For the first time in a long time, I was intrigued by an history reading. During the introduction and the first chapter, it talked about Europeans and the Portuguese taking over Africa. It also shed light on the well know expeditioner Henry Morton Stanley (John Rowlands).
The quote that intrigued me the most during this reading was on page 12.
"But virtually everything we know about this part of Africa for the next several hundred years comes to us from its white conquerors, King Affonso I provides something rare and valuable: an African voice"
This quote intrigued me because I really started looking into King Affonso. What I began to realize was that, Europeans began to take notice in him because he was educated. They could not believe that he was more like them than any other African. With this education, King Affonso understood that the African people were being taken advantage of. Though he tried to argue with the European Kings, he could not win. He knew that he couldn't do anything about slavery because he didn't have the resources and man power to fight the Europeans.
Questions:
1. If it wasn't for the myths, do you believe that the Europeans would still be intrigued with Africa?
2. If the African people had the same education as the Europeans, like King Affonso, do you believe they would still be taken as slaves?
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