How to Read Born in Blackness PDF Online: The Epic History of Africa, Africans, and the Modern World
Born in Blackness: A Book Review
What if we put Africa and Africans at the very center of our thinking about the origins of modernity? This is the provocative question that Howard W. French asks in his sweeping and compelling book Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War. French, a former Africa correspondent for The New York Times, challenges the traditional accounts of world history that afford a place of primacy to European history and relegate Africa to the remote outskirts of our global story. He shows how the economic ascendancy of Europe, the anchoring of democracy in the West, and the fulfillment of so-called Enlightenment ideals all grew out of Europe's dehumanizing engagement with the "dark" continent.
In a narrative that spans more than six centuries, French interweaves precise historical detail with poignant personal reportage to reveal the central yet intentionally obliterated role of Africa in the creation of modernity. He retrieves the lives of major African historical figures, from the unimaginably rich medieval emperors who traded with the Near East and beyond, to the Kongo sovereigns who heroically battled seventeenth-century European powers, to the ex-slaves who liberated Haitians from bondage and profoundly altered the course of American history.
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French also exposes how Africa's history has been distorted and erased by Eurocentric narratives that have reduced its rich diversity to a single category of "blackness" that obscures and ignores its proud histories and cultures. He argues that we need to rethink our vision of our origins and recognize Africa's vital contributions to the making of the modern world.
This book is not only a groundbreaking work of scholarship but also a passionate and powerful call for justice and recognition for Africa and its people. It is a book that every reader interested in world history, global politics, and human rights should read.
The "Discovery" of Africa
The Quest for Gold and Glory
French begins his story with Portugal, which he considers as the true engine of modernity through its deep involvement in sub-Saharan Africa. Contrary to popular belief, he argues that Portugal's exploration of Africa was not motivated by a yearning for ties with Asia but rather by a centuries-old desire to forge trading ties with legendarily rich Black societies sequestered away in the heart of West Africa.
He traces how Portugal initiated the Age of Discovery by exploring the West African coast in search of gold, spices, ivory, and slaves. He shows how He shows how Portugal encountered sophisticated and powerful Black kingdoms, such as Mali, Songhai, Benin, and Kongo, that had long histories of trade, diplomacy, and culture. He also reveals how Portugal was fascinated by the myth of Prester John, a legendary Christian king who was believed to rule over a vast and wealthy realm in Africa. He describes how Portugal sought to establish diplomatic and religious ties with these African states, hoping to gain access to their gold and other resources.
The Essential Pivot
However, French also explains how Portugal's engagement with Africa soon turned into a brutal and exploitative enterprise that would change the course of world history. He argues that Africa became the "essential pivot" for Europe's economic and political rise, as it provided the gold and enslaved labor that fueled its colonial expansion and industrial development.
He details how Portugal initiated the Atlantic slave trade by raiding and kidnapping Africans from the coast and selling them to European planters in the Americas. He estimates that Portugal alone transported more than five million Africans across the Atlantic between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, making it the largest slave-trading nation in history. He also shows how Portugal's involvement in the slave trade sparked a fierce competition among other European powers, such as Spain, France, England, and the Netherlands, who all sought to profit from the lucrative trade in human flesh.
He demonstrates how the slave trade had devastating consequences for Africa and its people, as it depopulated entire regions, disrupted social and political structures, and facilitated the spread of diseases and violence. He also exposes how the slave trade was justified by racist ideologies that dehumanized Africans and denied their humanity and dignity.
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The Scramble for Africans
The Atlantic Slave Trade
French devotes a large part of his book to the Atlantic slave trade, which he considers as the most consequential event in modern history. He argues that the slave trade was not only a massive transfer of human beings from one continent to another, but also a profound transformation of the world's economy, ecology, culture, and politics.
He provides a comprehensive overview of the scale, scope, and impact of the slave trade, drawing on various sources of data and evidence. He estimates that more than 12 million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic between 1500 and 1867, making it one of the largest forced migrations in history. He also notes that millions more died during the capture, transport, and sale of enslaved Africans, making the slave trade one of the greatest atrocities in history.
He analyzes how the slave trade created a triangular system of exchange that connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas. He shows how enslaved Africans were traded for European manufactured goods, such as guns, cloth, and alcohol, which were then sold to African elites or used to acquire more slaves. He also shows how enslaved Africans were used to produce colonial commodities, such as sugar, tobacco, cotton, and coffee, which were then exported to Europe or consumed by American colonists.
He illustrates how the slave trade reshaped the world's ecology by introducing new crops, animals, diseases, and environmental changes. He also illustrates how the slave trade reshaped the world's culture by creating new forms of art, He illustrates how the slave trade reshaped the world's culture by creating new forms of art, music, religion, language, and identity. He highlights the diversity and creativity of African and African diaspora cultures, from the blues and jazz to voodoo and candomblé. He also highlights the resilience and resistance of African and African diaspora peoples, who preserved and transformed their cultural heritage in the face of oppression and exploitation.
The Wages of Resistance
French does not portray Africans and their descendants as passive victims of the slave trade and slavery, but rather as active agents who fought for their freedom and dignity. He documents the various forms of resistance that Africans displayed throughout their enslavement, from individual acts of sabotage and escape to collective movements of revolt and rebellion.
He pays special attention to the Haitian Revolution, which he considers as the most important event in modern history after the French Revolution. He narrates how enslaved Africans in Haiti rose up against their French masters in 1791 and waged a 13-year war that ended with the establishment of the first Black republic in the Americas. He shows how the Haitian Revolution challenged the idea of Black slavery itself and inspired other liberation struggles around the world.
He also pays tribute to the other forms of resistance that Africans and their descendants expressed through their cultural and spiritual practices. He explores how Africans created new forms of Christianity, Islam, and African-derived religions that affirmed their humanity and connected them to their ancestral roots. He also explores how Africans used their artistic talents to create powerful works of literature, music, and visual art that reflected their experiences and aspirations.
The Black Atlantic and a World Made New
The Haitian Rev