A TRADITION OF MYTHS AND

STEREOTYPES (EXPLORATION
AND EXPLOITATION OF THE
AFRICANS)
JOSEPH E. HARRIS
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lesson, the students are able to:

a. Define A tradition of Myths and stereotypes

b.appreciate the importance of traditiona of Myths and stereotypes

c.Make an essay about A traditional of Myths and stereotypes

The image of Africans as inferiors was reinforced further by arguments
of several Christian missionaries, ministers, and others who explained
that an African was better off a slave in a Christian society than free in
"African savagery." One is reminded that most missionaries or other
Europeans did not visit the greater part of Africa until the latter part of
the 19th and early 20th centuries. But all the same, Africa was
presumed to be savage. It was also argued that the Bible spoke of
slavery without condemning it. No doubt these arguments were
convincing rationalizations to many Europeans, especially during the
era of the slae trade.
 Africans or black inferiority as a concept reached its high
point when it became intellectualized by philosophers of the
Enlightenment. In a footnote to his essay entitled "Of National
Character," which appeared in his Essay and Treatises (1768),
the influential Scot philosopher David Hume wrote:
 Clearly, degrading racial descriptions developed in parts of
Europe prior to the high point of the Atlantic slave trade. This is
particularly significant, since a sizable number of Africans were
taken to Portugal and other places in Europe as slaves long
before America was visited by Columbus. It should be stressed,
therefore, that these denigratory judgments about blacks were
being strengthened in Europe at the same time that Europeans
were establishing serious contacts with Africans, a relationship
that culminated in the slave trade to America.
 It is essential to stress that a combination of European
attitudes about blacks, the fact of black visibility, and the
demand for cheap labor all combined to entrench the
institution of slavery and the deeply embedded myths which
were used not only to justify slavery but black inferiority as
well. Consequently, the racial conditions which followed in
the Americas, especially in the United States were logical
sequences to those earlier attitudes about Africans..
AS A CONCLUSION TO AND regarding African history, James Harris (pp.
182) stated that the establishment of European colonial rule in Africa
placed ultimate power in the hands of aliens who came from a cultural
background that traditionally had denigrated blacks. Consequently, in
spite of the differences in the methods or policies of the colonial powers,
the basic goals were essentially the same: political and economic
domination. This reality was facilitated by the slave trade and reinforced
by long-standing myths and stereotypes about Africa and Africans. No
colonial power believed the Africans had a meaningful History.
 ASSIGNMENT:

Make a reflection on A tradition of Myths and stereotypes, and give

your own understanding about exploration and exploitation
 thank you
for listening!