He hasn’t eaten cheese or whacky since the history of slavery
Akwasi, a rapper and businessman in Amsterdam, is dissatisfied with his mates. They all seem to be historians, he says Against Head Parole. Everyone talks about how Asante in Ghana belongs to those slave traders, while they have no proof. Akwasi is descended from those people. Therefore.
By this, Akwasi makes it clear that he has no or no cheese see Slavery has eaten up history. There is ample evidence that the Asante played an important role in the transatlantic slave trade. Their kings had previously traded at Elmina not only with the Dutch, but also with the English, Danes and Brandenburgers for a time. They all had forts on the coast of Ghana. Internally there were independent kingdoms. It was not until 1900 that the British came under their control.
If Akwasi was looking for evidence of his ancestors’ role in the slave trade, he would not visit the library of the University of Amsterdam in Singel in vain. For example, he comes These studies In return. I can recommend all of Basil Davidson’s work. Now, of course, he thinks: it’s just another white man glorifying colonialism. On the contrary. Basil Davidson He briefly changed this from his pioneering perspective.
Then Prof Henry Louis Gates. He works at Harvard University, where he simultaneously holds a chair and directs it Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. If anyone can provide science-based background information for the Black Lives Matter movement, it’s him. All of his works were devoted to African-American liberation. Additionally, Professor Gates never compromises on the foundations of science. Whether he meets sacred cows or exposes unpleasant truths. About ten years ago, Professor Gates rang the bell in the New York Times Role of African Empires – including Ashanti – in relation to the transatlantic slave trade. Gates: ” Slavery was a business, highly organized and profitable for European buyers and African sellers.”. He cites the work of two colleagues, John Thornton and Linda Haywood of Boston University. They wrote together Central Africans, Atlantic Creoles, and the Founding of the Americas, 1585-1660. Only from Thornton’s hand A Cultural History of the Atlantic World, 1250-1820. Both professors have many more publications to their name. They enjoy great popularity all over the world. For the record, and for the enthusiasts among you, they owe much to the famous French historian. Ferdinand Pradel.
Last year, Professor Thornton A comprehensive interview Away to Silo, the journal of the Universidad Federal de Rio de Janeiro. There he gives an overview of his scientific perspective. This is an important interview because he underlines that African countries are not helpless victims of history. Together with Europeans in their trading posts, they formed a collective movement, one of whose consequences was the transatlantic slave trade. In fact, Aquasi’s victim idea underestimates the enormous power and creativity in Africa. It sounds like an insult. A similar story can be told about Asia.
At the end of the interview, Thornton offers an important tip for anyone interested in engaging in African history. Learn at least one African language. He knows only three, he modestly admits, Hausa, Kiswahili and Kikongo. Always study the history of a country and a people in a global context. Otherwise, you are making biased decisions.
However, the myth of African innocence is not only inconsistent with the facts, but an insult to the people of an already despised and undervalued continent.
By the way, call Educate yourself This isn’t just for Aquasi, it probably addresses you too with your prejudices and your social recipes for the Third World. If you haven’t, my sincere apologies.
Additionally: After the British outlawed the transatlantic slave trade in 1807, but not slavery, the Ghanaian empires, including the Asante, had to look for alternatives. The most important was palm oil, produced on plantations managed by slaves. Slaves became cheaper because transport to America was banned and prices fell. You can read more about it here In this book.
