Question:
Why is Africa as a continent is so underdeveloped?
whodunit
2008-03-04 20:55:59 UTC
Why has Africa (as a continent) remained so barbaric in spite of it having been the birthplace of humans? There seems to be constant political and economic crisis going on over there.
31 answers:
anonymous
2008-03-04 21:03:25 UTC
Because the continent was divided up centuries ago into different European colonies with no regard towards tribal affiliation or any barrier. The reason why they became the victim of colonization by more technologically advanced Europeans is because they lack several key ingredients that make advancement of civilization possible. Lack of navigable rivers is one problem, lack of fertile valleys for civilization to develop is another (except for Egypt of course). There are also alot of different ecosystems that form a barrier to human movement and require different lifestyles to live.



Read "Guns, Germs, and Steel" for a better understanding as to why civilization developed the way it did.
anonymous
2008-03-04 21:13:02 UTC
My theory: Every place has a chance at significance/power. Africa's chance was when it was the birthplace of humanity. The early civilization were made up of people who LEFT Africa. Basically, we're from Africa because that is where the monkey-like creatures were.



After the Romans and southwest Asian empires, Europe gained power through technology. They explored all over the planet, and conquered lands in Asia, South/North America, Australia, and, of course, Africa. The African colonies were all about making Europe rich. Europe extracted minerals, slaves, and other things from the area, and heavily controlled everything. For hundreds of years, the Africans were ruled over by a bunch of white people. Finally, in the 20th century (1900-2000), the Europeans started freeing their colonies, so that the empires became independent countries. The result was a bunch of new countries with half-dead economies.



The Europeans had generally implemented democracy by 1920 (where other modern governments had not formed). The new African countries had no experience with democracy. Many fell under the control of military dictators, or fell into battles between rebels.The result:a continent still simmering from:

a) the aftermath of being discriminated against by white, minority governments

b) having their resources extracted to fuel the "West."

c) conflicts between African Muslims and other faiths

d) corrupt governments

e) weak governments fighting rebels

f) dictatorships

g) full-scale wars between countries



So overall, wherever anyone colonized, there is now trouble. South America is full of drug-trafficking, oppressive governments, and dictators. India, colonized by the British, still has poverty and a massive Hindu/Islam divide. Australia is doing well, but only because it was not so much colonized as used as a massive prison for British criminals. The U.S. is a world power because it

a) was the first to gain independence

b) colonized the rest of the continent, which is why the original inhabitants now live on reservations, and are the poorest, least-educated group in the country.



Believe me, ask about a problem, you probably don't want to know who's responsible.
?
2016-10-26 06:40:49 UTC
Why Is Africa So Underdeveloped
anonymous
2016-02-10 10:46:48 UTC
The proximate reason is bad leadership by Africans themselves. The primary preoccupation of African leaders is primitive accumulation of wealth, through theft of public resources, with little regard for long-term sustainability.



The African has shown a remarkable inability and/or unwillingness in demanding and practicing the necessary changes in both leadership and cultural behavior to reverse the tragic state of affairs. He will publicly complain about corruption and looters in public office and reelect the same or worse without batting an eyelid.



There may have been an old historical reason, viable in the 60s,but no longer viable in 2016, more than 50 years since the colonial flags were lowered on most of the continent with infusions of aid to boot. Many countries have actually worsened under African leadership.



If it helps, I will also add that I happen to be an African with first hand knowledge of the continent.
anonymous
2014-08-14 10:17:54 UTC
Response to Sam who is talking about "The Bell Curve" saying that Black African have the lowest IQ, highest divorce,violence rate etc. Don't confuse correlation and causation. Yes there is a correlation between IQ (defined the Western way), violence, divorce and black. But as you might notice, there's a highest correlation between poverty, violence and school results or IQ.

Many black African have proved to be smarter than the Average "White" or human race. It's not that black African have the lowest IQ. But blacks are starving and fighting for food while other races are working, reading, going to school, etc. In Addition, many people don't really know what is Africa, There are some nice places, with skyscrapers and all commodities in Africa. Talking about asian, they are not that smart. They just spend all their time studying, with little social life, they re educated that way! I think the best way to measure IQ is to select a sample of black, white, asian babies, put them in the same environment with the same education during years and measure their IQs. Come on! In my opinion, Africa is late for three reasons : 1) Selfish colonialism= balkanisation and weak nations, 2) More selfish Neocolonialism by multinational firms, 3) Lack of real education of African communities who can't transcend their personal interests for the community interest, because there's not enough for everybody in African, even though Africa is a rich continent! These multinational have locked the system. Just one example : Do you know that the United Nations dropped tons of rice as food aid in a rice producing region in Ghana. Local producers were chocked. That's the way they maintain Africa in Poverty, by killing good initiatives. And because African nation are so small, weak and corrupted, they just can't make it!
awesomo
2008-03-04 21:01:57 UTC
they are always fighting over resources. it is the basics. If humans don't get recources to live, they will kill each other. this is the same reason we had world war 1, 2, and the wars we are in now. If the US didn't need the oil, they wouldn't give a darn about the middle east. back to africa though, you have many corrupt political dictators there and many radicals fighting for their "cause". in the end, it all boils down to who has the power and the money to eat at the end of the day.
Francisco Javier
2008-03-04 23:00:05 UTC
Don't apologize we all know that you didn't mean to be pointless in any manner ...I think I got your point.



Lack of education, imperialism, colonialism, internal tribes differences, Religions, International corruption, internal corruption subsided for higher interests, internal division subsided for higher interests, all this words can be raised to state problematic factors among some of the countries in African Continent. In fact those factors are not alone and they are playing cause and consequences as interminable starting over.



Even though that the whole word knows about the problem and at least the most of the countries have tried to “help” there has never been a really conciliated impartial plan to really support the efforts for some African places to overcome their real problems.



Why? Romans wanted Africa, Greeks wanted Africa, Arabs, Genghis Kan, then Muslims Christians, British, Spain, Italy….. Countless countries whishes list maybe?. Nobody with their best intentions unified or took care of their real necessities. The whole world has been attracted for another occupied and ambitioned territories before finishing a real settlement on some parts of Africa and they just messed up native people with different languages, habits, God’s, gave each other fire arms and watch out how they were killing themselves while watching out another interests, then somebody more interested went in, and when the first ones weren’t really interested, they didn’t care and left them in others hands. That’s not pretty much an approximation about what really has been happening there however is sad to see how “Hell is full of people with good intentions”



Do somebody really cares about a Plan without intermediating monopolized commercial interests in return?, Who really is willing to finance a development at least for people to live in equal opportunity of conditions?. They are who, but sometimes they have been betrayed or had not enough life time to fight with another groups selfish interests alone.



Ironic is life but people more when claim that they are civilized and are trying to force government models to adequate them to modern beliefs. It has been probed for Anthropologists, that tribes have demonstrated to survive without a government head, other antique systems worked before for native people and letting them to adapt (no force) to their neighbors have enriched their natural process to improve their way to a new world. What is really a lack of education? How do we learn and how do we let people to learn their own teachings?, Knowledge and wisdom is more than a well occidental known school system. Why don’t we accept and respect natives, people, indigenes and instead of that we are forcing them to do business with us just because we want to have power of their lands and unexploited natural resources?., Why? We haven’t reached our years commercials goals and we look ridiculous against our international competitors? , Our governments made financial mistakes and those countries are the opportunity to wash our hands?.



What beliefs we profess if we are betraying a land that gave us birth?, isn’t it against some religions and a lot of countries beliefs that we can not disrespect our fathers, relatives?, our mother land?



Finally, Africa is also our blood and we contaminated that blood, so a lot of our first related brothers are suffering because the selfish state of moment we are passing through.

No just ones but the whole world consciousness fault is.



FJLN
anonymous
2008-03-04 21:14:09 UTC
Just remember, the oldest human remains lied in Africa, from whence all humans originated. That scares a lot of white people to know their history. So when you talk about Africa, think about where you came from. Or even better, go get your blood tested to see how Black you really are. Africa is rich in resources so do your history homework.



It kills me to see others talk about other countries as if USA is the best when we have a president that was not elected by us, pay tons of money for gas and have no idea why, and can't even give all working people health insurance. What a country the US is.
mstmountain
2015-04-24 11:33:22 UTC
I agree with Tunde. Yes, colonization by the Europeans is part of the problem. Another part of the problem is that Africans sold out their own slaves and prisoners of war for guns in order to keep slaughtering each other.



Redbone - No, it does not scare white people to know that humans first originated in Africa. Groups migrated north to better areas and evolved. What is so scary about that?
anonymous
2008-03-04 21:22:19 UTC
Most of Africa is Islamic. Islam very much discouraging free independent thought and brutally suppressing creativity..... That leaves little room for progress. Those societies are stuck in the dark ages. Islam controls ALL aspects of life. The Koran and the Hadith does the thinking for them.



When you look at the scientific and technological achievements of the Western society and compare them with those of the Islamic one...... the gap really becomes apparent.



I looked up the distribution of patent application by countries. Last year there were over 3.500.000 patents registered/filed at the US patent office. A measly 500 came from the whole Muslim block - or a 0.05% of the total.... Islam representing appr. 20% of humanity. Now - what could be the cause for that dismal representation? The brain sizes are certainly the same. Therefore it must be their religion and its severe restraints. One cannot have progress and creativity in the sciences, technology, art, music, literature etc IF there is no free thought, creativity allowed.



Look at education. almost 50% of Muslim females/women are illiterate. Granted - that is slowly changing now. Knowledge and education equals power and accumulating wealth etc. The chauvinistic men regarding women as third rate beings to be ground under their boots fear strong women. They may be equals to them if educated.......



Anyone being under the iron rule of unforgiving dogmas..... will not be able to amount to much. Except for the oil rich countries - the rest of the Arab world is very poor and to make the misery worse - way too overpopulated. That too can be attributed to brainwashing religion.
Sam
2014-03-12 16:54:21 UTC
Well.. there are different theories.



In the 90s, 2 Harvard professors wrote a book called "The Bell Curve" which basically noted IQ differences between whites. Asians were highest in IQ, followed by whites, followed by hispanics, followed by north africans, followed by sub-saharan africans. For interracial marriage(specifically between whites and blacks), white women/black men couples tend to have the highest divorce rate. White women/black men also earn less and are less educated on average. This trend can be seen in Canada, South Africa, USA, UK, France, Australia..and really anywhere where there is a sizable black population.



The poster about IQ was right.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bell_Curve



A Brown economist by the name of Oded Galor wrote a paper called the "out of Africa" hypothesis which linked economic development to genetic diversity. Africa, being the least developed, had the highest levels of genetic diversity. Europe and Asia had moderate levels of genetic diversity. Native Americans had too low levels of genetic diversity. Europe/Asia ended up being superior while NA/Africans ended up as inferior.



http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Economics/Papers/2010/2010-7_paper.pdf



On top of all that. More than 70% of black babies born in the US will be in single households. We know from research that two parents make for the best outcome in childrearing. Blacks can't hold society together. They have the highest divorce rates, highest abortion rates, lowest levels of education, lowest average SAT/ACT scores, lowest average GPA, highest crime rate, highest incarnation rate, lowest IQ, highest teen pregnancy rate, highest infant mortality rate, highest obesity rate, highest rape rate...although they don't have the highest suicide rate which is interesting - whites do. Suicide is very much a developed nation issue.



Now these are all theories. To answer your question, with the coming water shortage and water wars, I think Africa will suffer greatly. I think Europe will decline while Asia flourishes. I think this is how it'll be for a very long time. China is now taking Africa's resources. Jane



You cannot very easily undo 40,000 years of humanity and expect everyone to be equal. Evolution doesn't work like that.
Tunde
2014-08-01 08:56:24 UTC
Africa's issue is being taking advantage of by it's inhumanity to itself. When Africans stop being so tied to their ethnic identities and prefer to be tied to their racial similarites, they will stop selling or selling out their own for whatever reason. This is a problem thousands of years in the making.
anonymous
2008-03-04 21:01:57 UTC
ok Africa is huge continent, and most of its places are well developed. the media just expands everything into reality thing. its like someone video taping all the home lesses in the U.S and showing in some other countries, saying that America is dying. so some communities are bad and not good, and some are good as well.
anonymous
2008-03-04 20:59:11 UTC
There are many places in Africa that are well developed functioning cities. It's much larger than America. And one of the reasons is probably a very corrupt government, like America has.
anonymous
2016-03-29 03:35:55 UTC
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lack of western values like hard work, honesty, respect of law. This applies both to governments and people who elect or tolerate these governments.
anonymous
2008-03-04 20:58:20 UTC
Form 100s of years of injustice cast upon them by the west. There is no moral reason why millions strave and others have a million more then they need. We need to break free of the system...a system made by and for the greedy. if africa or anyone palys by the system they will never catch those on top, that is how the game is made
CyberSom
2008-03-04 21:00:24 UTC
barbaric is hard word for beautiful Africa.
128333
2008-03-04 20:59:05 UTC
many places are not. you are thinking of the sparse areas which are under rule of dictators and such. these people will always be in poverty unless the government takes control and brings itself out. which is not happening.
fight4christ91
2008-03-04 20:58:58 UTC
The government takes in so much money and focuses on it's own success.



Its sad how human jealousy can have such an dramatic affect on so many people.
anonymous
2008-03-04 21:00:54 UTC
ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm barbaric i don't think so. Africa is well developed, the only reason that most westerners think that Africa is not developed is because you dint relay see Africa u see the shitty part of it. and to Africans most of westerners are barbaric look at what they do at their school kill their children and family members if you ask me its the other way around most westerners are barbaric.



o and most of the people who say stuff on this subject dont even know what the hell they are talking about. and barbaric is the wrong word to use because to them you are barbaric
Dr Sardonicus
2008-03-04 20:58:16 UTC
they cant get past tribal hatreds to cooperate and build...they would rather slaughter each other...as they have for centuries..its built in to their genes....and it will never change..edit..it has nothing to do with Europeans....all they did was stop the tribal wars for a couple of hundred years...as soon as they pulled out(Africa for Africans) it all started back...
ladylikeRN
2008-03-04 20:59:43 UTC
The same reasons why you ask insensitive questions that lack intelligence.

Why does America have some many white college psychos that blow people heads off at school for no reason..sounds barbaric to me?
anonymous
2008-03-04 20:58:20 UTC
you might want to check out the book "guns germs and steel"
Tam Byte
2008-03-04 20:59:15 UTC
Africa is not the birthplace of humans, that would be over in Iran, I believe, if you are talking Biblically. And I think it all comes down to money, money, money.
anonymous
2008-03-04 20:58:54 UTC
Africa is one of those countries that should get more attention from the US but it doesn't. It is littered with civil war, poverty, and like you said, an utter lack of development.



It seems those 3 problems are acting as a system of "checks and balances" if you will, one problem fueling the other.



The humanitarian effort is not as supported as it should be.
Eldude
2008-03-04 20:58:41 UTC
Greedy left wing dictators
Mike G
2008-03-04 20:59:21 UTC
my guess is that the "king of the jungle" is STILL the king!



Seriously, i dont want to mess with lions, or tigers. That would be enough to keep me from developing lol
Diana G
2008-03-04 20:58:56 UTC
lack of education
anonymous
2008-03-04 20:58:28 UTC
uhh not to be racist but are they really smart enough to do anything there but kill eachother for shiny rocks
anonymous
2008-03-05 02:55:20 UTC
Africa is the strongest continent in this world and has survived the longest through all it has been through.



NAME ME ANOTHER CONTINENT WHICH HAS & IS GOING THROUGH ALL THIS:



Diversity

This is the backbone to the problems. No other continent is as diverse as Africa is and always was. Otherwise name me a country in Africa whereby their language is the same as the country name (England- English, France- French). Human first evolved here meaning humans could evolve into more diversity in this continent obviously not much in skin colour because the climate is almost the same but in language looks way of life.

Diversity also stopped progression i.e industrial revolution. This need a large workforce of course speaking one language there are many alone in a small region in Africa.

Diversity also allowed conflicts to thrive allowing the slave trade to be use as a way off profiting from your many different enimies. Africa unlike Europe is so diverse had many kingdoms is small regions where as in Europe a kingdom was a large area speaking one language in basic unity and of course lesser conflicts.but bigger wars (world wars/ African ethnic conflicts) which ones are more dealier and which one is more frequent?

Also colonization would make things worse.



Slavery

Yes every peoples have had slavery but has any had one on a scale as these two which are definately the two biggest by far in one continent lasting more than a mellenium.

Arab- 20,000,000 650ad- 1900

Atlantic more than 20,000,000 1400s-1900

40,000,000 People taken out of the continent.

The Atlantic involed West Central & Southern Africa while the Arab involed North West, North East, East Africa. Almost all of Africa at one point was involved in major slavery.

The triangle trade effect Africa the most. Yes people we know African sold their people but today can you or your friend make your country go to war? No. These times Africa had many Kingdoms and greedy Kings who didnt mind having wars with other kingdoms and selling there people. The vast majority of Africans were against and scared of the slave trade.

Europeans would trade their raw materials (guns materials alcahol) for African leaders producing either gold or people. Which were ship to the Americas for tropical food and other raw material which was shipped with the gold back to Europe for raw materials - Africa. Triangle trade profited Europeans mostly Americas with a free 100% prositable work force (slaves) and African leaders with personal wealth (African people with war fear abduction). Do you get it yet remeber diversity allowed this to happen.

Effects

Within 5 different centuries were people of West, Central & some Southern Africa living in fear of warfare concluding in abduction to an unknown place. Many villages moved to remote places in order to escape (Mountains, hills forests) places which were ideal for hiding but ideal for not living or progression. There were no communities by the coast or near any body of water. This would also cause the populations in these regions to scatter around causing a sparely populated places. There were thousands of ghost towns. At night people stayed indoors kept their children safe from groups of slave cathers who abducted vunrable children.

In all this history was not passed down jobs were not made progression was not happening. Fear was rising trust was collapsing populations were dropping generations were dissapearing. Young men became rare every family suffered from a lost one. Many chose to become slave cathers either to make money as it was the only way or just simply to be in a group in which they wont become a slave themselves. Many parts of Africa have had a scary evil pasr like this not only for a year but for centuries.



Africa is 3 times bigger than Europe yet Africas population reached the same as Europes in 1997. Today its only still rising with aids to slow it down.

Today there are 180,000,000 of African decent living outside Africa as descendants of slaves.

767,000,000 is Africa's black population half of which are under 25 (383,500,000).

White people began to think they are superior to blacks because their leaders were willing to sell their own people for raw materias white domination was begining black people bagan to think they were below them as well.



Colonization

After slavery there were mostly elderly people and new borns few young people

Due to sparsely populated areas kings selling other kingdoms peoples low amount of strong men. Armys were unstable the people who were left didnt follow or trust their kings/cheifs. Areas were deserted communitites were still hiding no progression only wealthy Kings. Europeans could come in and pretend to be helpers. Some could easily otherthrow weakened kingdoms some Europeans simply created governments which gradually dimised the kingdoms. Some were jsut accepted by peoples who lived in fear of their leaders and wanted help and a change from these supposibly more advanced race (white people).

Effects

Scramble for Africa made Europeans make up countries against ethnic differences (todays civil wars) some more than two major groups were put under one country.

European controll made these countries dependant on them.

Europeans were now taking what they wanted for free (natural reasources) as they need not to trade with kingdoms which no longer existed. So Europeans were controlling while profiting and also trying to destroy African tradition and place theirs religion, civilization on made its confusing.

When independences came during the 20th century Europeans cut and ran didnt place down a democracy or give the peoples a chance to vote for their own native government and leaving of course only the brutal people to take over- Todays African dictators, corrupt governments.

Today Africa is like Europe's child which has to now grow up by itself and will one day



Corrupt governments

After independce almost instantly many of these government took out big loans from the world banks in order to buy weaponary to protect their leadership and controll others. This caused debt/ lowering of their currencies buisness intrests in these countries plumeted due to low currencys.

Effects

These governments simply hold the countries economy as their personal bank accounts spending only on weapons some pretend to help their people yet they really show much intrest.

Nigeria 28th richest in the World is richer than Portugal but would you think it is well thats because the govenment are probably one of the richest peoples in the world while there peoples live in compete poverty.

Unstable infrutructures mean living in bad conditions- allowing disease to survive and mutate. Aids is discovered in 1981 and many African states are not prepared for it no proper health cares or knowledge along with the high poverty simply allowed it to spread



Aids

Lowered life expectancys in many African countries

Created many orphans effecting the population.



Unfair Trade African exports are being priced by the buyers (Western Countries) shouldnt it be the other way round since when do you walk in the shop and say I am buying this for this price? Otherwise they wont trade with Africa as Western nations are rich and many African nations depend on this trade so they obbey to these rules. World bank and many western companies are prompting African leaders to privertise there buisnesses this is stopping things like people from clean water electricity toilets etc only so the western companies can gain profit and the currupnt governments from poverty.



To this day the effects of these

Diversity- For ever

Slavery- Not as large toady, but ongoing yet the effect are still

Colonization- Only ended last century yet to progress from it

Corrupt Governments- Unknown when it will end

Aids- Pandemic

Unfair trade- A long way to go

Are keeping Africa on its knees



So has anybody named another continent with these issues or which has been through all this?
Jerry
2008-03-04 20:58:32 UTC
AIDS


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