1.The article “The Colonization of Africa” by Ehiedu E. G. Iweriebor talks about the holistic process and literal scheme to colonize Africa. The scheme to colonize Africa was to control the continent economically, socially and politically. This way Africa would not be able to do anything under their own control if it didn’t first go through the European colonizers. Seven countries were involved in this scheme; Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Spain were all in competition to have the superior power over European power politics. This is where the phrase “the scramble for Africa” came about. The competition became so profound that people were afraid of conflict and eventually a war between the colonizing countries. As a result of this fear came the infamous Berlin Conference that was held from November 1884 to February 1885. This conference constructed a treaty that is known as the Berlin Act.  http://exhibitions.nypl.org/africanaage/essay-colonization-of-africa.html

 4. In Steve Metz article “American Attitudes Towards Decolonization in Africa” Metz begins by telling us there are pretty much two separate takes that America has on the decolonization of Africa. The first perception is that if America never interfered and suggested United States laws on decolonization and advocating for “self-determination” while John F. Kennedy was in office, the European colonizers would have kept their ruling over the continent of Africa going for way longer than it did. The other perception was that the suggestion of United States laws on the decolonization in Africa only really initiated the transition of the original possession that these European countries had over Africa to the convert control of corporate America. These two opposite perceptions leave the question of what the United States actual role was in the decolonization of Africa. This article fits into our course because it correlates to the struggles and paths Africa had to take in order to achieve change and political independence. https://libproxy.cortland.edu:3235/stable/pdf/2149946.pdf?ab_segments=0%252Fbasic_SYC-5152%252Fcontrol&refreqid=excelsior%3Ab46d53a89fefa8c9454d03320644972f

7.This poem is called “The Lord’s Prayer” by Sonna Armon. Similar to the poem “The Cathedral”, Armon talks about the church. However, in this poem not only does she use metaphors to help us visualize, but she does it in the form of a prayer. The poem tells us that when Africa was colonized, although the Europeans made it seem that this imperialism was harmless and actually helping the people of Africa and did so by using religion as a gateway, it was not so elegant and graceful as they portray. Even if the colonizers really did think they were selflessly and delicately trying to help the people of Africa, it felt like hell to the ones being exploited. When they first approached the continent, they came with huge scary weapons, which is clearly not graceful. They came with books that the African people could not read. They came with a new religion with a spiritual being that looked like them. They told them false things such as ‘God loves everyone, but He loves you less’. They told them that their original way of life was evil and monstrous. They deprived them of their language, their names, their way of life and in return they gave them their God. This poem is correlated to the course because it portrays the exploitation rather than development of colonialism in Africa. https://face2faceafrica.com/article/lords-prayer-poem-religious-colonialism-africa

10. Neocolonialism in Africa is tricky I might say. I personally feel as if because Africa was once exploited, there’s a possibility that they can be exploited again if they’re not careful. It has nothing to do with superiority vs. inferiority, but its more about the question of whether or not Africa is ready or prepared to seriously discuss and go forward with globalization and the new scramble for Africa. It doesn’t really seem like Africa has a set plan in order to take back their power and to just being involved globally. I mean what is it that they want and what strategy do they have in order to get what they want for their continent. I just think it’s really important that Africa watches who they make their deals with. In this video “A Second Scramble for Africa?” the Speaker, Amaka Anku explains to us that in the new scramble for Africa, Africans eventually can win. Reasons for this is because the continent is in a better situation to negotiate their own trade and economic policies. In the present time, Africa definitely has gained some sort of new political maturity and has a good vision for the future, but the question is, when are they going to take action? With this new hopeful vision that the youth of Africa have gained, they need to become more educated in the governmental system. And not just the people in power, but the civilians as well. When the politics of Africa get a lot more competitive, voters will eventually have more say and will be able to insist on a form of neoliberalism that can work for both Africans and foreigners. This video fits into the segment of the course because of the neocolonialism in Africa, this new era and the scramble for Africa gives the continent a greater opportunity. https://youtu.be/W3dwVBlfxyY

Blog Posts

350-word reflection on the movie Zulu.

After finishing some of the movie Zulu in class, I realized how significant this film was. Especially being that we don’t normally hear of the African side of exploitation. I also realized that this movie reminds me a lot of the novel Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fannon that we are reading as a class. A bunch of colonizers come in an exploit the people of Africa and gain a lot from it. Although its knowledge that needs to be learned, it really bothers me sometimes to read and watch these stories of what happened in the past. Africans or Black people in general are always exploited and treated terribly. I don’t know if it’s because I’m African American and it just hits a little too close to home oppose to other kids in the class who just probably think of it as history that happened several hundred years ago. Or maybe it’s just a natural human instinct to hear of history like this and to automatically get sick to our stomachs every couple of pages. I’m not sure but whatever it is, it surely affects me while reading.

     In the movie, the pastor and his daughter witness a messenger transferring the news about the British defeat. They seemingly try and bargain peace. When that did not work, the two of them quickly run off to warn the soldiers. Quickly after the fail negotiation of peace, it was then that the Zulu were left with no other choice but to go to war. The Zulus then prepare themselves to get ready to attack. The British decide to defend themselves and start to prepare themselves for the battle that is to come as well. Sooner or later the Zulus take the first blow and begin to attack in a rampage. Something I found interesting was during all the fighting that was going on, there were doctors that were taking care of the people who were getting wounded. The British were evidently outnumbered therefore it was inevitable for it not to go well for them. The British clearly thought they were smarter and definitely underestimated the Zulu, however they soon learned that their modern weapons did not compare to the Zulus. In between attacks, the Zulu ceased fire, they regroup and then would randomly start back up again. Finally after several recharges along with many people now dead, the Zulu withdraw.

Patrice Lumumba’s
Speech & Letter to his Wife Pauline

What is the intended audience for the letter?

• I feel as if the intended audience for this letter was Patrice Lumumba’s lover perhaps, maybe his wife or someone hasn’t known for too long. But I have no doubt that it is intended for somehow that he has lots of love for and even longs for.

·  Does the intended audience influences how Patrice Lumumba wrote this letter?

• Patrice seemed to be very confident yet loving throughout this letter. I feel as if he was writing this letter to anyone other than a loved one, he might’ve been a bit more stern with his words or even his attitude. However, because he was writing to someone he has a soft spot for he came off very progressive oppose to being radical.

·  Does Lumumba’s background impact what he says and how he says it?

• Given the situations that he has gone through such as colonization, his background definitely impacts what he says and how he says it. Because Patrice has already been through colonization, he comes off as if he will do everything in his power to prevent it from happening again. Therefore his choice of words portrays his certainty.

·  How does Lumumba convey emotions in the letter?

• His emotions show that he has such high hopes for his people. He states “… I know that my country, now suffering so much, ‘will be able to defend its independence and its freedom.”  Patrice even shows the confidence that he has in the future for Congo furthermore this conveys his passion for his people.

·  What message is he communicating in the letter?

• The message he is communicating is that although he may never see his family and his people again, that they should continue to fight for their freedom and stay strong because he knows that in the end everything will work out in favor of the Congolese people.

·  Is the author arguing against anyone or anything in the letter?

• He is arguing against the colonizers of Congo

·  Are there any specific facts or details the author wants us to know?

• Patrice makes it evident that what he is doing is good, and the reason that he is not able to be with his family and loved ones is not because he is doing anything malicious, although that might be what the colonizers wanted everyone to think, but he is ultimately fighting for the freedom for him and his people.

·  What historical questions or issues does this letter raise?

• While reading this letter, a historical issue that came to mind was whether or not Patrice died or ever got to see his family again.

JUlES FERRY (1832-1893) On French Colonial Expansion

1. How will colonial expansion really benefit France?

• It will give France, a nation that believes they’re superior, more economic, social and political prestige on the world stage.
• Economics – They would have more markets and boost their industry. It creates more outlets and creates an interdependent system that only benefits France.
• Socially – Bragging rights and power for the upper class.
• Political – Expansion of the French military/navy along with cultural influence around the world that can rival other European Powers.

2. What historical references does Jules Ferry use to justify France’s Colonial expansion.

• Jules Ferry uses the example of failure among European powers during the exploration of the New World by European powers such as Spain, Britain and Portugal.
• He continues with these examples to point out their failure to “civilize” the native peoples which eventually led to their downfall in the new world through rebellion.
• He uses these as references to support his argument to expand French Colonialism because he believes that France can improve on their failures and show them how to properly colonize and “civilize” foreign lands.
• In all reality colonialism to Jules Ferry was never about “civilizing”, rather it was about expanding French dominance across the world and securing more wealth and power for the French people through exploitation of other people and their land. Group work: Joka Oyefeso, Michael Anderson (Scribe), Martha Alvarez, Alliyah Dookie, Melannie Atkinsin.

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (Chapters III, IV & V) February 12,2020 Class;

Group Name: The 4 Nubians and the Pharaoh. All the quotes we found to be the most important in these two chapters emphasized the main point that European colonization was only beneficial to European countries. Our quotes introduces the injustices that was imposed on the African societies; in this process, this depleted Africa economically, socially, technologically, and politically. 

While European Countries were exploiting Africa and building their economies, Africa was being depleted and wasn’t advancing technologically. Raw materials are being extracted from Africa then taken to these European countries where they are being manufactured. After this process, they are then sent back to Africa to be sold at a higher price. Rodney states a direct correlation between the two on page 118 ,“This remarkable reversal is tied to technological advance in Europe and to stagnation of technology in Africa owing to the very trade with Europe”. Furthermore, they also didn’t allow for factories to manufacture products that were commonly used. This prevented a working class to form. Essentially, Europe didn’t create an environment where capitalism could thrive. This is seen through the fact that Africa was not divided by socioeconomic status nor was there complaints of inequalities based on class. 

Economically, Africa was at an advantage when it came to their banking system. As for Europe they had other plans for Africa as a whole, Europeans colonizers came into Africa stole their banking system idea  and took it back to Britain to build up a better technologically based economic system . On page 195 it states “Finally, Africa Provides an interesting example of how effectively foreign banks served to dispossess Africa of its wealth. Most of the banking and other financial services were rendered to white settlers whose conception of “home” was always Britain.” When European colonizers got a hold of that system automatically we can see how taking away the foreign banking system left them to fend for themselves cause if the African countries to remain at the bottom of the social hierarchy system. The white man’s goal was to keep the relationship between them and Africa one sides so that they can maintain their superior “duty”. 

Throughout this process, African societies were taken advantage of right under their noses. The Dutch West India Company wanted to put an immediate stop to the African trade. What seemed like integration, really was the free-trade areas in sections of the world that were colonized prior. No this did not cause complete destruction of the West African gold trade; However, it cause Africa to become dependent on European buyers. These continuous unfair events eventually led to Africa’s underdevelopment.

-A deprived of their ability to thrive because of European resources resources Can’t thrive due to resources 

-Creates this dependency theory

Structural problems europeans created, Official positions, no factories, slave trade, change their education system , etraction of natrual resources, free labor, exclude them from law making, division of groups, divide and conquer

Making the argument of Africa’s underdeveloped crisis is due to structural…..

3.In the article “African Colonial States” by Heather J. Sharkey, Sharkey talks about late colonialism. She starts by explaining that when one brings up late colonialism, they are referring to anywhere between the time of the 1930s to the 1960s, or a time before independence was officially granted. During this time, government officials had several political, social, economic and even global issues being thrown at them. This caused there to be a lack of belief in the success of the colonial business. Today, there are historians in Africa that are extremely focusing on the era of post colonialism. They are searching for answers that only dissections of events in this time can explain and ultimately answer. the question that is mostly trying to be answered is ‘how much of the late colonial era effected Africa in the early 1900s. https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=nelc_papers

6. In the poem, “The Cathedral” by author Kofi Awoonor, she uses several metaphors to vividly illustrate what went on within European colonialism in Africa. She paints the image of a big beautiful tree standing tall with its roots firmly in the ground, branches standing high with confidence and leaves glowing from the shine of the sun so vibrantly. The tree is effortlessly stunning oh and its even minding its own business. Awooner goes on to describe the tree being cut down by “surveyors and builders” and these people casually building a “cathedral of doom” over the tree’s former sport. I loved the metaphors that were used here because it gives a perfect explanation of the way European colonizers nonchalantly takeover Africa and changed African civilization forever. This image being painted is a metaphor for the Europeans forcing their religion on the people of Africa throughout the colonization period. The Cathedral of doom is representation of Christianity. When Africa was being colonized, they were stripped of anything and everything that they planted from the ground up. This poem fits into the segment of the course because it perpetuates the way Europeans bullied their way into Africa, knocked their empire down and built their own civilization, with no permission or no full comprehension. They just did what they wanted. https://face2faceafrica.com/article/three-african-poems-that-critically-capture-colonization-on-the-continent/4

9.

This image evidently shows the exploitation done to the Congo people by the Belgium’s. This is a photograph of a young Congolese boy in a cage at a zoo. The reason for him being in the cage is because the colonizers wanted to convey the animalistic perception they had of them and that they associated with African people. This young boy was being exhibited like this right alongside of chimpanzees and apes. This was done to show the missing stage of humanity and also the correlation between orangutans and human beings. This is relevant to the course because the image perpetuates the humiliation, exploitation and regular treatment done by colonizers to the African people. This is not only an example of the degrading things that were done to African people, but it shouts the epitome of racism at you.

Wretched of the Earth CH.3-4

In chapters 3 and 4 of Frantz Fannon’s Wrtetched of the Earth, we are learning that the Bourgeois was in the midst of colonizing parts of Africa. Oppose to many other colonizations, although they had power and lots of money, they lacked a big deal of leadership. They soon came to the realization that money and authority does not equate to leadership. Because of this lack of leadership, it opened up opportunity for chaos and an unstructured ruling over the parts of Africa that they colonized. Although it could’ve just been talked about and they could’ve easily met the people of Africa half way, this enlarged the ethnic and religious differences of the nation. For crying out loud, they are already forcibly taking over their land, the least they could do is negotiate a solution, and however, that of course was not the case. With the Bourgeois knowing they had a lack of leadership, they decided to bring in a popular leader. They might’ve called him a leader but he was more of a dictator; therefore it was just getting worse and worse for the people of Africa. Fanon emphasizes that the Bourgeois did not at all care for the well-being of the people of Africa. They did not even have a good reliance of engineers and technicians. Fanon also brings up a good point, that when the caste is eliminated, it would be the perfect time for the people of this continent to move toward democracy.

Oliver Stanley Speech.

While reading Oliver Stanley’s text of Speech to Foreign Policy Association, the first thing that really caught my attention was when he brought up his this idea, he stated, “it is not because of our common ancestry that has worn a bit thin by now; it is not because of our common language, that may only enable us to quarrel more intelligently”.  I agree with this notion. Although people have different minds and can have different opinions on certain situations, when there is only one answer to particular notion no one can oppose. Stanley goes on to express his idea and he says “It is because of our common way of life, whatever the differences, however deep our disagreements, you and we agree on the fundamentals, on the rule of law, one the liberty of thought, and on the dignity of individual fundamentals, which after the war will be needed in this world.” This may not be the best analogy but what came to mind while reading this speech was the idea of it being like subjects in school, let’s take math vs. English for instance. With a Math problem you can only get one answer if you do the problem correctly. With math 2+2 will always equal 4, and no one can say otherwise. Opposed to the subject of English where you can read a book with your class and each person will have a set of different ideas in their heads and can tell you that their interpretation which is negating someone else’s answer and the next student can do the same to that person and so on and so forth. Another example of Stanley’s idea is morals. Even if someone doesn’t have them, even if some is pure evil, everyone knows the morally right thing to do oppose to the wrong thing to do. When something is right, it’s right and you can’t deny that. Tying this back to Stanley’s specific scenario, he explains to us that no matter the person, because of their similar way of life, or culture if you will, the differences did not influence the end you can always agree on fundamentals.

Machete Season Reflection

The novel Machete Season: The Killers in Rwanda is a book in which Jean Hatzfield dives deep in to the minds of the Hutu, the men that are to blame for the massacre of the Tutsi people. Before reading this novel, I didn’t really know much about the Hutu or the Tutsi. Of course we all know there were killings and murders involved, however I never fully grasped the reason for it all. So, for one to have an actual sit down discussion to deeper understand what was going on in their minds is really interesting. You would think that these literal serial killers wouldn’t be so open to talking about what most would call immoral and evil actions, however somehow Hatzfield managed to get the truth out of these men about the crime-filled genocide they committed. This novel heavily reminds me of Wretched of the Earth, and how Frantz Fannon got to dive into the outcome and trauma of the African people that were colonized. However, one thing I would’ve loved to also see was a sit down with the colonizers themselves, to get a more in depth understanding of what was going through their heads throughout all of those years.

     Oppose to Fannon’s Wretched of the Earth, something I got from the novel Machete Season was a bit of that psychopath mindset that I was longing for. I just think it’s really intriguing to understand how a mass murderer thinks.  I mean we all know how we’d feel if we were in the middle of being colonized or even if we were to witness genocide. Most of us would be scared out of our minds even though we’ve never been through it. However, normally a regular person does not know what it is like to be a mass murderer like the Hutu, it’s close to impossible to imagine what emotions and feelings they were going through while assassinating people left and right. But don’t you worry, later on we find out exactly how they felt.

     I think it was very clever but also gruesome to make the title “Machete Season”.  I feel as if it’s equivalent to saying ‘the time where the Tutsis were filled with bullets”. Cruel, but basically truthful. However, instead of a gun filled with bullets it was a knife that was being thrown around to slice bodies and limbs in half. The reason it was given this title is because the machete was the most popular weapon used throughout this genocide.

    It all started in April of 1994, where the Hutu were creating genocide against the Tutsis. Hundreds of thousands of Tutsis were being slain, thousands by day. Every day these monstrous Hutu men would wake up and do normal human being things, they’d brush their teeth, wash up, and eat. Then like the psychopaths they are, they would get out there on the field to kill. It was like a daily ritual. The Hutu had to kill a specific amount of Tutsi people by the end of each day. They did what they were told everyday with no disappointment. One thing you could count on them to not do is disobey their orders. They would get in position on the field so when it was time, they’d be ready to aim and fire at their opponents. Although this seemed like such a set plan, it was more of them just getting out there and killing as many Tutsis they’d came encounter with.

       In the novel, Jean Hatzfield tells about his interview he had with a number of the Hutu killers. We find out that they are all friends and were mostly famers who each participated in murdering thousands of their Tutsi neighbors. You know how sometimes when you watch a film and the bad guy is getting away, you almost don’t want him to get caught because you build some sort of attachment to the character. I thought that would happen in this novel. I thought I’d eventually have some sort of sympathy for the Hutus, but the more pages I read, the more hatred I built up for them. Further in the book these evil men explain how when they killed, it was something that basically liberated them and made them feel really good. Fulgence, one of the Hutu,  furthers my claim and says “The more we cut, the more cutting became child’s play to us, for a few, it turned into a treat, if I may say so.” It seems that these men found joy in killing these people. Not to mention that they were not only killing men but women and children too. By this statement it is clear they had no remorse for their actions. It was then I realized and began to call these men psychopaths instead of just simply monsters. I mean come on, we are all human. What kind of human being doesn’t even feel remorse for taking an innocent child’s life? That’s right, a psychopath. Although some of these men might’ve felt a sense of guilt, it’s not like they stopped what they were doing and walked away from it. Nope they kept on obeying the cruel and evil orders they were given.

     Like any other human being with a beating heart would, the only people I felt really sad for in this novel were the Tutsis, and maybe even Hatzfield for having to sit and listen to the seemingly arrogant, remorseless and cruel words of these men. Overall, as I previously stated, I did find this novel intriguing, however I did not finish reading the novel with a sense of relief like I did for Wretched of the Earth. At least in that novel there was a good outcome of more awareness of mental health. Oppose to Jean Hatzfield’s Machete Season: The Killers in Rwanda. But I guess I can say one satisfying reason that I can close this book with a smile on my face is knowing that the world is now aware that these psychotic monsters are not sorry about what they did and whatever the universe gives them, they completely deserve. Just like decolonization, genocide can never go unnoticed.

Group Discussion Notes on How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (02/12)

Why did the servants of the Dutch West India Company try to force people on the Ivory Coast to buy certain amount of Dutch goods?
-they wanted to put a complete stop to the African trade but it didn’t work. Dutch ruled that each Axim Canoe-man going to Cape Lahou should carry Dutch goods worth at least four ounces of gold. Because it would eventually convert a purely inter-African exchange into a European-African trade.
When Europeans became middle men in local trade networks, they did so mainly to make it easier to extract captives, which lessened their importance to the European Slave Trade.

“There is a type of false integration which camouflage for dependence”
-This was disguised as free trade in the formally colonized sections of the world.

15th century onward false integration acted as interlocking African economics over long distances. although they thought the interlock of African economies were happening, they were actually secretly passing human captives and ivory.

Group Discussion Notes on How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (02/26)

Education is important. it can promote social change. p.315
-In colonial Africa, the Europeans realized that some education would maximize the value of labor.
-Performance can be enhanced by the European education.

-This education only truly helped the Europeans. It was never beneficial to Africans. The education implemented to the Africans was an education that was only high enough to do the jobs that the Europeans wanted them to know. Therefore, Africans would never be able to move on their own