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I usually try not to regret things that have already happened, because it's not like we can change the past. So when I first heard the question, "Was Africa better off before or after European Colonialism?" I automatically shook my head because it�fs not worth pondering these questions. What happened happened, as the popular cliché goes. But then again -- we can learn from these events in history, so that we don't make that same mistake again. With that perspective, it took me a only millisecond to come to the conclusion that Africa was better off before colonialism. One of the reasons that flew through my head during the millisecond of my deciding was that the Africans were forced to adopt European cultures. Africa had had many different languages and religions, but after colonialism, a fair amount of that was lost. For example, families in Angola were forced to convert to Christianity by the Portuguese settlers. If someone didn't want to abandon his religion that had passed through generations of his ancestors, well, he was punished. Beaten. The Europeans coming to Africa, dividing up land, taking over native tribes and putting them to work -- those actions were like the earthquake that created the tsunami of hate. The amount of cruel violence rose in Africa. It was everywhere. Europeans fought against other Europeans over land and Africans. Africans fought against other Africans because the new borders grouped together tribes that hated each other. Europeans abused Africans and treated them like bad little children, and Africans rebelled against the Europeans. Some people would say that this is when racial discrimination against blacks was born. European colonialism still affects the world today. When they took over Africa in the late 1800's, they wrecked whatever government was there and ruled the place themselves. When they left in the 1960's, they left Africa with weak governments with little mandate from their populations. All these years, countries have been trying to achieve a good There was genocide in Rwanda and Ethiopia. Apartheid, which is the separation of races that resulted in unfair treatment of Africans and Asians, existed in South Africa only recently. Many other countries in Africa are in shambles now because of European colonialism. That is why I think Africa was better off before European colonialism. The Africans were treated unfairly, and it has left its mark. What we can do now is to help out the African countries as much as we can, and make sure no one makes this kind of mistake again. |