The Euro-Americans
SWL about when the Moors ruled Neanderthals/Europeans
White/Caucasian is a term used to describe "a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa" (NCBI, 2022).
When The Moors ruled Europe
The destruction of Africa, from its historical legacies like slavery to modern-day challenges, is closely tied to a series of systemic forces that include colonialism, exploitation of resources, and global economic dynamics. Both past and present "conveniences" — systems, innovations, or institutions — have played a role in this.
1. Transatlantic Slavery and the Atlantic Economy
Historical Convenience: The Atlantic slave trade (16th to 19th centuries) was a major engine of European and American economic growth. European nations and their colonies in the Americas depended on the labor of enslaved Africans to produce cash crops like sugar, cotton, and tobacco. The exploitation of African labor was essential to building wealth and global trade systems, especially for Europe.
Impact on Africa: Millions of Africans were forcibly removed, devastating population growth, creating long-lasting social and political instability, and weakening African states. This set the stage for European colonization in the late 19th century.
2. Colonialism and Resource Extraction
Historical and Modern Convenience: European colonial powers (1880s–1960s) exploited Africa’s natural resources — including rubber, minerals, gold, diamonds, and ivory — to fuel the Industrial Revolution and later, consumer economies in Europe and North America.
Impact on Africa: This period saw the wholesale extraction of wealth with minimal reinvestment into the African continent. Colonial borders, drawn without regard to ethnic or social groups, created long-lasting conflict and division. Infrastructure built during this time, such as railroads, often served extraction purposes, rather than benefiting local populations.
3. Post-Colonial Economic Exploitation
Modern Convenience: After African nations gained independence, many were saddled with exploitative trade agreements, massive debts, and economic systems that kept them dependent on former colonial powers. Western nations and global financial institutions like the IMF and World Bank imposed structural adjustment programs in the 1980s, demanding that African countries open up their markets, cut public spending, and privatize resources.
Impact on Africa: These measures often benefited foreign corporations while weakening local industries and reducing government services in health and education, increasing poverty. Natural resource wealth (e.g., oil in Nigeria or cobalt in the Congo) continued to be extracted to fuel global economies, often leading to corruption and environmental degradation.
4. Modern Technology and Mineral Dependency
Modern Convenience: The digital age, with smartphones, computers, and electric cars, relies heavily on minerals like coltan, cobalt, and lithium. Many of these critical minerals are mined in Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where working conditions are often dangerous and exploitative.
Impact on Africa: The mining industry has resulted in environmental damage, child labor, and armed conflicts. Profits from these minerals often flow to foreign corporations, leaving African countries with little benefit. Meanwhile, the exploitation of local workers and resources perpetuates a cycle of poverty and conflict in mineral-rich regions.
5. Agricultural Exploitation and Global Supply Chains
Modern Convenience: Africa continues to be a major exporter of agricultural products such as cocoa, coffee, and palm oil, which are essential to global supply chains. Western nations and corporations control much of this production, with African farmers receiving only a fraction of the profit.
Impact on Africa: Cash crops often displace food crops, leading to food insecurity. The monopolization of seed technology by multinational corporations has also made African farmers dependent on expensive, patented seeds. This drives small-scale farmers into deeper poverty and erodes traditional agricultural knowledge.
6. Climate Change and Environmental Exploitation
Modern Convenience: Industrial activities in the Global North and the overconsumption of fossil fuels have contributed to climate change. Africa, despite contributing little to global emissions, faces some of the most severe consequences, including desertification, extreme weather, and rising sea levels.
Impact on Africa: The environmental damage disproportionately affects African agriculture, food security, and livelihoods. As African countries are forced to adapt to climate challenges, the financial burden often falls on them, even though much of the responsibility lies with industrialized nations.
7. The Arms Trade and Conflict
Modern Convenience: The global arms trade has flooded many parts of Africa with weapons, exacerbating conflicts and destabilizing nations. Many Western and non-African powers profit from selling arms to African governments or rebel groups, fueling long-running civil wars.
Impact on Africa: Wars in countries like Angola, Sudan, Somalia, and the DRC have destroyed economies, displaced millions, and created ongoing humanitarian crises. These conflicts are often rooted in struggles over control of natural resources that serve global industries, such as diamonds or oil.
8. Pharmaceutical and Medical Exploitation
Modern Convenience: Western pharmaceutical companies often conduct clinical trials in African countries, where regulations may be looser and costs lower. Additionally, African nations have long been dependent on foreign aid for access to critical medicines.
Impact on Africa: While new treatments and medicines are developed, African populations have sometimes been used as test subjects without their consent. Additionally, the lack of investment in local healthcare infrastructure has left many nations reliant on foreign interventions during health crises, such as during the HIV/AIDS epidemic or the Ebola outbreaks.
The destruction of Africa’s economic, social, and political systems is deeply tied to both historical and modern conveniences that have benefitted Europe, North America, and other parts of the world. From slavery to resource extraction and modern trade dependencies, African nations have borne the brunt of global systems designed to enrich external powers, often at great cost to local populations. Understanding this historical continuum is essential to addressing Africa's current challenges and creating more equitable global relationships.