Cultural Anthropology: Europe's History, Trends, and Colonialism

This cultural anthropology essay provides an overview of European history, focusing on its rich and dark aspects, including colonialism and its lasting impact. The essay examines current political trends, such as anti-colonialism, political correctness, and the rise of fascism, and their implications for Europe's interactions with other nations, particularly Africa. It explores economic trends, highlighting the shift in diplomatic relations with former colonies and the role of foreign aid. The essay also delves into social trends, such as diminishing national identity due to globalization and immigration. Overall, the essay argues that while Europe has a complex history, it has redefined its engagements with former colonies, striving for equal partnerships, while still facing challenges related to political correctness, racism, and the rise of far-right ideologies.

Running Head: CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY 1
Cultural Anthropology
Author’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date

CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2
Cultural Anthropology
Introduction
In a direct and straightforward description, people would agree that European history is
rich and dark. The richness of Europe’s history has shaped the continent’s political and economic
spheres significantly. In the same breath, the dark part of European history has shaped how the
countries on the continent treat humanity and engage other people. Europe was a center of
slavery and colonialism, and this dark history continues to shape how the continent
interacts/relates to other nations. Europe is directly viewed as a primary cause of world wars that
wreaked havoc in the world in the first half of the 20th century.
Current Political trends
However, as people focus on colonialism, there is a little-known history of anti-
colonialism in Italy. Not all Europeans supported imperialism, colonialism, and fascism. Some
individuals believed instead of imperialism or colonizing independent states; it was prudent for
Europe to put in order its political climate. Anti-colonialism or opposition against imperial
projects in Africa resulted in international condemnation of the Italian invasion of Ethiopia.
Currently, opposition and anti-colonial statements continue to dominate the political landscape.
For instance, recently, when two French doctors boldly stated that the Covid-19 vaccine should
be tested on Africans. The Director-general of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,
condemned the two French doctors. These doctors, in his view, were still holding on colonial
mindset (Euronews, 2020). Ideally, the current political environment demands political
correctness. Europeans for long have continued to view Africa as their playground. They have

CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY 3
seen Africans as pushovers, but due to the history of anti-colonialism, Europe today is always
accused of racism. The remarks of these doctors, apart from being derogatory, they were racist.
The world, especially Africa, would always expect European nations to act with political
correctness. Failure to observe political correctness invokes anti-colonial sentiments.
Fascism and anti-fascism are also part of the political trends in Europe (Buta & Esche,
2019). There has been a rise of far-right politicians, who are mounting dissent on the current
leaders. The far-right leaders are fascists, racists, violent, and hold strong views against
immigration, which, in their opinion, is invasion (Glassman, 2019). The current European
leaders are focused on building a society that is fair and accommodating immigrants from the
Middle East, Africa, and other parts of the world. Dictators like Adolf Hitler and Benito
Mussolini, led fascist movements (Eatwell, 2017). Although fascism is a complex ideology, it
continues to dominate the current political environment of Europe. Unfortunately, the fascists
forget that it was Europe that had first invaded foreign countries. Therefore the people they are
rejecting and calling invaders were the victims of Europe’s fascism and colonialism.
Economic Trends
History shows that Europe has benefited significantly from colonialism. They invaded
Africa for economic reasons. They exploited the resources on the African continent to enrich
themselves. Due to anti-colonialism or anti-imperialism from both Africans and Europeans,
Europe has redefined its diplomatic relations with its former colonies (Msindo, 2018). Today,
Europe inks trade deals with African nations and create a semblance as equal partners. Although
Africans are trading with Europe, European countries feel that they are indebted to the continent.
From a critical point of view, Europe finds itself in a situation where it has to use foreign aid or

CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY 4
reach Africa as donors for robust economic ties to flourish. Every country in Europe is courting
Africa with foreign aid. Majorly, Germany, France, and Britain have positioned themselves as
the dominant foreign aid donors and trade partners with African nations. Even though there is a
feeling of equal trading partners, the European countries are cautious about how they engage
Africa for fear of invoking anti-colonial sentiments.
Social Trends
As the wave of colonialism moved around Africa and other continents, there was a
rallying call of maintaining national identity. For instance, in the early years, Italy feared the loss
of its identity in Europe. Italy was concerned about becoming more European or European
becoming Italian. This concern was raised due to the fear of losing national identity. The current
social trends show speedily diminishing national identity. Globalization, which has eased
immigration into Europe, is threatening their cultural identity. The integration of European
countries under the EU is also affecting the cultural identities of its member states (McLaren,
2017). Though European nations are concerned about national identity, due to their invasion of
other countries in the past, they have less ground to turn away Africans whom they colonized.
In a nutshell, anti-colonialism and opposition of Europe’s imperialism, is today fueling
political correctness. While engaging with other nations, Europe is expected to be politically
correct. Any utterance that that appears to undermine Africa and some of Europe’s former
colonies in most cases leads to prompt condemnation. Though Europe has a dark history, it has
today redefined its engagements with former colonies. The seemingly equal-partner relationships
between Europe and former colonies are suitable for the economic prosperity of the continent.

CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY 5
All in all, Europe is still strong, and its global standing is always respected, despite rising
fascism, racism and sexism on the continent.

CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY 6
References
Buta, C., & Esche, C. (2019). Anti-fascism: The Missing Monuments. Third Text, 33(3), 431-
448.
Euronews (8 April, 2020). What French doctors and the WHO really said about Africa and
vaccine testing. Access Link: https://www.euronews.com/2020/04/07/what-french-
doctors-and-the-who-really-said-about-africa-and-vaccine-testing [15 April, 2020].
Eatwell, R. (2017). Populism and fascism. The Oxford handbook of populism, 363.
Glassman, R. M. (2019). The Resurgence of Fascism in the Mid-Twenty First Century. In The
Future of Democracy (pp. 91-101). Springer, Cham.
Msindo, E. (2018). Colonial Africa and the West. In The Palgrave Handbook of African Colonial
and Postcolonial History (pp. 535-550). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
McLaren, L. (2017). Immigration, national identity and political trust in European
democracies. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 43(3), 379-399.