"It's Africa's Fault"

Umm, no, not really Obama. I agree with a lot of things Obama is dealing with, but his comments on Africa I really do not agree with. I guess he forgot about the Berlin Conference, which carved up Africa in a big way. They controlled there economy and government for many, many years.

First, the colonization of Africa. The Berlin Conference was in the latter half of the 20th century. It was a conference held in Berlin and only the major European powers were invited to this conference. No African leader was invited to this conference. So basically, Otto Von Bismark carved up places in Africa for England, Netherlands, Portugal and France. So, how can all of Europe just get together and carve up territory that isn't even theirs. So again, it is Africa's fault isn't it.

Also, second, I think the slave trade really influenced the economy and local leaders of Africa. The leaders of Africa on the western coast would basically just take advantage of their political system and trade the majority of their population. They would go into the mainland and capture people for the slave trade. But, it was mainly the demand of the Europeans in the slave trade that really harmed the makeup of the political system. It almost made it impossible to have a political makeup at the time. It would lead to many years of corruption.

Yes, their are many problems for Africa and not all of them are because of Europeans, but colonization and western influences has certainly added to the problems. For Obama to say this, it really is not that big of a deal, but it is also a bit out there. Not everything is Africa's fault, think about the case in South Africa, that problem lasted for many many years and it was because of the Dutch. The problems there are definitely because of the Dutch and it is that way with most of Africa. It is a bit for Obama to say this, Africa has a long road ahead of them in economic recovery and doesn't need sympathy or people pointing the finger. Africa will play a key part in the future of the global political economy.