Pimpin off the back of Africa - The History of African Colonisation
I had a few dreams after the one I had that led to my first post on steemit titled “ Patriarchy & Patriotism”, and this was to ask question on the history of the African continent.
I was shocked by what I found out recently whilst looking into the history of why Africa is the way it is, or rather seen, poor and unable to sustain a good quality of living.
I knew some of it, and some I forgot but because I was searching for something specific, what I found was absolutely ridiculous.
Some of the facts ;
• The Berlin Conference (1884–85) which was setup to regulate European colonization and trade in Africa.
• 13 European countries were invited to the table.
• Before the conference, colonialism in Africa was only 10%
• By 1902, 90% of all the land that makes up Africa was under European control.
• During a time when Britain's balance of trade showed a growing deficit, with shrinking and increasingly protectionist continental markets due to the Long Depression (1873–96)
• Cecil Rhodes founded De Beers in 1888
Did you know that the “scramble for Africa” led to the first world war. What’s interesting to note is that some countries in Europe were in a serious state financially, and were unable to sustain a lifestyle they got very used to. So the famous cliché of “world war” was very much based on what Africa had to offer the world and instead of asking nicely, and I’m sure many were willing to share. Instead they fought the locals and their once European friends at the cost of millions of lives.
This group of people sat around a table a decided the fate of an entire continent. What was interesting was why, as we all know Africa has very rich resources so in order to become global leaders, they created a market by themselves and for themselves, at any cost and made sure they colonized the area. The amount of deaths from the time they entered the continent is sickening. They colonized, took the people and resources all under the guise of “ending the slave trade”. They used the locals in “their” wars and created the Africa we see today. After they left, the land & people was left in a state that seems irrepairable, hence we have this 3rd world syndrome that we seemingly can’t come out of. To make it worse they manufactured disease and spread it throughout the continent, that they took everything, the land, the people and resources, but that wasn’t enough.
The timeline of this is also relevant as not too long after was the central bank and drug companies formed that replaced all natural forms of trading and medicine. Marijuana and Hemp was banned by our puppet masters, they then imported the local people as slaves to work on the likes of cotton fields , thereby creating a dependancy on them that didn't exist before.
The saddest part is that the colonization forever made the locals something they are not, speaking a language that was forced upon them and then in the end left them with poverty and disease.
Could we the not say that Africa was and to a degree still is the investor for most if not all of Europe’s supposed power and financial position of strength?
What was the punishment for the perpetrators or payback to the countries in the continent? I’m not endorsing violence in any way or form yet am of the opinion that the way we are living is as a direct consequence of these actions, and now spread to many other parts of the world.
Thankfully, we now have a future that we can clearly see and pave a way forward that is sustainable for all. The #blockchain technology and all that is spawning from it is talking to this problem directly. What I see could and likely will happen is that the true value of fiat currencies globally will eventually be revealed through the crypto currency space and the value of a currency will be based on what the country, community or intent of the service is and not some political agenda designed to keep us tuned into their TV drama.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Conference
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scramble_for_Africa
In kind,