''How Europe Underdeveloped Africa'' is a 1972 book written by
Walter Rodney
Walter Anthony Rodney (23 March 1942 – 13 June 1980) was a Guyanese historian, political activist and academic. His notable works include ''How Europe Underdeveloped Africa'', first published in 1972. Rodney was assassinated in Georgetow ...
that describes how
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
was deliberately exploited and
underdeveloped
Underdevelopment, in the context of international development, reflects a broad condition or phenomena defined and critiqued by theorists in fields such as economics, development studies, and postcolonial studies. Used primarily to distinguish st ...
by European
colonial
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:
* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology)
Architecture
* American colonial architecture
* French Colonial
* Spanish Colonial architecture
Automobiles
* Colonial (1920 au ...
regimes. One of his main arguments throughout the book is that Africa developed Europe at the same rate that Europe underdeveloped Africa.
Rodney argues that a combination of
power politics
Power politics is a theory in international relations which contends that distributions of power and national interests, or changes to those distributions, are fundamental causes of war and of system stability.
The concept of power politics pro ...
and
economic exploitation
The exploitation of natural resources is the use of natural resources for economic growth, sometimes with a negative connotation of accompanying environmental degradation. It started to emerge on an industrial scale in the 19th century as the ex ...
of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
by Europeans led to the poor state of African
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
and
economic
An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
development evident in the late 20th century. Though, he did not intend "to remove the ultimate responsibility for development from the shoulders of Africans...
e believes thatevery African has a responsibility to understand the
apitalistsystem and work for its overthrow."
This book, along with
Frantz Fanon's ''
The Wretched of the Earth
''The Wretched of the Earth'' (french: Les Damnés de la Terre) is a 1961 book by the philosopher Frantz Fanon, in which the author provides a psychoanalysis of the dehumanizing effects of colonization upon the individual and the nation, and dis ...
'', is a popular example of 20th century books concerning African development and post-colonial theory.
Background
First published in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
by
Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications
Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications (BLP) is a radical London-based publishing company founded by Guyanese activists Jessica Huntley (23 February 1927 – 13 October 2013)Margaret Busby"Jessica Huntley obituary" ''The Guardian'', 27 October 2013. and ...
in 1972 (in partnership with
Tanzanian Publishing House), the book shaped the study of Africa in many disciplines. Rodney wrote the text during his time in
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...
, during the presidency of
Julius Nyerere
Julius Kambarage Nyerere (; 13 April 1922 – 14 October 1999) was a Tanzanian anti-colonial activist, politician, and political theorist. He governed Tanganyika as prime minister from 1961 to 1962 and then as president from 1962 to 1964, aft ...
. Tanzanian scholar
Karim F Hirji has described the work as, "no doubt the 20th century's most important and influential book on African history."
In the late 1990s many academics became more sharply critical of the book's central thesis and argued that the book oversimplifies the complex historical forces surrounding the colonial era.
This book was groundbreaking in that it was among the first to bring a new perspective to the question of underdevelopment in Africa. Rodney's analysis went far beyond the heretofore accepted approach in the study of Third World underdevelopment and it was met with heavy criticism.
Rodney had determined that the only path to true human development and liberation for the majority of the people of his country was through the transformation of their own lives in a struggle to replace and reshape the
neo-colonialist government that dominated their society and prescribed their existence.
Approach
Rodney argues that to fully appreciate and understand the effect of European exploitation on Africa, four distinct issues need to be addressed: a reconstruction of pre-European Africa’s developmental condition, that of pre-expansionist Europe, and their contributions to each other’s present condition, developed or otherwise. After an introductory chapter in which he definitionally discusses development, underdevelopment, and associated terminologies in their historical and contemporary contexts, he devotes a chapter to each of these four issues. He concludes the book with a chapter critiquing arguments that promote the "supposed benefit of colonialism". In this chapter, he also explicates on the means through which colonialism is linked to Africa's present underdevelopment.
Underdevelopment
Rodney explicitly referred to Africa as "underdeveloped", not "developing", because of its past and also present of exploitation that has created its socio-economic position. Underdevelopment is not defined by a lack of resources but an uneven and, he argued, unjust distribution of the wealth of those resources.
Editions
* (1972) London:
Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications
Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications (BLP) is a radical London-based publishing company founded by Guyanese activists Jessica Huntley (23 February 1927 – 13 October 2013)Margaret Busby"Jessica Huntley obituary" ''The Guardian'', 27 October 2013. and ...
()
* (1974) Washington, DC:
Howard University Press
Howard University Press (HUP) was a publisher that was part of Howard University, founded in 1972. HUP was the first black university press in the US, with its first chief executive being Charles F. Harris, who published about 100 titles under the ...
()
* (1981) Howard University Press ()
* (1982) Howard University Press ()
* (2018)
Verso Books
Verso Books (formerly New Left Books) is a left-wing publishing house based in London and New York City, founded in 1970 by the staff of ''New Left Review''.
Renaming, new brand and logo
Verso Books was originally known as New Left Books. The ...
()
References
{{Reflist
1972 non-fiction books
Books about Africa
History books about Europe
History books about Africa
Imperialism studies
20th-century history books
Walter Rodney