Still Free

Yeah, Mr. Smiley. Made it through the entire Trump presidency without being enslaved. Imagine that.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Colonialism has always had the cooperation of the locals

The NY Times has a piece on Angola's booming economy and the "return" of the Portuguese to that country. The article has this quote:

“Clearly, we share the same language and have much more in common with Angolans than the Chinese and others, but Portuguese investors also need to make huge efforts not to be seen as pushing for a return to colonial times,” he said. “Little can be achieved in Angola without full help and cooperation from local partners.”


As I discussed in an episode of Garvey's Ghost TV on the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade, the colonization and enslavement of Africans in what is today Angola happened with the cooperation of the locals. The only way this would be any different is if the leadership of Angola takes the "investment" from the Portuguese and used it to develop non-urban areas and improve the education and quality of life for it's residents. One sign that this may not happen is the apparent high amount of imports that Angola is dealing with. No doubt these imports will have an adverse impact on local producers.