Author Archives: syg5357

Shane Galloway

While the United States of America and almost all of Africa were once colonize by the Europeans their experiences were quite different.  First off with the colonization of the United States, the people who settled there came from Europe and were not the native people.  While the Native Americans were already there the Europeans travelled to the United States in hopes of a new life in the New World.  Going there gave people a second chance or in some cases the freedom they were looking for.  Many settlers left England for religious reasons as they wanted to practice the way they wanted to not the way the king told them to.  When looking at the colonization of Africa it was more the European powers coming in and taking control of the existing cities and settlements the native Africans had already established.  A similarity between the American colonies and African ones is that both eventually fought for and gained their independence from the countries that were ruling over them.  This is a big step for both as now they are finally free to live as they want and do not have to worry about answering to some European power.  A difference between the colonization of America and Africa is how it started.  With the African colonization, European leaders held the Berlin Conference.  At this event they established ground rules for colonizing Africa, but no African leaders or representatives were present to talk about their feelings on the matter.  On the other hand in the Americas it was a free for all as European powers tried to grab all the land and riches they could.  The British colonists had to deal with the French and Spanish and even got into the French-Indian War fighting over the Midwest of the United States.  With the Berlin Conference the African countries had no say in what happened just like in America.  The American colonists began to rebel because of many reasons including one slogan “Taxation Without Representation” the colonists wanted a voice in government matters and neither Africa or America had them.  Religion played a large part in the American colonization and had a huge impact on the African one as well that most people do not think about.  The settlers in America believed that bringing the pagan slaves to their Christian world would be better for them than leaving them in Africa and being free.  The Europeans also felt this way and began trading with the Africans for their people.  One African king was even quoted to have said we have three things to trade with you, to a European merchant, “Men, women, and children.”  This way of thinking was terrible and it is hard to believe looking back that people thought this was acceptable.  The slave trade was one of the worst human events to ever happen and was wrong by both sides.  People should never be treated that way.  I think that slavery continues to have an impact on current events as you see people rebelling in countries with oppressing governments.  They say we learn about history to not make the same mistakes twice and make better decisions in the future.  As some governments try to control their people it is almost like turning them into their own slaves.  If the people are not free to do what they wish and are always being bossed around then that is almost like a modern day form of slavery.  Looking at a country like North Korea, although not much is known about it because they are so secretive and highly secured the people there have so little freedom.  They are not allowed to leave the borders and most do not have access to the internet or any type of contact from the outside world.  They are being enslaved by their leaders and should not be treated that way.  I believe that people need to treat others more as equals if we are to truly have a fair world.