Mission To Africa: Conversation By Seven European Brothers.

Mission To Africa:

Conversations By Seven European Nations or Brothers.

Five-And-Half-Centuries Ago.

Introduction:

Some five-and-half centuries ago, seven European brothers: Britain, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Belgium, and Prussia now Germany were ruled by 

related dynasties, mostly, from the House of Habsburg or House of Austria.

House of Austria, the gene pool behind several European emperors and kings for centuries; through “frequent intermarriage,” with royal houses across Europe, and perhaps, the Scandinavian, the House ruled different territories from North Atlantic up to Sea of Norway in the Northern Hemisphere to Black Sea between Eastern Europe and Caucasus.

For this reason, House of Habsburg became the most powerful, influential, and outstanding royal house in Europe between 1438 and 1740, as it produced most of the kings, queens, emperors in Central Europe and beyond.

Areas their influence reached were Bohemia, England, Germany, Hungary, Croatia, Second Mexican Empire, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and many Dutch and Italian cities.

The Medieval Europe:

The medieval era began in the fifth century until 15^th century, however, it came with different periods in Europe. 
By 15^th century, the feudal Europe was at the threshold of a new beginning spearheaded by Renaissance, Reformation, Discovery, and Industrial Revolution. 

Great and lifetime changes took place in Europe during the third part of Medieval otherwise known as “late Middle Ages.”

This period coincided with reformation, discovery, and industrial revolution, which changed the fortune of Europe from mere agrarian-feudal system to mechanized-and-industrial-society.

How It Began In Catholic Europe:

Opportunities for growth in Europe had declined, effects of thirty-year (1618-1648) civil war still continued, population had declined due to diseases, more important,  moral breakdown in Catholic Europe required a new frontier for Europe to rebound. 

European lords knew from history how crusades helped their forefathers spread Christianity, boosted trades, and made Europe acquired new lands elsewhere.

 With a politically sick, morally bankrupt, and economically declined Europe, the need to look beyond home for a new beginning became a matter of urgency, rather than expediency. 

The seven European brothers: Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Prussia now Germany, and Belgium somehow set the tone leading to African adventure.

Adventure that led to Exploration, Discovery, Introduction of Christianity, Slavery, Abolition, Annexation by invasion, and Colonization of Africa.

Adventure that changed socio-cultural and political dynamics of African nations forever.
Adventure that turned Africans to slaves right away in their backyards, 
adventured that turned Africans to products or goods, soon to be packaged in cargoes then shipped to the Americas.

In time, territories acquired in Africa and elsewhere provided stupendous wealth and money that sustained European dynasties, more important, extended their sphere of influence beyond homeland.

Revolution at Home and the Need for Overseas Territories.

About the same time, Europe was undergoing a transformation, a rebirth by means of renaissance-a cultural revival or a powerful intellectual movement; 
an-all-inclusive revolution that changed Europe’s socio-cultural and political outlook from feudalism to a representative democracy.

A revolution that gave Europe a new lease of life, a development people saw as a double-edged sword: an informed Europe, a prosperous continental Europe that would soon control the world by means of colonization for centuries.

Europe before Renaissance:

Before reformation, three groups controlled feudal Europe: 

• Roman Catholic Church, 
• European Dynasties, and 
• the Nobility. 

Each group pursued different economic and political agenda.

However, these groups looked very similar on two issues, enmeshed in corruption and very reactionary.

As Europe sank into a deep pit of corruption created by the trio without way out, same corruption carved the way out of poverty for Europe as peasant become poorer; moreover, diseases overtook Europe as death reduced it to mere rubble.

Through Redemption and Rescue -concepts became-save-our-soul appeals from Europe.

Redemption came by means of reformation and Rescue focused on exploration into distance lands. 

                                       European Saviors:

Reformers set the pace at home, among them were Martin Luther, John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, before the trio, Europe had Jan Hus, Peter Waldo, and John Wycliffe.

However, Martin Luther took Europe far beyond expectation as his Ninety-Five Theses created a new society.

Exploration Began:

Atlantic states of Spain and Portugal were the first to commence sea exploration, later England, Netherland, and France joined, though at a point Italy participated. 

The earlier sea voyagers were Christopher Columbus, Bartolomeu Dias, Vasco da Gama, Pedro Alvares Cabral, Ferdinand Magellan, Francis Xavier, Francisco Pizarro, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, Francis Drake, John Cabot, Rene-Robert de La Salle, Father Jacques Marquette, Samuel de Champlain, and Willem Barentsz.
Prominent names on African and American exploration were Vasco da Gama and Christopher Columbus, while Ferdinand Magellan was popular in South America and Pacific Ocean, even though, he lost his life in the Philippines, when circumnavigating the globe, his assistant,  Juan Sebastian del Cano completed the voyage.

The Conversation That Changed Africa:

Portugal:

Let us go to Africa, Portugal declared.

Africa, yes, the land, south of Europe and Atlantic, historical land of ancient times; the land of kings, emperors, and empresses.

The land of rising stars, source of human civilization, which started in Egypt.

Africa, part of world empires once controlled by Assyrians, Babylonians or Chaldeans, Greece, and Rome. A major military outpost, the bridge between Europe and Asia.

This suggestion received a standing ovation from other brothers, which explained why Portuguese explorer, Prince Henry became the first European to explore Africa and Oceania route to the Indies.  

The success from the mission, securing Island of Madeira and Azores between 1420 and 1431 encouraged other European nations venturing to seas and oceans in search for territories.

By 1471, Portuguese had reached modern day Ghana formerly known as Gold Coast, Benin or Bini, and Eko later re-named Lagos in Nigeria by 1472.  

By 1498, Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama had sailed down south to Cape of Good Hope crossing entire Southern African region, and through Indian Ocean to India sub-continent; a development that made King Manuel of Portugal informed Pope that Portugal had reached India.
                                                      Reasons for Our Mission?

    Spanish:

What would be reasons for traveling through Mediterranean Sea to South Atlantic? Asked Spain: “Plus Ultra” the land of “Further Beyond.”

Answer: The gold dust Portuguese explorers brought from Africa in 1441 gave a convincing reason for Africa mission and project; the project all European nations soon pursued with fanatical zeal.

British:

For every venture, there will be reason, 
Britain was very interested in African mission. 
Yes-the-land-south-of-Atlantic may be thousands of miles away; 

Europe may not have any socio-cultural and political ties with Africa, but crossing ocean to acquire the land worth doing so. From history, we had seen contributions of Africa to the survival of erstwhile empires, Africa’s un-ending wealth, materials, and human resources could be ours, if we took the risks to cross-ocean to the land of rising star-the centrally located geographical confine with un-equal beauty and wealth.

To British, African wealth meant so much, British believed that if African wealth found, Europe would control the world, moreover, the wealth would make generations of European nations live comfortably at the expense of Africans. 

French: 

French subscribed to British line of thought on African mission, however, French was skeptical on how Europeans would convince Africans to take, apportion, and control their wealth as soon as found.

French reasoned, for certainty, Africans would resist any attempt to steal, loot, and share their lands, wealth and material resources. The question is, how did Europeans resolve the issue of acceptance?

Italian: 

Italian proffered solution-we would resolve the issue of acceptance by introducing our religions.

However, our focus, when introducing our religions will be on tenets, beliefs, and dogmas that would require obedience without question.

Italians assured, our religious teachings would revolve around FEAR, which would make Africans fear-even generations yet unborn to quiver. 

The fear teaching will center on purgatory and hell fire.

Emphasis would be failure to worship Supreme Being would result in eternal damnation in hell fire.

New Africans in European-frame-of-mind, we would create through religions, languages, new culture, and western education.

Italian’s suggestion worked magic, because African mind was reconfigured to suit Europeans’ wants and needs. 

Italian exported Roman Catholic supported by French, Belgian, German, Portuguese, and Spanish who were Roman Catholic nations.  
British brought Protestant or Huguenot-the ethno religious group “of French Protestants who followed the Reformed Tradition.”

Other European’s religious bodies Salvation Army, Baptist, Adventist, Methodist, Lutheran, and Calvinist soon joined.

Will religious approach make occupation and liquidation of Africa possible? 
That was the question, begging for answer.

However, Germans had answer. 

Germany:

 If religious outreach failed, we would use force.
 Yes, maximum force to take their possessions, maximum force, they would never challenge; maximum force-even-if it required mass murder.

Yes, in several African lands, people protested, people reacted, people revolted.

From South Africa through Rhodesia to Central, East, West, Horn, and North Africa, people challenged looting of their resources and taking by force their possessions. 

A good example was Herero and Namaqua Tribes revolt in Southwest Africa colony, now known as Namibia under German administration.

About 105,000 died in German’s hand in 1904 when these two tribes revolted against the Germans.

Historians, sociologists, and psychologists have argued that the slaughter or rather, unfortunate butchery set the pace for Nazi Holocaust in which over six million Jews killed during the Second-World War.

More so, the criminal act created “scientific theories of racial superiority formation of concentration camps, the meticulous recording of detailed of Mass killing; the need for “lebensraum” (living space) for the German people.”

Will force and religion make Africans surrendered their lands and possessions? 

Another European lord had the answer.

Belgian: 

We would continue with force, but not every time; we would combine force with peace; create pacts and treaties Africans would sign in languages, they did not understand very well. 

Pacts and Agreements would be made complex and difficulty; 
clauses, terms, jargons, double meaning phrases will be part of concordant, more important, our concordant with Africans will feature overt and covert meanings.

In face value, we will make Africans believed in Overt Terms, but in the real sense, we will insist on Covert Terms-the hidden terms-upon which power and subjugation of Africans will depend.

We will introduce and encourage divide-and-rule among racial groups within and outside geographical enclaves.

We shall declare them unfit to rule or govern themselves; colonial masters will be appointed, who in turn shall establish system of administration similar to what is applicable at home, to be run by expatriates from home countries.

European legal systems derived from Greco-Roman Common Laws will be introduced, judicial systems that emphasized more on punishment than restitution, reform, correction, and appeasement will be created to checkmate “troublesome Africans.” 

Prison of different types will be built to keep and to harbor African trouble markers.

Colonial masters will declare occupied lands private property, just as King Leopold 11 did with Congo Free State. 

In fact, King Leopold was notoriously famous for how he ran Congo using mercenary or “Force Publique.”

He was a despot, known by force labor, human rights abuses, which resulted in the death of millions Congolese. 

Fortune from Congo, King Leopold used in building a new Belgium through private and public constructions, he undertook.  

Further Criminal Acts:

Scramble and Partition of Africa:

Geographical Delineation

Annexation

Colonization and Cloning of Africans-

Mercantilism: economic policy, monetary reserve, balance-of-trade, and finished goods.

Policy of Assimilation, Acculturation,

Social-cultural, political cloning of African by foreign Power that colonized

Fight-Back Time: Negritude   

The plans of these brothers worked wonders. Africans were dispossessed of their inheritance, property looted, materials stolen, humans turned slaves.

Worse still, strange and unrelated geographical boundaries seven brothers created at Berlin in 1885; people of different backgrounds, origins, culture, political, social orientations were herded into same geo-political confines for administrative, economic, and political conveniences.

Europeans drew African map without Africans’ input.
Europeans created a “new” Africa from “old” Africa without consulting Africans-assumed beneficiaries.

Europeans unilaterally created names for lands demarcated or delineated by fiat without asking would-be-bearers: Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo, North and South Rhodesia, Malawi, Ivory Coast, Cameroun, and Niger if the names were fitting or proper.

In other places, Europeans bastardized several African names without considering social-cultural implication on the bearers “Ruanda-Urundi” change to Rwanda and Burundi; Kongo to Congo; “Buganda” changed to Uganda.

Colonization and Implication in Africans:

With colonization, African lands remodeled and Africans were cloned.