The Underdevelopment of Africa

1135 Words5 Pages
For years, Africa has been viewed as the unfortunate continent of our globe. When we watch the news today and footage of the continent, we observe Genocide in Rwanda and Darfur volatility and “Blood Diamonds” in Sierra Leone, a lack of government in Somalia, Civil War in Sudan, AIDS in Zimbabwe and unimaginable Crime in South Africa. How did such a large continent with natural potential collapse without the prospect of one day turning around and thriving like the greater continents such as Europe and North America. The question of the underdevelopment of Africa is a very complex one. Many try to deny the past and assert that the European economy was entirely independent in its successful development. Unfortunately for them, the facts do not lie. European colonialism and early capitalism from as early as the fifteenth century has undoubtedly left its mark on the continent of Africa. Europe’s success and greatness is substantially based on the fact that that during the fifteenth century, Europeans desired valuable resources from the natural resources and people of Africa and were determined to obtain these resources by any means possible. Before exploration and European arrival in Africa, the continent consisted of a lucrative economy, successful political structures and booming societies. Sadly, the European sense of greed is what ultimately led to the instability and underdevelopment of the entire continent of Africa. When we discuss the exploitation of Africa, many automatically assume that we are referring to the slave trade. Africa had much more to offer to the Europeans than a labor force. In the early fifteenth century, the Portuguese made use of Africa’s gold; one of its most valuable and prized natural resources. The Portuguese used African slaves to mine gold which in turn they used to finance future navigation and exploration. Alongside the Portuguese, the
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