"The first four centuries of Afro-European trade in a very real sense represent the roots of African underdevelopment. Colonialism flourished rapidly from a European viewpoint, because several of its features were already rooted in Africa in the preceding period. One of the most decisive features of the colonial system was the presence of Africans serving as economic, political, and cultural agents of the European colonialists. Those agents, or “s,” were already serving European interests in the pre-colonial period. The impact of trade with Europe had reduced many African rulers to the status of middlemen for European trade; it had raised ordinary Africans to that same middleman commercial role; and it had created a new trading group of mixed blood—the children of European or Arab fathers. Those types can all be referred to as “compradors,” and they played a key role in extending European activity from the coast into the hinterland, as soon as Europeans thought of taking over political power."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
p. 142
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_Rodney
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Walter Rodney
Walter Rodney (23 March 1942 – 13 June 1980) was a prominent Guyanese historian, political activist and preeminent scholar, who was assassinated in Guyana in 1980.
175 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Walter Rodney →
Related Quotes
"It has been noted with irony that the principal “industry” of many underdeveloped countries is administration. Not lo…"
"Members of the privileged groups inside Africa always defend themselves by saying that they pay the taxes which keep …"
"We were told that violence in itself is evil, and that, whatever the cause, it is unjustified morally. By what standa…"
"Development in human society is a many-sided process. At the level of the individual, it implies increased skill and …"
"Development cannot be seen purely as an economic affair, but rather as an overall social process which is dependent u…"
"However, the peasants and workers of Europe (and eventually the inhabitants of the whole world) paid a huge price so …"
"Capitalism has proved incapable of transcending fundamental weaknesses such as underutilization of productive capacit…"
"All of the countries named as “underdeveloped” in the world are exploited by others; and the underdevelopment with wh…"
"In some quarters it has often been thought wise to substitute the term "developing" for "underdeveloped". One of the …"
"By paying attention to the wealth created by human labor out of nature, one can immediately appreciate that very few …"