There have been various perceptions concerning the history of Africa, and some of these have portrayed Africa in more negative than positive ways. In an attempt to examine the historical aspect of Africa through various lenses, this essay presents an analysis of evidence that have been brought forth towards understanding Africa’s role in world history, as well as reasons and lessons from the negative portrayal of Africa.
The history of Africa has been viewed and understood through a variety of lenses in the past few hundred years. To begin with, the origin of the name Africa in itself has drawn a number of controversies that stem from the different perspectives through which the name has been examined. A general scholarly explanation holds
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This negative portrayal of Africa began with early scholars and went on until the 19th century during the time of African colonization. In the 12th century for instance, a scholar by the name Benjamin ben Jonah characterized Africans as “people who eat of the herbs that grow on the banks of the Nile and on the fields. They go about naked and have not the intelligence of ordinary men. They cohabit with their sisters and anyone they can find….And these are black slaves, the sons of Ham.” The racial prejudice by such scholars and the negative portrayal found their way to the public and thus lead to even more negative views. In the 17th century, an argument emerged, characterizing Africa as a place of famine, war, disease and poverty. This argument was further used by anti-abolitionists to make slavery in foreign countries a positive escape. Colonialism in Africa went even further to promote the negative portrayal of Africa and the colonial powers convinced themselves that they were redeeming “the land of fantastical beats and cannibals, slaves and backward races.” The negative perceptions about Africa continued to persist in the 20th century and in the 1960’s Trevor Roper, an Oxford Professor cited that there was nothing worth of any value to be termed as African History. He further stated that what existed was only, “the history of the Europeans in
Throughout history, Africa has not only been whitewashed and demonized, but also has been belittled, diminished, and dismissed entirely because of human ignorance. Monsters and human beasts were rumored to roam Africa due to false information and misunderstandings of early {European} explorers. Oxford historian Hugh Trevor-Roper even went as far as to say that Africa has nothing to offer but darkness before European conquest and exploitation, making Africa not respected enough to study. This statement is racist, unenlightened, and undeviatingly inaccurate and steamed solely off of personal bias and takes away all credibility of Trevor-Roper, rightfully so. English historian and author John Reader combated this idea with his African bibliography,
In Chapter 1 and 2 of “Creating Black Americans,” author Nell Irvin Painter addresses an imperative issue in which African history and the lives of Africans are often dismissed (2) and continue to be perceived in a negative light (1). This book gives the author the chance to revive the history of Africa, being this a sacred place to provide readers with a “history of their own.” (Painter 4) The issue that Africans were depicted in a negative light impacted various artworks and educational settings in the 19th and early 20th century. For instance, in educational settings, many students were exposed to the Eurocentric Western learning which its depiction of Africa were not only biased, but racist as well.
African civilizations were transformed through trade. This allowed art and government for new developments and changes. As civilizations changed, aesthetics advanced based on the geography and new cultural aspects, along with new governing influences. These African civilizations thrived on their own by using leadership and other ideas from neighboring trade countries. Trade modified aspects of certain kingdoms from religion to social structures.
One was to provide accurate and objective information about Africa, as opposed to the myths and stereotypes that pervaded Western literature and media. He said, "The African Background Outlined is to correct the misinformation about Africa." The other was to provide a source of inspiration and empowerment for Black people in the United States and elsewhere who were descended from Africa. He said, "The African Background outline is to connect the Negro with his ancestral home." Woodson’s
On the surface, Africa is commonly viewed negatively. Here in America there is a stigma held that it is filled with nothing but poverty and malaria. Although many entitled Americans hold this perception of Africa, many of Greece’s aristocracy and army saw the potential of this great land.
Africans who resisted the process of commodification and dehumanization were often subjected to brutal violence. This violence was designed to break the spirit of the Africans and to make them
Africa, a country that throughout history is recognized through poverty and hunger. Africa has had its ups and downs throughout history. In this essay we are going to dig deep within Africa’s history to the 1500s. Seeing how and what Africa has had to endure as a country. This includes external conflicts as well as internal conflicts.
I continued to search”. In his search for the truth, he came across an essay entitled “The Negro Digs up His Past” by Artur Schomburg’s and this confirmed his belief that Africans indeed had a
In Basil Davidson’s video, “Different but Equal”, Davidson examines ancient Africa, and how Africans were perceived in ancient and modern times. Davidson discusses pre-colonized Africa and its history, and how racism prevailed in the past and in modern day. By discussing early civilizations, as well as modern day perspectives, Davidson allows the viewer to have expansive information on how individuals view Africans and their culture. In Davidson’s video, he discusses how people in the past have viewed Africa and African culture, and how that relates to our perception of Africa in modern times.
Walker’s statement on the bottom of page 69 and the top of 70,”what now masquerades as World History is largely fictitious.” raises a serious topic that causes extremely heated debates. Agreeing with the statement, I understand that Walker wants the truth of Africa and its people to be heard and believed. European historians seized and intentionally manipulated history in order to create the idea of them being the founding fathers of the African civilization. When Europeans first began their journeys to Africa they were completely baffled in the discovering of something they were intimidated by. Africa was not a place that was meaningless and worthless, but instead to their surprise it was a place that was rich in culture.
Raj Patel, a professor at the UC Berkeley Center for African Studies, brings forth both personal experience and recollection of
Considered “among the half-dozen greatest short novels in the English language” by some scholars, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness has been scrutinized and praised by many scholars around the world. However, beneath this glory and praise lies a certain darkness, hidden from many Western scholars by the walls of ignorance. Among those who saw through those walls was revered Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. In his essay “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness,” Achebe acutely identifies subtle patterns, word choices, and styles Conrad uses that help us presume Conrad’s attitude towards Africa and Africans, while refuting potential counterarguments. Achebe’s first issue with Heart of Darkness is the oversimplification and the barbaric delineation of Africa and the native people.
Foreigners have often referred to Africa as a black continent, not because the inhabitants are black but because of the persistent problems emanating from the continent. However, the problems faced in Africa do not arise from nature. The problems are mad-made but not by the Africans themselves. Furthermore, the African problems are more of perceptions than the reality on the ground. Until and unless the Africans themselves understand that their problems are created by those they trust to offer help, not much will change for this great continent.
Different parts of our culture today have roots in history. The production culture, how a product gets from creation to us, is based off of the historical “outwork” process. Today, different jobs have unions that protect the workers. This working culture has evolved from the working conditions during the Industrial Revolution. In 1884 Europeans met to decide the future of Africa.
Africa is a continent with a good climate change that allows people,agriculture and Animals to survive. Chinua Achebe(1930-2013) was a first successful African person who made Africans to be aware that Europeans have completely won to write about Africa as unknown continent. “The antithesis of Europe”(Achebe, 1978: p.3). This statement demonstrates to us that Europeans are completely against the existence of Africa. Africans are now considered under unadvised stage of human development all over the world due to European’s writing about Africa.