African Legacies: Europe and America
Lionel Chirairo
Prof. Heather Hoag
HIST 150: Modern African History
08/12/12
African Legacies: Europe and America
With every encounter, a memory remains, no matter how small the event the impact is always present. For the last 6 centuries, Europe and America have had a strong influence on Africa. Beginning in 1441 with Portugal’s hand in slavery to the United States and Great Britain part in the Libyan Civil war, the Western world has long been attracted to Africa (Hoag Lecture Notes). The legacies left behind are seen as reasons for Africa’s progression and regression. Some of the interventions have brought advancement to certain sectors whilst in others it has created a multitude of social, economic, and political problems. European and American involvement in Africa has left many legacies, which to this day are responsible for many of the continents woes.
The first encounter Europe had with Africa was in 1441 with the enslavement of 12 West Africans, they were shipped to Portugal, merely out of curiosity (Hoag Lecture Notes). Before the arrival of Europeans, Africa had its own unique form of slavery, which was kin based. With the creation of Elmina, in present day Ghana and West Africa quickly became the hub for slavery. The Atlantic Slave Trade was completely different from any previous slave system. Europeans for one saw African slaves as property merely for economic activity, they maintained no social bond and granted slaves no rights. With the ever increasing need of labor in the New World plantations, the system heavily purchased people from Africans. As an outcome of slavery many legacies emerged. Racism, the African diaspora in the Americas and Europe, weakened societies, distorted and dependent African economies and the formation of two colonies were the most important. Racism was a key factor in the trade, for the first time the system had been based on skin color. With Social Darwinism serving as justification, Europeans began seeing
Prof. Heather Hoag
HIST 150: Modern African History
08/12/12
African Legacies: Europe and America
With every encounter, a memory remains, no matter how small the event the impact is always present. For the last 6 centuries, Europe and America have had a strong influence on Africa. Beginning in 1441 with Portugal’s hand in slavery to the United States and Great Britain part in the Libyan Civil war, the Western world has long been attracted to Africa (Hoag Lecture Notes). The legacies left behind are seen as reasons for Africa’s progression and regression. Some of the interventions have brought advancement to certain sectors whilst in others it has created a multitude of social, economic, and political problems. European and American involvement in Africa has left many legacies, which to this day are responsible for many of the continents woes.
The first encounter Europe had with Africa was in 1441 with the enslavement of 12 West Africans, they were shipped to Portugal, merely out of curiosity (Hoag Lecture Notes). Before the arrival of Europeans, Africa had its own unique form of slavery, which was kin based. With the creation of Elmina, in present day Ghana and West Africa quickly became the hub for slavery. The Atlantic Slave Trade was completely different from any previous slave system. Europeans for one saw African slaves as property merely for economic activity, they maintained no social bond and granted slaves no rights. With the ever increasing need of labor in the New World plantations, the system heavily purchased people from Africans. As an outcome of slavery many legacies emerged. Racism, the African diaspora in the Americas and Europe, weakened societies, distorted and dependent African economies and the formation of two colonies were the most important. Racism was a key factor in the trade, for the first time the system had been based on skin color. With Social Darwinism serving as justification, Europeans began seeing
Bibliography: . "Legacies." Understanding Slavery. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec 2012. . Gascoigne, Bamber. “History of Sierra Leone” HistoryWorld. From 2001, ongoing.. Davidson, Basil, perf. Africa: A Voyage of Discovery with Basil Davidson. RM Arts, 1984. (29 March 2007). "Robert Mugabe: The man behind the fist". The Economist.////http://www.economist.com/node/8922493?story_id=8922493.) Hoag, Heather. Class Lecture. Modern African History. University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 22 Aug 2012- 15 Dec 2012