"They have many capabilities which are as yet undeveloped. When once they are surrounded by the influence of Christianity and civilization, their progress may be fully equal to that of other nations. Like a new-born child the germs are there, but the surrounding conditions have tended to rather dwarf than develop. Even the little children know the names and characteristics of the plants and trees. Many, too, have a good knowledge of native herbs, and some diseases are successfully treated by the native doctors. The children are familiar with the names and habits of insects, birds, snakes, and animals. … They have a good knowledge of the geography of the country for miles around, knowing the names and situations of all the villages, rivers, hills, and mountains. To them the narrow foot-paths, which seem like net-work, are as familiar as the plain highways in other lands. As far as knowledge of the civilized world is concerned they are almost totally ignorant. It seems to end with the sea, because they know there is an ocean, but they know of nothing beyond."
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Original Language: English
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Sources
Mrs. W. E. Fay, missionary at the Bié Plateau, central Angola, in West Central Africa, Life and Light for Woman, Vol. XIX (November 1889)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Black_people
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Black people
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