Project: Why Hegel was wrong about Africa

“Until lions have their own historians, tales of the hunt will always glorify the hunters“
– Chinua Achebe, author, 1994

The German philosopher Georg Hegel, held in high regard by western academia, made a massive error. He said Africa is “no historical part of the World; it has no movement or development to exhibit…What we properly understand by Africa, is the Unhistorical, Undeveloped Spirit, still involved in the conditions of mere nature” (The Philosophy of History, 1837). Boy was he wrong. Not only did we all come from Africa, it is currently the is the second largest continent in terms of size and population – to suggest it has no history is simply absurd.

Thankfully, there are some excellent historians and educators working to teach audiences those histories we’ve overlooked. Gus Caseley-Hayford, the British historian, curator and newly in charge of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art in Washington DC, is a great reference. Watch his passionate TED Talk here. Or watch this Oxford Union address by Akala, another Brit, rapper and educator who is knowledgble about African history (and also teaches Shakespeare). Alternatively watch this TED talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who gives a personal spin on why we should fear a single story.

My aim is to simply add my voice to this growing group of voices – which I believe will help change minds about how we regard the African continent. My new lino series featuring different characters from history will hopefully contribute (see the first one below).

I have a horse in this race too – though it might be a minor one. Having graduated high school in South Africa before starting university I tended to choose topics related to the African continent for my assignments. My bachelor’s thesis discussed the blend of music from the Sahel region for the Sahel Opera put on by the Prince Claus Fund. My supervisor actually called the mentioned instruments “backward”. Without knowing any of its histories, she claimed the entire Sahel did not develop due to a lack of “court culture”. Excuse my language, but that’s total codswallop. 

Let me just mention a few that Hegel and my uni teacher completely dismissed: the Malian empire, the Benin Empire, the Ashanti Empire, the Zulu Kingdom, Great Zimbabwe, kingdoms all along the rich trade routes on the Swahili coast, the Kingdom of Kush in Nubia and let’s not forget the fact that Egyptians were also (often also black) Africans. That’s by no means all, but clearly, there’s plenty history there.

What we need to remember is that ever since Europeans decided to colonise the African continent they have worked to oppress them – also in terms of their history and identity. Colonisers, the west, have actively been trying to damage people’s relationship with their history. African history was not taught at schools, oral histories undervalued and significant discoveries in Africa were often described as having been created by outsiders (ancient white people, Arabs, or even aliens). Explorers refused for decades to admit that sophisticated civilizations could exist on the continent.

This continuous denial of history is something we need to recognise and act on.  Not just for the Africans that were denied this history, but also selfishly for our own understanding of global history. 

Listen to the podcast ‘You’re Dead to Me’ on BBC Radio 4 for more info: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07nwybz