Do You Agree with this Popular Nineteenth-Century View?

Do You Agree with this Popular Nineteenth-Century View?

There are several misconceptions and misinterpretations on the civilization of sub-Saharan Africans. A lot of people cannot tell the difference between civilization and colonization. Some historians referred to Africans as backward, savage and uncivilized in the nineteenth century. The notion was false because, at this time, Egypt was well ahead in terms of civilization. The Europeans had a mentality that was instilled by the historians. Therefore, they thought of sub-Saharan Africa as uncivilized until they arrived. The paper examines some of the evidence that points out the false nature of the European scholars and disagrees that sub-Saharan Africa was uncivilized until the arrival of the Europeans.

In the nineteenth century, it was known that Africans built monuments and kingdoms that could match up to the Monarchy of the Europeans. Scholars misrepresented this presentation of Africa because of their racial prejudice leading to distortion of the sub-Saharan African facts of history. They did this to uphold their belief that Africa was civilized upon their arrival. For instance, Meroe kingdom, which began around 1000 BC (Brass, 2015). Nubians ruled the kingdom, and they had come up with an independent state which was free from Egyptians. The state, in this instance, was referred to as Kush. The people of Kush had a lot borrowed from the Egyptians; for example, they also built pyramids. However, the Kushites had no writings but were referred to in Egyptian notes. Most scholars and Europeans argue that the people of Kush did not bring with them any form of civilization. However, archaeological evidence point out otherwise with the recent discovery of an old civilization along the river Nile. The said archaeological evidence also date back to before the Europeans arrival in sub-Saharan Africa (Brass, 2015).

Additionally, there is more evidence pointing out the fact that Meroe had its culture, and it was older than that of Egyptians. According to some historians, Egypt’s civilization was the same as the kingdom of Meroe, which also had its own language. Evidence also points out that Meroe had written alphabet as early as the second century, proving that sub-Saharan Africa was civilized long before the Europeans arrived.

In terms of Meroe’s weaponry, it was known for ivory production which was sold at the banks of the valley of river Nile. Due to this, the kingdom had the best weapons for its army, had good axes and hoes for its farmers. Furthermore, ivory production enabled Meroe kingdom to trade with Rome and Greece and also gained entry to export their products in the Red Sea.

Axum, which is presently known as Ethiopia, is another case that proves that sub-Saharan Africa was civilized before the arrival of Europeans (NA, 2016). Axum was a superpower managing to affect their neighbours, including overpowering the people of Kush extending their influence further to the broader Arabian Peninsula (NA, 2016). History has it that, Ethiopia was the only country in sub-Sahara that was not colonized. At this time, they were the only country in Africa that managed to repel the Europeans. It is believed that Axum had a European or Middle Eastern structure at the time (NA, 2016).

In conclusion, it is the belief of many that sub-Saharan Africa was backward and uncivilized before the European arrival. That is not the case as dictated by history because they were civilized long before the Europeans arrived. Meroe is an example of a kingdom that had developed culture, language and independence long before the Europeans arrived. Therefore, they deserve to go down in history as having civilization before the Europeans arrived. Ethiopia also should be one of those countries for the history books because of their ability to repel the Europeans in the nineteenth century.

References

Brass, M. (2015). Interactions and pastoralism along the southern and southeastern frontiers of the Meroitic state, Sudan. Journal of world prehistory, 28(4), 255-288.

NA, N. (2016). Layers of time: A history of Ethiopia. Springer.