Current Events > In general, why are most African countries so poor?

(+) Yeah! (+)

tbh youd think they would be richer with all the minerals, jewels, and all the natural resources they have

https://streamable.com/f8ebuy

Mostly corruption.

They were/are also exploited/used by corporations and other nations.

gu-gohan posted...

They were/are also exploited/used by corporations and other nations.

This!!!

Colonialism and exploitation by European nations.

Solar_Crimson posted...

Colonialism and exploitation by European nations.

How come they didnt advance as fast as European nations?

https://africaupclose.wilsoncenter.org/colonial-borders-in-africa-improper-design-and-its-impact-on-african-borderland-communities/

Hope this ends the display of the failings of grade school education

The African governnents don't care and/or corrupt

because rich countries (generally Europe and the US) stole their wealth

WalkingLobsters posted...

How come they didnt advance as fast as European nations?

They did. Europeans were just the ones that invented guns.

Lack of navigable rivers really fucked them. Made very little of the continent actually accessible for the longest time.

WalkingLobsters posted...

How come they didnt advance as fast as European nations?

when people say stuff like this, they're using a eurocentric view of "development"

societies often develop according to need, and across the continent, you'd see a diversity of government, architecture, culture, science, etc. it's not even that long ago where places in Europe had their own villagers, who weren't "advanced" by eurocentric standards.

as for why there was a downfall of many African countries, iirc it depended on the country. like, some countries were fighting their neighbors and selling/trading them off to Europeans, others had some levels of in-fighting Europeans benefitted off of, etc.

as for the modern day, WW2 - 90s, a lot of Cold War politics were still in play, where proxy wars were fought in Africa (and countries on other continents). after colonialism ended, some countries were left behind with corrupt leaders, who were backed by one western power or other, and people profited on selling arms to different factions and exacerbated their conflicts. there's also the draining of resources that could have benefitted the people but didn't.

ellis123 posted...

They did. Europeans were just the ones that invented guns.

Guns count as an advancement.

As the saying sort of goes, don't bring a knife, arrow, or spear to a gunfight.

Colonialism.

I'd assume lesser opportunities for stable agriculture led to slower development of similar infrastructure in other regions, and the activities of outside powers being less than helpful to the growth of nations.

roguecanon posted...

Guns count as an advancement.

As the saying sort of goes, don't bring a knife, arrow, or spear to a gunfight.

That is roughly the saying, yeah. It's more a "I studied the blade" one, though.

Geography more than anything.

The Sahara desert being a hurdle towards trade and navigation really stunted Africa's growth. Throw in a fly that can kill horses with ease as well as a lack of good rivers and Africa was playing with a disadvantage from the start.

Colonialism didn't help by any stretch of the imagination however the problems were still there. These days the 'big man' philosophy that affects much of Africa is what blocks growth.

There are absolutely basic geographical, climate, and ecological issues in a lot of Africa. Namely:

Large stretch of tropical wet climate through Western and Central Africa that makes infrastructure and diseases a serious issue.

Large stretches of Desert, especially the Sahara, that disrupt land-based trade and prevent settlement.

Large stretches of Semi-Arid land, especially the Sahel, with poor options for irrigation, creating local food deficits and preventing people from adopting non-subsistence lifestyles.

In general, the continent is very hot and often either very dry or very wet, but very rarely temperate. There is simply not enough water to support large-scale agriculture, or even a consistent and safe drinking supply, throughout the majority of the continent.

political instability

corruption

much of the national borders being drawn up arbitrarily by the colonists

WalkingLobsters posted...

How come they didnt advance as fast as European nations?

Up to a point, they did. Harsher climate/environmental factors and colonialism put an end to that

ellis123 posted...

They did. Europeans were just the ones that invented guns.

Uh, wasn't it the Chinese who invented guns? (Though one could certianly be forgiven for thinking it was America...)

Why is Russia so messed up despite having the most landmass of any country?

Trumble posted...

Uh, wasn't it the Chinese who invented guns? (Though one could certianly be forgiven for thinking it was America...)

No, they invented gunpowder. They had a couple of things that you could argue were the progenitors to guns, but it was Europe that really went for the "we can use this to shoot crap at each other" angle.

Trumble posted...

Uh, wasn't it the Chinese who invented guns? (Though one could certianly be forgiven for thinking it was America...)

Kind of depends on what you call a "gun" and a "firearm". If you consider the oldest hand cannons, then yes it was the Chinese. In terms of something that actually looks vaguely like a modern gun, though, that would be the arquebus from the Ottomans and Europeans.

White people

Coal was a key factor to enable an industrial revolution. Nations that had easy access to it were able to industrialize much faster. Also colonisation.