Blog #21 - Did capitalism destroy Africa?

We just got done studying capitalism and how the drive to compete and win made the British and Germans the top European countries in the late 1800s.  America, during this time period, also strove to be the #1 steel maker and financial capitol center in the world, but unlike Britain, Germany and France, the U.S. didn't have to search too far for resources b/c they were right in our own backyard. 

The Europeans looked to Africa for valuable mineral resources, timber, rubber and other resources in the 1800s which then spurred a huge land grab and a race for colonies which the British and French won by 1914.  Even before this new age of industry, Africa had been stripped of its human resources during the slave trade - potentially 20 million people either killed or enslaved during the kidnapping to the New World. 

"Capitalism fuelled the slave trade, the profits from which were used to fuel the industrial revolution, which halved the population of Africa (leading to between 40-100 million people being killed or enslaved and taken out of Africa), it also fuelled the imperialism and conquest which left millions of dead and left a legacy of poverty, suffering and misery" 1 http://debatepedia.idebate.org/en/index.php/Argument:_Capitalism_has_fostered_imperialism,_exploitation,_and_suffering

Africans grew cash crops like coffee and cotton and mined gold, salt and silver that had no nutritional value for their own families' food needs.  Therefore, African families starved in many different imperialized nations.  Also, there was the "soft power" of imperialism - the non-hard factors of imperialism like culture, religion, and economic influences like movies, TV and music (in today's life). 

Today, Africa is still stripmined for diamonds and coal, Nigeria is drilled for oil, and the Chinese look to seize Africa as the next world market for its cheap place in the world for everything from toys to shoes (Nike) to computers (Sony).  However, Africa has become the dumping and testing ground for almost every single kind of weapon imaginable.  Arms dealers have supplied countless numbers of weapons for many of the civil wars around the continent.  In fact, the Chinese are pumping billions of light arms into Sudan fueling their civil war against the Christians in the Darfur region.  Potentially, 20% of all light weapons in the world are in Africa. 2

Also, Joseph Kony recruits children soldiers from nrothern Uganda and the surrounding region for his Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) so that he can try to topple the Ugandan government - a fight only he continues to wage with little to no support from the Ugandan people.  He is currently hiding out in the Congolese National Rain Forest Parks where he is untouched and encourages / forces the local people to burn protected trees for charcoal.  These actions damage the rain forest and encroach upon protected gorilla habitats too.  See http://www.invisiblechildren.com/ for more info on the LRA and Joseph Kony. 

Watch the Frontline World video on Gunrunners from Sierra Leone - http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/sierraleone/ 


Question:
Was it capitalism that made Africa such a mess?  If so, how did it destroy this beautiful place? 
 - If it wasn't capitalism, what was it that has caused all of this turmoil? 

Due Thursday, May 13. 150 words.
Sources:
2. African Union: http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/AUC/Departments/PSC/Small_Arms.htm
3. China makes Africa its business, The New York Times.  http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/18/world/asia/18iht-africa.2528892.html

Blog #1 - Conservation, Political Order, or Poverty: Which Do You Fix First?

Using this interactive timeline w/ photos from the National Geographic website, please take a few moments to read it over and then examine this complicated issue in the Congo / Rwanda / Uganda region from a Westerner's (outsider's) point of view. (If your timeline link doesn't work above, here's the timeline link so that you can copy and paste - http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/07/virunga/timeline-interactive )

It appears that there are so many ways to look at this beautiful rain forest and mountain gorilla preserve and the human devastation around it and NOT want to do something about it; in fact, recognizing that a genocide has occurred in 1994 compels (by law) the international community to act. The UN and other nations did act, but not before 800,000 people were massacred in a little over 4 months time in 1994. Afterwards, the massive # of refugees (2.5 million) flooded the Virunga National Park and complicated the wildlife preserve's delicate balance. This remains an issue for five years. Not only are mountain gorillas threatened by poaching during the most recent Congolese war, but the hippo population is down 95% as well as the elephant herds.

Even after a treaty was signed, in an effort to end poverty, the Rwandans seize park land to clear the forests and plants crops. Park rangers are still targets - whether shot by poachers or people looking to cash in on the illegal charcoal trade (chopping and burning trees to make this has been banned to preserve the forests), over 110 rangers have died guarding the park. In 2007, gorilla murders have been used to send messages to conservationists and politicians not to mess with the charcoal trade. When the head warden of the Virunga National Park, Honore Mashagiro, fell under suspicion, he denied it, but questions still remain.

So, after watching the video and examining the timeline, which do you think is the most important priority in this region: to conserve the wildlife of the Virunga; to bring stability and peace by ending the corruption and war; or solve the poverty problem by helping the poor of this region make a living instead of burning forests down to make charcoal?

Answer this question with your reasons why in 150 words.

United Nations - Great Apes Survival Project - http://www.unep.org/grasp/

Raise Hope For the Congo - Protect Women of the Congo - http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/