DID OTHER CONTINENTS SEE AFRICA AS INTIMIDATING?

 

       Africans in other parts of the world usually experience some form of discrimination, oppression and prejudice. Some scholars believe that Africans and their descendants around the world were historically viewed as intimidating. Greek scholars and historians like Diodorus Siculus and Herodotus work stress a very noteworthy account of the African history that did exist during that time. They divulged that the common discussion in ancient times held among Elites was that Africans were the first people and also that they were the first to be civilised. Diodorus Siculus writes, "Now the Ethiopians as historians relate, were the first of all men and the proofs of this statement, they say are manifest. For that, they did not come into their lands as immigrants from abroad but were natives of it and so justly bear the name of 'autochthones' is, they maintain conceded by practically all men. Furthermore, that those who dwell beneath the noon-day sun were in all likelihood the first to be generated by the earth, is clear to all, since it was the warmth of the sun which, at the generation of the universe dried up the earth, when it was still wet and impregnated it with life. It is reasonable to suppose that the region which was nearest to the sun was the first to bring forth living creatures."

      A French philosopher, Constantin-François Chassebœuf said, "We have the strongest reasons to believe that the country neighbouring to the tropic (Sudan and Southern Egypt) was the cradle of the sciences and of consequence that the first learned nation was a nation of Blacks, for it is incontrovertible, that by the term Ethiopians, the ancients meant to represent a people of black complexion, thick lips and woolly hair." Based on the viewpoint of Constantin- François, this may be the beginning of how Africa came to be viewed as an intimidation.

      The second reason why Africa was seen as intimidating centres on the ancient model because of the narrative events by ancient writers and their modern contemporaries talk about the primordial fear of genetic annihilation. So the reasoning could be that if Africans were the oldest humans that spread throughout the world then humankind could easily go back to its African mould. This was said to be a threat of thought in the psychology of the one-drop rule which stated that if anyone had one drop of African blood they have corrupted the non-African blood and should be considered black or negro. This one-drop rule was developed to identify African ancestry in whatever colour or phenotype it came from. This identification then led to oppressing that individual and subjecting them to the same degrading conditions as other black people. To disallow them from competing economically, socially, politically and genetically. However, this idea of genetic annihilation was not present among all European ethnic groups, for example, the Spanish and Portuguese had children with their enslaved African women. This led to the creation of a new class and ethnicity for their offspring, these individuals had access to the goods and services that the society could offer. Among the Arabs, though they were brutal, they certainly had children with enslaved African women. Some of the children navigated the world as Arabs because they embraced the culture and identity of their Arab father completely. Some moors manifested their African and Arab parentage but identified in full with a non-African father. Many Arabs perpetrated the culture of the Eunuchs among their enslaved Africans to get rid of that genetic threat. 

          The final factor that stood as an intimidating factor is the fact that the African continent possesses many resources and these resources translate into more wealth. It is common knowledge that modern-day nations want to control the resources from Africa. This was also the case even in ancient and medieval times. Muslim writers said that Arabs were very impressed with the wealth of the Ghana empire. al Fazārī an astronomer referred to the Ghana empire as the land of gold. Ibn Hawqal, described the King of Ghana as "the richest sovereign on earth, for he possesses great wealth and reserves of gold that have been extracted since early times to the advantage of former kings and his own." Ibn Hawqal also writes concerning Sijilmasa's trade across the Sahara, "I saw a bill in Awdaghost, certifying a debt owed to one of them (of the people of Sijilmasa) one of the traders of Awdaghost, who was himself one of the people of Sijilmasa, in the sum of 42000 dinars. I have never seen or heard anything comparable to this story in the East. I told it in all Iraq, in Fars and Khurasan and everywhere it was regarded as a novelty." Cheikh Anta Diop says that Africa was so distinguished in the world for its legendary wealth, that the Arabs used to say, "Against the Camel's mange use tar, and against poverty make a trip to Sudan."

        This realisation of other Continents about the wealth of Africa magnified the fears of a black continent because it is common knowledge that access to wealth and resources strengthens an increase in power and whoever owns it controls it. Africans were deemed to be the owners of wealth and power first by the Arabs and then by the Europeans. This was a fatal blend for Africans who were interested in other forms of Capital rather than World domination.