European power has truly impacted the world. It is amazing to contemplate the might and dominance Europe has imposed on the globe for centuries through colonization. Growing up, one of the many ways my father would explain the difference between brawn and brains was to use the analogy of tiny Britain and its prior influence and colonization of many great nations. Today, I am still amazed that a small country such as Britain was able to control many great nations such as Africa, the Americas, and Asia. As strange as it seems, European colonization and imperialism has shaped the world and its history. African and American colonization are huge examples of the influence and might of European colonization.
The histories of Modern Africa and the United States of America/the Americas have the shared experience of colonization and imperialism from European nations Such as Spain, Portugal, France, and Britain and other prominent European nations. Both Continents shared similarities of exploitation by a hungry and greedy Europe. After the first few waves of explorations to the Americas, Spain became envied by its other European brothers because of the riches it received from exploration and colonization of large Native American populations such as the Incas and the Aztecs. This inspired the settlement and colonization of English men into America with the first settlement of Jamestown in Virginia 1607. The Englishmen sailed to America in hopes of finding riches and gold but would grow disappointed after months and years of exploitation of the land. They would soon realize that there was no gold in the land they settled in. This lust for gold and riches is exactly what lead European nations to seek and exploit African lands leaving only two nations to not be colonized; Ethiopia and Liberia.
Both Continents experienced the dominance and imperialism of Europe. However, it seems as through present Africa has still not recovered from the colonization and imperialism that Europe imposed. I often wonder what has caused Africa to be so behind in economical and agricultural development. Time, slavery, cultural exploitation,and land exploitation have played a huge role in the present day development and standing of Africa. Although America experienced European colonization and imperialism, it has had many centuries to grow and develop into a super power. Africa on the other hand is young and has not had as much time to develop into the nation that it has the potential to be. But why is that? Africa is known to have immense riches even more than America but it is still experiencing growing pains. This is because Slavery and land exploitation for riches has had an instrumental impact on Africa. Due to slavery and slave trade, Africa lost many of its population that were necessary to reproduce and thrive, and to take care and protect their land. This affected many African nations because many great potential leaders were lost.
Furthermore, African land and culture were exploited. In the quest for riches and the abundant resources, colonization of Africa lead to subjugated lands from over mining and even stealing from African chiefs. The country Ghana, formerly known as the Gold Cost experienced a lot of cultural exploitation and robbery from European leaders who would steal the gold and prized jewels from many chiefs and leaders of villages. Today many Ghanaian villages are under a lot of poverty because of lost riches from colonization that occurred years ago. I find this very shocking because this occurred years ago but people are still experiencing the short hand that colonization has dealt them.
European Colonization has affected the whole world. However, Africa of present still suffers from past imperialism that was imposed on her. It will defiantly take time for Africa to recover from the effects European Imperialism has had on the continent. Although it is presently behind the rest of the world, Africa continues to grow and develop economically and politically. I truly believe that with time Africa has the potential to be a very prominent and powerful nation with its immense wealth.
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