Underdevelopment

It is very evident that Africa has struggled to become an self-reliant country to no fault of its own. And the essay "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa," raises some very interesting points as to the reason it has not succeeded at becoming a "developed" country. Walter Rodney presents us with a very damning and controversial look at how the imperialistic countries of the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries manipulated and impoverished an entire culture.

When European countries began to colonize Africa they did so with the mind set of maintaining superiority in the eyes of the rest of the world. The easiest way for them to do this and reaps the most benefits from Africa was to exploit the nation. To me it seemed that the worst thing you can do to a country is deprive it of its' history and to deprive the rest of the world of its' history.

When Europeans came into Africa they totally disrupted and rejected the rich social and historical significance of Africa. Africa is one of if not the oldest civilizations in the world, and instead of learning about it the colonists destroyed it. I believe that there is much the world didn't and still doesn't know about the history of Africa that we should know. So instead of trying to learn about the society and cultures of the continent they manipulated and controlled it.

The first thing colonists saw when the arrived in Africa was an "inferior" culture/military force, and dollar signs. Knowing that they could control the area with brute force they decided they utilize the resources of the continent for there own benefit. This has had serious ramifications on African society that are still felt today.

To me the most serious of these deprivations to African society comes from the keystone aspect of all societies and that is education. Education is critical for the upbringing of societies all across the world and by depriving someone of education you deprive them of a livelihood.

While countries are trying to "help" Africa there always seem to be alternative motives for their help and they are still trying to gain something from the relationship. This has led to continuous troubles in Africa and these instabilities seem to not end. That is why I believe we must first focus on building a system of education on the continent so they can somehow hopefully take control of their own country.