Jesus Malverde (5,486 posts) http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024975291
Why is the African continent poor?
It is currently poor. Two Thousand years ago the Med was the center of enlightenment and culture. Three thousand years ago not so much- then it was the Europeans who were dirt poor and uneducated. Four Thousand years ago the Middle East was the center of learning and culture.
What could have happened?
bravenak (3,886 posts)
2. THE RAPE OF AFRICA CAUSED THE POVERTY. Europeans came,stole, slaved, killed, abused,and
Now they judge. It is the fault of the european theives and maniacs who went there to oppress africa with their superior technology, forced them to labor, and ruined the continent.
How did the west gain such superior technology? Or are you saying the Africans are just too stupid to develop it?
Scootaloo (11,409 posts)
21. Oh yes, the "They sold their own people" claims
Tell me. Did those nasty Africans force slaves upon the hapless good-hearted Europeans? Because that's what that narrative posits. Slavery from Benin was an economic response to a demand for slaves from Europeans, bottom line. The Europeans paid with guns, which excaberated local warfare, which hastened the slave trade while simultaneously weakening resistance against it.
The African and Muslims had been selling people for centuries- still do. They just found a new market with the western peoples.
Shankapotomus (3,351 posts)
17. If you consider Africa is the starting point
Last edited Tue May 20, 2014, 07:45 AM - Edit history (1)
of human civilization, my answer goes like this:
One thing to keep in mind when judging societies is their place in the chronological development of humankind.
A lot of human technological development depends on two factors: 1.) Where you started in time and 2.) A change in environment.
If you where the staring point of humanity, as Africa was, naturally your technological innovation is going to be a lot more basic than subsequent groups of humans who would eventually inherit and add to your initial achievements.
Secondly, once you have adapted to an environment by innovating the technologies needed to master it enough to make existence there comfortable for YOU, there is little need to innovate or develop new technologies unless either your environment changes or you migrate to a different environment. Since the early people who stayed in Africa didn't migrate, they only developed technologies for their one environment.
The further away you go by civilization in time and distance from Africa, the more is built upon the technology of the societies that came before. For example, the groups that migrated out of Africa took with them the knowledge and technologies they developed while in the African environment. By moving into Europe, they had to continue adapting and innovating technology while in the new and different European environment. So any technology they evolved or developed in Europe was added to advances they took out of Africa with them, like fire making, spear making and language, organized hunting, etc...
Notice America was a new environment further away from Europe and, going by my hypotheses, it makes sense that Americans built upon the technological advances they carried with them from all previous civilizations to create one of the more advanced and developed societies, technology wise, the world has ever seen.
So no civilization or continent is inherently superior or inferior to another. Your development depends on where you started in the timescale of humanity and what technologies and behaviors you inherited from the human societies before you.
Humankind have inherited the most important developments from its African ancestors. The development of language, fire and quite possibly agriculture. It is quite extraordinary the roles those developments play and continue to play on humankind. One could say we wouldn't be humans without the development of language. A lot rests on the early advances made in Africa.
not my mole... probably not my mole.