COURSE AFRICAN STUDIES

COURSE CODE NHAC100

NAME ANESU
SURNAME BUNHU
PROGRAM BSc SOCIAL WORK
YEAR 1.2
STUDENT NUMBER 210129

SSINGMENT- Critically examine how Europe under-developed

Africa?
According to Walter Rodney in his text ‘How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.’
Underdeveloped is not defined by the lack of resources but an uneven and unjust distribution
of the wealth of those resources (gold, cocoa, oil.). Europe underdeveloped Africa by the
European slave trade, technological stagnation and distortion of the African economy,
continuing politico-military developments in Africa and coming of imperialism and
colonisation. However, Europe did not entirely underdeveloped Africa as Africa was already
a wounded continent. The Europeans only came to heal a wound that was already there.
Africans were illiterate and highly depended on agriculture leading to the numerous ways in
which why Africa was not as developed as the rest of the globe hence leading to their
underdevelopment.

Firstly, Europeans led to the underdevelopment of Africa by introducing slave trade. Slave
trade was the shipment of captives from Africa to various other parts of the world where they
were to live and work as the property of Europeans. There was the Arab Slave Trade and
European Slave Trade prolly known as the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. According to Walter,
European buyers purchased African captives on the coasts of Africa and the transaction
between themselves and Africans was a form of trade. However, overall, the process by
which captives were obtained on African soil was not trade at all. It was through warfare,
trickery, banditry and kidnapping. Among this, the massive loss to the African labour force
was made more critical because it was composed of able-bodied young men and young
women. Slave buyers preferred their victims between the ages of 15 and 35, and preferably in
the early twenties; the sex ratio being about two men to one woman. Europeans often
accepted younger African children, but rarely any older person. They shipped the healthiest
wherever possible, taking the trouble to get those who had already survived an attack of
smallpox, and who were therefore immune from further attacks of that disease, which was
then one of the world’s great killer diseases leading to African labour loss. On the European
side, the population growth gave them labour which worked in their banana and cocoa
plantations. African economy was affected by the death of many Africans through the Middle
Passage, social violence and warfare. The kidnapping of the able-bodied meant no labour was
left for Africans to carry on with their agriculture, pastoralism. Also the slave trade led to the
diminish of very powerful states such as the Dahomey State hence leaving Africa
underdeveloped.

Moreso, the distortion of the African economy led to the underdevelopment of Africa. In the
African economy, ivory was a very essential mineral. Referring to Walter Rodney, certain
benefits were derived from the export of ivory. The search for ivory became the most
important activity in several East African societies at one time or another, sometimes in
combination with the trade in captives. The Wanyamwezi of Tanzania were East Africa’s
best-known traders — acquiring their reputation through carrying goods for hundreds of
miles between Lake Tanganyika and the Indian Ocean. When the Wanyamwezi gave their
attention to the export of ivory, this sparked off other beneficial developments, such as
increased trading in hoes, food and salt between themselves and their neighbours. The
Mutapa State also took part in trading. Mostly traded ivory with the Portuguese people. The
Portuguese traded ceramics, cloths and beads in exchange of ivory and gold. Dambarare and
Musapa were the well-known trading places also known as feiras. Ivory was a mineral on
demand and hence it was rapidly exhausted leading to violence between the Africans and
Europeans as there was struggled to secure new supplies. No African society turned to
elephant hunting and ivory collection on a big scale until the demand came from Europe or
Asia. Any African society which took ivory exports seriously, then had to re-structure its
economy to make ivory trade successful. This completely distorted the African economy as it
led to excessive and undesirable dependence on the overseas market and an external
economy. Moreso, this also led to the demise of powerful states like the Wanyamwezi of
Tanzania hence the distortion of the African economy led to the underdevelopment of Africa.

In addition, the continuing politico-military developments in Africa led to the

underdevelopment of Africa. According to Walter Rodney, Africa had a meaningful past long
before the coming of Europeans. Africans had created strong political and military systems.
Politico-military development in Africa meant that African socials collectives had become
more capable of defending the interest of their members, as opposed to the interests of people
outside the given community. Individuals had the opportunity to apply their own skill in
fields diversified under the protection of the state. Through the states benefited, new
techniques of war, advanced agriculture and trade. Politically and military, states like
Dahomey, Yorubaland and Zululand were leading forces in the political development.
Through the growth of Atlantic Slave Trade, the Dahomey state would exchange for
European goods such as rifles, gunpowder in exchange of slaves increased the militaristic
power of the Dahomey state as they were using weapons to fight other states. Slowly, the
Europeans were continuing politico-military development as they introduced the use of
weapons. Also looking at Zululand, Shaka took up many of the military and political
techniques of Dingiswayo such as the cow-horn formation which is being used up until now.
However this underdeveloped Africa as the Europeans slowly introduced their politico and
military developments.

Moreover, Europe underdeveloped Africa through the coming of imperialism and

colonisation. Colonisation is a monumental historical event that dislocated Africa and aborted
the countries socially, politically and economically. Referring to Walter Rodney, through
imperialism ( capitalist expansion) European capitalists were forced by the internal logic of
their competitive system to seek abroad in less developed countries opportunities to control
raw material supplies, to find markets and to bring profitable fields of investment. There were
certain areas of Africa such as the Suez Canal in which European investment was meant to
get immediate super-profits. Because many European countries were in need of raw materials
from Africa, there was the Scramble for Africa which was eased by the Berlin Conference
were European countries equally shred Africa among themselves. European countries such as
Britain, France colonised Africa in need of new markets, raw materials and desire to invest in
surplus capital outside Europe. For example, Ghana, was colonized by Britain and numerous
resources including gold, diamond were exploited to the benefit of Britain. Also, one of the
most decisive features of the colonial system was the presence of Africans serving as
economic, political and cultural agents of the European colonialists. Hence, colonisation and
imperialism were the catalysts of the underdevelopment of Africa.

However, Europe did not entirely underdeveloped Africa as Africans were illiterate and
sorely depended on agriculture. Africans were already primitive. They still depended on
pastoralism where they domesticated animals locally and economically depended on them.
During this period before the 15th century, Africans could not read and write. They did not
have a written language. They only traded locally meaning they never got a chance to expand
economically. Land was held commonly and could not be bought or sold. There was
existence of exploitation. There was also high population rate and economic inequality.

In conclusion, to a greater extent, Europe underdeveloped Africa by the slave trade, distortion
of the African economy, continuing politico-military developments in Africa and coming of
imperialism and colonisation. However, to a lesser extent Europe did not underdeveloped
Africa as Africa had already had a wound and Europe just came to heal that wound. Africans
were illiterate and heavily depended on agriculture. Hence this does not dismiss the fact that
Europe underdeveloped Africa.
 REFERENCES
(Rodney, 1973)

(Boahen, 1800)

(Mhina, 19th century)

(Alpers)

http://www.iiste.org/