If you believe the current zeitgeist, then colonisation is what destroyed cultures, plundered wealth and exterminated or enslaved entire continents. I don’t. I believe that colonisation was good for the countries and people touched by it. Running around waving the banner of shame at all whites just does not cut it for me. Blaming the colonialist for all the mal of the continent is just plain idiocy.
Consider this; if say, Zimbabwe, was not colonised by Britain, then it is reasonable to think that the Shona would still be living in their traditional manner; that is to say in round mud huts with thatched roofs. Brick and mortar buildings were introduced by the white devil. They would eat millet, sorghum and cassava and hunt antelope. The colonialist brought them organised agriculture, maize, wheat and beans. Cooking arrangements consisted of an open wooden log fire. Stoves, pots, pans, cutlery and fine porcelain came in the trunks of the colonialist. The clothing of the day was made from hides. Textiles and weaving techniques was brought to them courtesy of the whites. Sanitary arrangements consisted of squatting behind a bush. Toilets and toilet paper was also courtesy of the colonialist. Governance was by a hereditary chief who would be responsible for the distribution of land, for appeasing the territorial spirit guardians, and for settling disputes. The colonialists brought order, bureaucracy, police and military techniques. Care of the sick was the domain of the witchdoctor. Whites brought surgery and effective medicines. The Shona could not read or write, they had no schools. The colonialist brought them this precious gift. Their economy was based on trading and barter of food and hides. The whites introduced money. The abundant Gold, Nickel, Coal, Asbestos, Copper, Iron and Silver under their feet would be totally useless to them and their lifestyle. They had not the slightest idea how to extract and process these minerals and turn them into “wealth”. That would need the knowhow and experience of the colonialist. So, the colonialist brought with him civilisation. The natives quickly adopted all of these life changing wares and ways, with passion and zeal. They adopted our manner of dress; no colonialist ever forced a black maiden to cover her breasts. They adopted our lifestyle, toilets and schools. Then they forced us to “liberate” them; to give them their independence from our evil ways. Once we were gone, they accused us of stealing their resources but they never considered that those minerals had been useless to them and their lifestyle since their ancestors started walking on their hind legs. Never did they consider giving their useless rocks as payment for entering the civilised world. We did not destroy their culture, we improved it. We did not exterminate them; they were doing that quite well on their own. The colonialists did not invent tribal wars and ethnic genocide; they were there long before any white man set foot on the continent. We were not the first to take them into slavery; the Egyptians and Arabs had been doing it for centuries before the colonial era. Modern Africa has suffered more under its own leadership than it ever did under colonialism. I say this; stop complaining about the colonialists. If you don’t like what we brought you, go back to your tribal ways. Throw away the trillions you have stashed in our banks, dress in skins, eat banana’s and shit in the woods.
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