Anthropology of Africa

Africa is he one of the least developed continents in the world. It is often referred to as the Dark Continent and continues to be criticized and ridiculed from everywhere, regardless of the level of education or achievements of the African population. It is considered But questions about what defines Africa, why it has been ridiculed and threatened, and how it has been affected by outside forces such as colonization, are implied every time we hear about Africa. comes to mind (Middleton and John 19).

How did knowledge about Africa come about?

A fictional landscape of Africa, set in England in the late 18th century, product of fulfilling the consciousness of the Europeans. Features of Africa came about from intensive arguments about reason, civilization and humanity. Then it was depicted an indispensable continent with negative trope. However, regardless of the negative historical image, Africa remains known for the natural attractions it harbors, including abundant wildlife and its geography that is diverse. This continent has beautiful highlands, deserts, rain forests and green plains, which all are most definitely eye catching. Europeans became particularly interested in this beautiful continent since it was rich in industrial raw materials and had freely accessible and cheap labor. Most of the Europeans saw this as an opportunity to expand their territories through colonization and exploitation of the African resources (MacKenzie and John).

Case of Nicolas Sarkozy and Sarah Bartman and the Anthropology of Africa

Nicolas Sarkozy, the former president of France, in his speech at the University of Dakar in July 26, 2007 created a picture of Africa. According to him, Africa is a continent full of diversity which has experienced challenges in the past as a result of colonization. This wounded continent, especially its youth, have in the past colluded and fought against each other and have often had mutual hatred. Inhabitants of this continent are so diverse they do not speak same language, their cultures vary from one group to the other, they have different history, but still recognize themselves as Africans and as one race of humanity, regardless of the surroundings. Despite the diverse culture and long history of experienced hatred, suffering, revolt and humiliation, Africans recognize each other as brothers and realize that they have a common destiny. The mysterious faith in destiny binds all Africans together and can never be undermined, but is transmitted from one generation to the next instead, drawing a bond that cannot be cut or eased by exile (Voss and Casella 126).

Africa has experienced misfortunes due to colonization. It has survived troubles that have subjected its youth in the past to pity. The past historical experiences of Africa are sad ones and cannot be erased. Nicolas in his speech admitted that many mistakes had been made and countless crimes have been committed in Africa. Black slave trade, which involved the buying and selling of men, woman and children, was one of the major crimes against Africans. The slavery and the black slave trade were a crime not only against Africans, but also against humanity. The genesis of hate between the Blacks and white men was the slavery and slave trade. The colonialists came to Africa as conquerors to acquire the land of African ancestors and colonize them. The Europeans took away the African gods, banished their languages and disrupted African beliefs and customs of their forefathers. All this was done by the white man with an aim of reconfiguring Africans and force them to bide to the European way of life, making the African people take up the image of Europeans. The Europeans killed the enthusiasm that defined the original Africans and ruined the African way of life.

Colonization of Africa was the source of misery and anguish. It resulted in selfishness of African people as they were scared and unable to open to anyone unless one would reveal their identity. The colonizers made the colonized Africans lose confidence and become vulnerable to fear of the white man. This fear led to subjection to exploitation. The colonizers, besides taking all that belonged to Africa, also gave some things in return, constructing roads, schools, hospitals, building bridges and making Africans accept the standards of the colonizers. Actually, not all colonialists were evil people or thieves and exploiters of the African people and resources. Amongst them were men of goodwill, who believed that they were fulfilling a mission of civilization and who believed in doing the good to the African continent. Some of the colonialists believed that they were bringing freedom to the African men, believing in breaking the chains of servitude, superstition and obscurantism. Amongst them were those who believed that they were spreading love, but what came out instead was hatred and division among the African people (Inda).

Africa has been plagued by series of challenges. However, colonization is not responsible for current difficulties it faces. Colonization is not responsible for the dictatorship experienced in Africa, the genocides and bloody wars fought by Africans, corruption in African governments, pollution and poor waste management peculiar to Africa. It is good to admit that for worse or for better, colonization transformed both Africa and Europe.

The case of Sara Bartman brought Africa to the limelight of the issues of racism and sexism. Born and raised by the Khiokhoi community of South Africa, Sara Bartman at the age of 20 left her country for Europe, having been subjected to slave trade. She was famous amongst the Khoikhoi women for the things she experienced in life after she was sold in London by an enterprising Scottish doctor named Alexander Dunlop. In Britain, Sara spent approximately four years exhibiting her large anatomical features. She was later sold to French men, who exploited her by exhibiting her in the zoos for about fifteen months. Scientists used her body for empirical research since she was considered abnormal. Paintings of Bartman’s body were exhibited and cartooned, hence subjecting her to racism and sexism. She has been an iconic representation of Africa in the European world. Her subjection to racism, empirical research and sexism led to the claims of the African people because of the exploitation.

Colonization and Restructuring of Africa and Its Effects

Africa has faced diplomatic pressures, imperialist aggression, military invasions, conquest and colonization by the Europeans between 1870s and 1900. At the same time, it has developed through her societies and communities the aggressive forms of resistance against colonization by Europeans. Africans highly resisted foreign domination, but they eventually gave in and got restructured by the effects of colonization. In the early twentieth century, most African countries have been colonized, except for Liberia and Ethiopia (Alexander 54).

The invasion of Africa by the European powers was motivated by three main factors, which are economic, social and political oriented. The European imperialist push highly developed in 19th century due to the slave trade profit collapse. This was followed by the industrial revolution and suppression or abolition of slave trade. The assured and adequate sources of raw materials, guaranteed markets, investment outlets and profitable ventures were the core components and imperatives, driving the capitalist industrial revolution and spurring the scramble for the African soil. This scramble eventually led to the conquest of Africa. The primary and major motivation for European intrusion in Africa had economic grounds.

Political impetus originating from European power competitions and struggle played a role in the colonization of Africa. The UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Portugal, who were aggressively competing for the African resources, dominated the European political arena. The mightiness of these political actors was determined by their ability to establish and acquire territories all over the world, including Africa.

Social factors were another major reason for African dominance by the European political giants. Following industrial revolution in Europe, many social problems such as unemployment, poverty, social displacement in rural places and homelessness took place in the region. These problems developed since not everyone could be absorbed by the capitalist industries that were spread over Europe as a result of industrialization and the growth of population. Europe had no option but to export the ever growing European population to places like Africa, hence colonizing this continent.

The interplay of the political, social and economic forces and factors facilitated the scramble and struggle for Africa. The European military, political and commercial agents hence identified and established shares in some parts of Africa and an eventual entire scoop of stake. This was achieved by controlling waterways, tariff impositions, exclusive declarations of possession of certain parts of Africa for trade and inter commercial imperialist competition. This eventually led to the establishment of commercial routes and general restructuring of the African continent through colonization (Alexander).

The scramble for Africa and its resources was very intense, leading to fears of wars and inter imperialist conflicts taking place in Africa. To prevent clashes that might have resulted from the scramble for Africa, Otto Von Bismarck, the German chancellor, convened a summit to address diplomatic issues related to European powers during the 19th century. This summit was termed as Berlin Conference. During this conference, a treaty known as the Berlin Act was formed. This act gave provision and terms of how the European powers were to conduct themselves during the inter imperialism competition for Africa. The major articles of this act included principles of notification to other parties in case of annexation of a territory, effective occupation, freedom of trade along the Congo Basin and the suppression and eradication of slave trade by the sea and land. This treaty provided a basis for effective invasion, partition and the eventual colonization of Africa (Nardo 20).

The domination of African soil by the Europeans led to conflicts. African chiefdoms, kingdoms, empires and centralized state systems had direct military engagements with the invaders. The European powers, however, had intense military power compared to the weak African efforts to retaliate. The resistance of Africa to colonization led to the decline of the most empires and kingdoms. In the process of conflicts, African leaders devised means and ways of defeating the white man. They came up with strategies like the guerilla wars, scorched earth programs and the use of direct military engagement. The Africans developed firearm acquisition plans and even devised techniques of enhancing their military strength by creating their own firearms. The colonization has led to the increased African military power despite the challenges it brought about (Meredith 33).

Despite the African efforts in furiously and bravely fighting against colonization by the European powers, they lost the fight and gave in to European dominance and invasion, mainly due to technological and political reasons. The Europeans were superior to them. The colonization has led to the demise of African political kingdoms and profound revolutionary changes in their political, social and economic arena. Most of the old communities and societies were reconfigured into desired European political entities of interest. This led to the political instability of these African societies, and their organizations became extremely weak.

Was African Colonization Central?

Most of the African countries had been colonized by 1900. The dominating European powers in this regard were the Britain, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain and Portugal. After the colonization of both the centralized and decentralized African states, the Europeans established a centralized colonial state system (Davish, Renaat, and Francis). This system acted as machinery for administrative domination for effective management of the African societies that were colonized. Due to the racist ideology, military supremacy and imperialist enterprise, the European colonial states developed bureaucratic and authoritarian system of operation. This led to the intimidation of the black men. In contrast to the Africans, the Europeans received many economic and social benefits, hence provoking the rise of opposition. However, several socio political and economic developments came as a result of this colonization. There was certain advancement in the construction of social amenities like churches and schools. The growths of entrepreneurship and several developments seen in Africa came as a result of the colonization (Salgado).

Conclusion

Africa is scientifically and historically regarded as the cradle of mankind and of human civilization. However, questions as to what defines Africa, what made it face ridicule and blackmail and how it became affected by external forces like colonization comes to mind every time one hears about Africa. According to the former president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, Africa is a continent full of diversity. Africa has experienced challenges in the past as a result of colonization. This wounded continent, especially the youth, have in the past colluded and fought against each other, often having hatred to one another. Depiction of Africa by the Europeans through the intimidating exposition of nude images of Sara Bartman form the South Africa has led to debates and social differences between the Whites and the Africans. It was an act of racism and sexism. Colonization of Africa by the European powers has led to severe resistance of the African chiefdoms and kingdoms, which led to deaths of empires and kings. The centralization of the European colonization ensured that the powers colonizing the African countries worked in harmony and in accordance with the set standards. The colonization has led to the restructuring and reconfiguration of Africa. It has also facilitated the growth and development of African countries despite the challenges and effects it imposed on the continent.

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