Colonialism and the African Experience Essay

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(p.135). Finally, the author ends the chapter with a discussion of whether colonialism helped or hurt Africa.

The author makes a very valiant and effective attempt to remain neutral and to present the information in an unbiased manner. However, the author makes several assumptions about the material presented. First, the author makes the assumption that the Europeans were exploitative when the colonized Africa. While acknowledging that Europeans may have legitimately believed that they needed to spread Christianity and otherwise "civilize" Africans, the author makes it clear that these beliefs furthered their own political and economic agendas, and could not have been the sole motivating factor. Those are assumptions that, while almost certainly true, are based upon personal belief and not fact. However, the author also seems to conclude that colonialism benefitted Africa, through things such as the introduction of Western medicine. This conclusion seems weak and is based upon the assumption that, absent colonization, Africa would not have been able to incorporate some of the benefits of Western life. When one looks at superpowers such as China, which have incorporated some of the beneficial aspects of Western life without being colonized, it becomes clear that assumption is unfounded.

The document makes it clear how much colonialism changed the face of modern Africa. Until European colonized Africa, most of the continent, especially areas outside of the Middle East, were relatively primitive. The cultural changes that occurred within a few centuries were tremendous and were directly related to colonialism.

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The document also makes it clear that colonialism helped fuel much of the racism that plagues specific areas in modern Africa. What the article does not really explain is whether and how colonialism impacted the relations between warring tribes, which has put many modern African countries in the throes of civil war. Did colonialism exacerbate existing tribal rivalries, create new rivalries, or actually work to limit the amount of inter-tribal strife? One change that is clearly linked to colonialism is the fact that Christianity is one of the predominant religions in Africa. Another change that is linked to colonialism is the fact that many Africans have access to a Western-style education. In addition, African wealth continues to be disproportionately concentrated in European hands. Colonialism is directly responsible for those three major facets of modern African life.

Standing alone, this document does not have any real historical significance. It is not a historical document, in that it does not reflect events at a certain time in history. Instead, it is a document that discusses history. None of the information contained within the document reveals information that is not available elsewhere. However, the document does do a good job of explaining the European colonization of Africa, and how such colonization impacted African life, both during colonization and in present times. As such, it is an important work for anyone seeking to understand the impact of colonization….....

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"Colonialism And The African Experience" (2009, March 30) Retrieved May 18, 2024, from
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https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/colonialism-african-experience-23451
   

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