Essay prompt: During the last section of the course, we delved into the critical role of Cuba in Africa’s decolonization and the involvement of the French Caribbean colonies in colonial administration from the 1880s to the 1930s. Although both cases shared some similarities, they also had their differences. For instance, they involved different players/actors, took place at different times, and occurred in different geographic locations. However, they both involved former colonies that played a vital role in Africa’s internal affairs. For example, Cuba played a crucial role in the Angola Civil War, while the French Caribbean administrative class developed new social groups and networks of solidarity. As we have seen in other cases explored throughout the semester, the involvement of Cuba and the French Caribbean in Africa challenges traditional narratives of the Atlantic Slave Trade and the European colonial project. In your final essay, explain how this course challenged or confirmed your previous understanding of the Atlantic Slave Trade and European colonial project. Specifically, you must reference three case studies from the semester, with one of those cases being the Cuban or French Caribbean involvement in Africa. Additionally, you must reference at least five readings discussed during the semester.
The main purpose of this assignment is to identify 2-3 points that I found interesting that either confirmed or challenged my understanding of colonialism and the African diaspora by referencing the readings through paraphrasing and/or using quotes that relate to these points. 5 readings must be referenced in total.
Here are my ideas in summary:
We started off the semester with the debate of Fraser versus Herskovitz theory on the African diaspora. What interest me the most is that Frazier’s theory of the creation of new groups and new identities is consistent throughout the all these groups that we’ve studied throughout the course. This theory can also be seen within these groups because of the many ways African culture became blended with the culture of their oppressors or the culture they created through their experiences being enslaved and then freed. We looked at groups like the Afro Brazilian community in tabom and how they distinguished themselves. We also touched on Brazil’s support of African nations like Angola and their motive behind this alliance.
What surprised me most was Cuba’s involvement with African nations and how they viewed an alliance as natural and necessary for their liberation and survival. Another topic that was interesting to me is when we studied the French Caribbean and how France’s control over the islands were maintained through “brainwashing” of sorts, they used education and military influence to shape formerly enslaved people on the islands into the perfect French citizen that is loyal to their “mother nation” France. But this ended up not fully working because when the black people from the France Caribbean islands were sent out to spread colonial ideologies in some African nations they realized that they had a lot more in common with these African people and recognize some of the disparities between how they are treated (the French carrbbean islands) as second class citizen compared to people actually from France (who are white). This is where the concept of the good France and the bad France comes from. The French people of the Caribbean then created alliances with these African nations.
Conclusion: This course challenged my challenge my previous understanding of the Atlantic slave, trade and European colonialism by showing that Africans (Black people) or formally enslaved people were active participants in shaping and influencing economies, race relations, and historical phenomenons all over the world. They were not as passive as traditional history would like to make it seem. Through the development of new social groups and networks of solidarity with African nations these people were able to pull themselves out of certain oppressive systems and gain independence.
I will attach articles/books that can be referenced only FIVE needs to be referenced NOT ALL. And also include class slides and the first two papers I turned in to give an overall idea of the content from earlier in the semester.