had negative effects in the long run.

Africa was and still is an interesting subject in which historical events are greatly affect by outside sources such as european and other western powers. Large imperialism colonization movements took place where economic benefits were thought to be easily accessable and justifiable. Justifications in terms of caucasians believing they were a superior race as to the point of even funding expeditions in Egypt to declare Egyptians, the great civilization, as whites. Ironically, it was originally believed by french scholars that Eqyptians were indeed black but this knowledge funded a movement to disprove this theory as seen on page 17 of Africa/African by Jemima Pierre. While it was important for the Eqyptian text to be read and translated. The scholars translating this information, like many of us, had a preconceived notation of the text as they themselves only really know their culture and way of life. Romila Thapar has an interesting interview about this topic. Fast forwarding to the present, its important to note that like in Egypt racial influences (such as the ebola outbreak) and the distortion of African history or representation is still present to this day. The information about Africa goes through a screening process usually by non-natives of Africa. Whether intentional or not the information is distorted, as I’ve seen, into two extremes. As read in “The Hopeful Continent”, Africa seems to be experiencing a breath of fresh air in which their is economic growth, employment, rising agriculture and tiredness of violance. If you read sources such as american news articles, it hits the otherside of the spectrum with civilwars, political corruption, massacres and assassination depicting them as not desirable people. These reports may indeed be factual, however context is appropriate in articles so that a better mutual understanding between the reader and the reading can be made. This plays along with need for a broader outlook on events instead of writers providing a small lens of arrogance and bias. This is a difficult process but communication is key.

The Scramble for Africa in the late 1880s was as a result of an economic triggering. Europeans were looking into expanding their markets and becoming wealthy which largely came from the effect of the Industrial Revolution. Therefore it can be said that economic weaknesses were the main driving force towards the partition of Africa. This happening leads to the point of view that Africa has been drained or left in poverty but according to the “A Hopeful Continent by the Economist, readers come to know that Africa has indeed had a lot of socio-economic developments ranging from education to infrastructure and technological advances.

The late 1940s and early 1950s were the peak years of nationalism and political activism activities in Africa. This especially rose due to the famous Atlantic Charter declared on the 14th of August in 1941. This would essentially trigger the peoples of the various colonies which mostly belonged to the British, to take quick action. This includes movements like the Positive Action in 1950 in Ghana which was actually inspired by Gandhi’s non-violent movement as well as the Mau Mau uprising of Kenya which gave the British some self-realization that the Kenyans needed self-rule.

The article by Jemima Pierre, “Africa/African” gives useful insight as to the origin of the term “blackness” of Africans by speaking on the topic of Ebola. It simply showed the hopelessness of Africa/ Africans because ultimately, white doctors were needed for their treatment and this would essentially place the white man as the superior just because he is needed. This shows an aspect of Social Darwinism as the white would think or thought that they are centrally the ones who should lead and take control of the world. This can be traced back to the reasons or strategic motivations behind the colonization of Africa in terms of Christianity, Civilization and Commerce.

 

 

 

Many issues that plague Africa today are the result of decades of imperialism, exploitation and misrepresentation of the continent. To begin, too often the entire African continent is discussed and analyzed as one nation or entity. Where in fact, the continent is made up of over 50 very diverse countries that contain countless communities. Following colonization where various European powers stole control of vast areas of land solely for the purpose of extraction, African states have been characterized by media as backwards, lazy, and  unable to achieve prosperity due to their nature. However, the stifled growth much of Africa has experienced is actually a result of severe exploitation experienced by many native Africans since the mid 19th century.

As discussed in our lectures, colonialism disrupted the natural progression of society that was taking place across Africa at the time. Indigenous groups were in the process of state building, however, once Europeans arrived economies in African states were forced to become commodity export focused while also being introduced ethnic and religious divisions not previously considered an issue. When African countries were finally able to gain independence from their colonial masters, the remnants of colonialism still were felt. For example, as also discussed in another lecture,  since many economies within Africa had become dependent on trading almost exclusively with European colonial powers, many states were not able to begin growing their economy and gain true independence.

Finally, as seen in the Economist article about Africa’s development in the 21st century, it is obvious that most media still views all African nations as desolate and unprosperous places where in fact many states have rapidly growing populations, GDPs and are making massive strides in improving quality of life for themselves and their communities.

The 1870s (-1900s) brought about a nation faced by imperialist aggression from superior European powers, wanting to claim their dominance — this nation, Africa.  One way to demonstrate this national preeminence was through the acquisition of territories around the world, including Africa. Places like Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Spain were competing for power within European power politics (Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture).  And as the British and French saw an opportunity for an economic surplus, places like Asia and Africa seemed likely sources for contribution. Africa however, received the greatest setback, particularly, the crippling of the nation’s economy. During this time, there was a surge of industrialization in Europe, and major social problems grew in Europe, such as unemployment, poverty, and homelessness. After gaining control of most of Africa,  these European powers had control of every major port along the coast and took advantage of the raw materials grown on this land which were used for goods and flipped for a profit (lecture). Even after the late 1800s, the early 19th century left the country in turmoil. As a primary export for raw materials, Africa suffered greatly during the great depression. Tea and coffee, wool, rubber from West Africa, and mining dramatically decreased as a result. Wages fell in urban and rural areas, and poverty rates expanded. The country also “benefited from the rising value of gold itself”, a major export by the end of the 1930s (Bayly). However, not even gold could save this nation and even East African British colonies, such as the Rhodesias and Kenya suffered a similar medium in rural areas. When the Berlin Conference determined the integrity of the nation’s economy with the interference of foreign powers, and its future trajectory, they were right to think that opportunity for financial growth existed, but they failed to recognize the true cost. No one could have predicted events such as the Great Depression, but nonetheless, the nation suffered greatly for years, as a result of this intervention.

Apprehensive about the pressures of western powers, the Japanese set on a course for modernization and westernization in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As a result of said adaptation, the Japanese thought of themselves as culturally superior to the rest of East Asia. This is turn was a justification for the Japanese to enforce their domain over the rest of East Asia, instilling bloody and gruesome violence upon those who were culturally “inferior”.

I found it very interesting the relationship that Japan had with its neighbors. Connecting the Ginseng article as well as the primary sources, I can see when Japan was dependent on China for their Ginseng, they had a relationship, but as Japan gained the ability to grow their own, their domain would only grow. We can see how the relationships between Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese were with the testimony of the comfort movement. I think that because of the horrific acts done to non-Japanese East-Asians, much animosity grew towards the Japanese. This in turn allowed Chinese and Koreans to form ideas of nationalism and self determination, creating a more liberal atmosphere. The creation of schools in these areas also contributed to such ideas as well. It can also be said that such treatment of women sparked major feminist movements as well. With the education of both females and males, as well as events such as the Rape of Nanking, women started to become larger members of society, with their roles shifting.

In general, Japan, though through horror and bloodshed, caused a cataclysmic change in East Asia in early 1900s. Their attacks on non-Japanese individuals created an atmosphere of animosity as well as progressivism among those in Korea and China. I do question if they could have been as strong without treating their neighbors in the ways that they did.