Paternalism In African American Imperialism
IMPERIALISM ESSAY
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Imperialism is a negation of God. It does ungodly acts in the name of God”. Thinking about what Gandhi once said, one can remember the ungodly acts of imperialism in the 19th century. Imperialism, or the takeover by a superior country to an inferior country, left lots of damage. The European imperialists spread their culture to Africa, changing the African’s old and more advanced customs and ideals, and force China to trade when they did not want to in the first place. Today, there has been many cases of intervention by the United States, especially in areas of countries where the people and place are under threat by terrorists. These acts of intervening have not only helped the places under attack, …show more content…
Unfortunately, taking over and expanding the French culture into Africa meant that the Africans lost their native culture. The African States of Independence Video, put together by Al-Jazeera, states that, “The French didn’t simply want to rule an area, they wanted to assimilate a population” (African States of Independence Video). In order to assimilate a population, the French used two methods of control: “France in Africa” and paternalism. “France in Africa” was a period of time when towns in Africa were built to look like towns in France, and people were forced to speak and learn French. Paternalism was governing people in a “parental” way by giving them what they need but not giving them rights, so the French brought all the culture but the Africans did not get any benefit from it. Consequently, French imperialism brought unwanted and unwelcomed changes to African culture. Unlike Africa, the culture of China was not completely changed, but the British forced changes upon the Chinese …show more content…
Reflecting back on the hard times of imperialism that occurred in Africa and China, we realize that today is much different from yesterday. When wanting to interfere, the United States knows it’s boundaries, unlike the European imperialists. Through some of the horrible tragedies that have occurred, the United States has learned when it is reasonable to interfere with another country. We remember the errors we have made in the past and make sure that everyone is
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Imperialism is a negation of God. It does ungodly acts in the name of God”. Thinking about what Gandhi once said, one can remember the ungodly acts of imperialism in the 19th century. Imperialism, or the takeover by a superior country to an inferior country, left lots of damage. The European imperialists spread their culture to Africa, changing the African’s old and more advanced customs and ideals, and force China to trade when they did not want to in the first place. Today, there has been many cases of intervention by the United States, especially in areas of countries where the people and place are under threat by terrorists. These acts of intervening have not only helped the places under attack, …show more content…
Unfortunately, taking over and expanding the French culture into Africa meant that the Africans lost their native culture. The African States of Independence Video, put together by Al-Jazeera, states that, “The French didn’t simply want to rule an area, they wanted to assimilate a population” (African States of Independence Video). In order to assimilate a population, the French used two methods of control: “France in Africa” and paternalism. “France in Africa” was a period of time when towns in Africa were built to look like towns in France, and people were forced to speak and learn French. Paternalism was governing people in a “parental” way by giving them what they need but not giving them rights, so the French brought all the culture but the Africans did not get any benefit from it. Consequently, French imperialism brought unwanted and unwelcomed changes to African culture. Unlike Africa, the culture of China was not completely changed, but the British forced changes upon the Chinese …show more content…
Reflecting back on the hard times of imperialism that occurred in Africa and China, we realize that today is much different from yesterday. When wanting to interfere, the United States knows it’s boundaries, unlike the European imperialists. Through some of the horrible tragedies that have occurred, the United States has learned when it is reasonable to interfere with another country. We remember the errors we have made in the past and make sure that everyone is