The memory of Great Zimbabwe significantly evolved over time from initially being remembered as a European created society, to being recognized as an African achievement. The change was influenced by politics and government rules, challenging racist and unfair assumptions from Europeans, and reinterpretation of architecture and how it contributes to African heritage. The influence of politics shaped the perception of Great Zimbabwe, from earlier colonial explorations’ attempts to dominate the native African history to African leaders fighting against colonialism. In Document E, Paul Sinclair tells us “the government was pressuring them to withhold certain information,” such as textbooks, displays, and other artifacts. He also expressed that …show more content…
The assumptions of Great Zimbabwe limited the recognition that Great Zimbabwe and native Africans received. Colonial narratives are filled with racist biases. The Europeans refused to believe Africans built such societies and instead created lies to cover the truth. In Document C, Theodore Bent says that it wasn't the Africans who built Zimbabwe, instead it was “a northern race coming from Arabia.” These assumptions hurt African history and also suggest that Africans were inferior to other countries and cultures. Carl Mauch further perpetrated these assumptions when he states “All natives admit they. were capable.” He also says it could “only have been built by whites” and “only a civilized nation must have lived here”. This denies African capabilities and also perpetuates the false narrative that Africans were followers of other societies, rather than leaders and creators of their own. Racial stereotyping is also a major issue in these reports. The only reason that the archaeologists are behind these assumptions is the fact that black people aren't civilized and intelligent enough to create something like this. Carl Mauch also says “all” when referring to native Africans admitting their capabilities. He provides no evidence of the native Africans saying this, and it is also very unlikely he asked all the native Africans in the area their capabilities. These statements reflect the early racist European assumptions about Great Zimbabwe. However, archaeologists also discovered evidence to challenge these assumptions. Paul Sinclairs discoveries of “Ming China” in Document E provide evidence that there were, in fact, advanced trade routes and craftsmanship in Africa. All of these racist assumptions provided by Theodore and Carl distorted the narrative and memory of Great Zimbabwe, but now, the memory of Great Zimbabwe is evolving with new
The African empires, kingdoms, and cities had many achievements before the arrival of the Europeans. Some of these achievements had influences many other places in the world. Three major achievements were the trading systems, their military forces and strengths of its people, and the wealth and success.
In summary, Davidson successful traces Africa’s earliest origins and demonstrates that this is a civilization far from having no arts, technology, sophistication and unique culture. Culture and civilization as we know it today can be traced back to Africa, and modern science has verified the early perceptions of Europeans to be wrong. He provides more than adequate evidence of Africa having a history complete with vast and rich civilization, including archaeological finds and specialized interviews with distinguished scholars and philosophers. Despite the fact that society possesses a more positive attitude towards African civilization today in terms of recognition, equality, and acceptance than in the past, negative stereotypes are still acknowledged and modern day racism unfortunately exists. I believe that the existence of Davidson’s work and videos such as Different but Equal are crucial to challenging these stereotypes and discrimination in order to create a more accurate image of Africa and its history. Overall, Davidson proves that the continent of Africa is home to a history that is just as meaningful, comprehensive, and progressive as that of any other civilization in the
Africa has an incredibly rich and complex history. Unfortunately, and for a variety of reasons, the west has a highly skewed and inaccurate perspective of Africa. In his “Myths About Africa, Africans, and African History: The Student’s ‘Ten Commandments’” Pier Larson critiques some of these perspectives and discusses where these western ideas of Africa come from. While these myths certainly are false, it is still interesting to see them and ponder why they exist and what that, in turn, reflects on western society. These reflections are very negative and limits western society’s perspective and ability to relate and identify with what is a vast and diverse continent.
Western attitudes to African people and culture have always affected how their art was appreciated and this has also coloured the response to the art from Benin. Over time, concepts of ‘Race’, defined as a distinct group with a common lineage, and ‘Primitive’ which pertains to the beginning or origin,, have been inextricably linked with the perception of Africa. The confusion of the two in the minds of people at the end of the 19th century, and some of the 20th, caused a sense of superiority amongst the ‘White Races’ that affected every aspect of their interaction with ‘the Black’. The ‘Civilisation’ of Africa by conquest and force is justified by these views.
Between the 9th and 11th centuries, the kingdom of Ghana, established by the Soninke people in the 4th century, prospered in Northwest Africa. The kingdom became very rich because its location was in the middle of the trading routes of northwest Africa and it had many resources. Ghana traded salt for gold with its Northern neighbor. Also Ghana taxed every trader who went through Ghana to fund their army. The kings of Ghana ruled from their capital of Kumbi Saleh. The country had a rich cultural tradition that was reflected in religion. The kingdom of Ghana fell because of droughts, attacks, and lack of gold.
Ndobegang both stated,” Using the Grassfields of Cameroon as a case study, this paper shows how the study of these artifacts exposes not only how African Slavers perceived and treated slaves but, more importantly, how these artifacts were used in regulating and controlling the trade.” This piece of evidence describes that by looking at the artifacts, it was able to tell how the African Slavers recognize and treat the slaves, but not only that, it was also able to identify the adjustment and control of the trade. However, in the lack of this evidence, it does not describe how the African Slavers treated the slaves, if it were good or bad. It also does not say how it influenced the control of the trading system. Also the evidence could have been affected or have been made bias based on the information that they have found, because,”... a great number of these artifacts of material history were seized, destroyed or looted by European colonists and Christian Missionaries, which accounts for their scarcity.” Obviously, the Europeans as well as the Christian Missionaries had something to hide. They would not have taken the time to seize, destroy and loot the artifacts of the Africans. The African artifacts clearly contained something that threatened and could harm the Europeans and the Christian Missionaries. This piece of evidence does not include the reason for why they (Christian Missionaries and Europeans) felt the need for destroying the artifacts
According to T.O. Ranger in “Revolt in Southern Rhodeisa”, the first Chimurenga, which occurred from 1896-1897, was an uprising in response to the imposition of colonial rule in Southern Rhodesia, present-day Zimbabwe (ix). The Nbele and Shona people resisted the colonial rule and in return endured a complex set of struggles over land and cattle and taxes. The inability and unwillingness of the Euroopeans to understand the Nbele and Shona people’s culture and religion misguides perceptions of events and views of their behavoior and actions (2). Terrance mentions during the colonial rule, many Europeans thought the people of Africa were content with the new administration and misunderstood the reaction of the “African pople of Southern Rhodesia to colonial rule…, this misunderstanding arose…partly out of white ignorance of the history of the Shona and the Ndebele…Edwards [confessed ],we knew nothing of their past history, who they were or where they came from, and although many of the Native commissioners had…knowledge of their language, none of us really understood the people or could follow their line of thought, we… looked down on them as a downtrodden race who were grateful to the white man for protection” (2). The Europeans did not treat them as equals because they saw them as dependent and thought of their lives as meaningless. They believed the Shona and Ndebele people had no roots or culture and therefore had no history. Terrance Ranger mentions “the whites believed that the Shona people would not rebel because they believed that the Shona had no roots, no sense of history; no sense of religion,…no way of life worth fighting and dying for” (2). The African people of these cultures were seen as inferior by the Europeans...
... Their existence proves that Africans were capable of managing their own affairs and creating noteworthy civilizations long before Europeans appeared on that continent. They left a legacy that continues to influence the lives of Blacks in Africa and abroad today. BIBLIOGRAPHY Koslow, Philip.
“Ghana, a land full of gold. Africa, a land full of resources.” Where is Ghana and what is it known for? In my paper, we will learn the location, population, how they citizens received their known name, and many more interesting facts.
Zimbabwe is a land locked country, and is located in South-Central part of the African continent. Harare is the capital city of Zimbabwe. It was founded in 1890 as "Salisbury" in honor of British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury. The name was changed to Harare in 1982, being named after the Shona Chieftain. Zimbabwe’s population growth rate is the second highest in the world. The population of Harare alone is around 1,600,000, which makes it the largest city in Zimbabwe. The motto of Zimbabwe is “Unity, Freedom, Work ”.
to be a kingdom before Germany started to occupy the region. Both of the Kingdom
During the time of European expansion, many in Europe only knew of Africa, though the letters of self-appointed anthropologist and adventurers who described Africa as a dark continent; the people were dark skinned and primitive; they worshiped idols and practiced mysticism. This was evident in the way that British colonist described the Africans and Africa as “the savage was the very embodiment of dirt and disorder, his moral affliction all of a piece with his physical degeneracy and his pestiferous surrounding” (Comaroff 216). The land was dark, warm and moist; full of jungles that had all kinds of hidden dangers. The animals were ferocious and fierce, every step whether on land or on the river was a step into the unknown. The idea that Africa was Europe before it became civilized, excited people who were weary of their mundane life and wanted to have an adventure. Unfortunately, this image of Africa and the Africans never diminished; in fact, it only grew. Soon, it was the duty of the Churches of Europe to go to Africa and bring them salvation, it was the duty of the empires to go there and bring with them the light of civilization. This image of Africa as a place of primitive cultures and decay created the stereotype of what Africa was in the eyes of the world. This same stereotype, a dark, primitive place, still occurs ...
This article which I have chosen to read, is about a ruined city of southeast Zimbabwe south of Harare. Great Zimbabwe is an ancient city on the plateau in sub-Saharan Africa. Great Zimbabwe was supposedly a city that controlled much trade and culture of southern Africa during the 12th and 17th centuries because it was stationed on the shortest route between the northern gold fields, and the Indian Ocean. Archaeologists believed that this masterful stonework was built somewhere around 1100 and 1600 A.D.
Bohannan, Paul, and Philip Curtin. Africa & Africans . Long Grove: Waveland Press, Inc. , 1995.
In 1888 Rhodes conquered a large portion of southern Africa which he named after himself. Present day Zimbabwe became a British colony by the name of Rhodesia for the next 100 years. During this time the natives were stripped of their land, their rights, and most importantly their cultural heritage. Rhodes was a strong believer in the same theories as Carl Mauch. Rhodes believed that the Great Zimbabwe monuments were built by foreigners and he was set on proving that this great civilization was not built by