Arrogance Named Africa
Part of our African Geography Hub — Explore Africa's landscapes and environment.
Colonial Sense of Dominance Renamed Africa
Indigenous names for African lands were replaced by those chosen by outsiders due to colonialism. This shift impacted the connection Africans had to their own history and culture.
Who Named Africa
Imagine a group of incredibly skilled sailors and traders who lived thousands of years ago in what is now Lebanon (a country in the Middle East). These people were called the Phoenicians. They were famous for their seafaring abilities and established trade routes all across the Mediterranean Sea.
Think of them as the great explorers and merchants of their time. They built strong ships and sailed to distant lands, establishing trading posts and colonies. One of their most important colonies was a city they founded in North Africa, now Tunisia.
They called this city Carthage.
Carthage grew into a powerful city-state, almost like its own independent country, but it was still connected to its Phoenician roots. The people of Carthage spoke a language related to Phoenician. In their language, there was a word, Afrygah, which meant colony or settlement.
Here's the connection to the name Africa
Some historians believe that the Romans, who later became rivals of Carthage, started using the term Africa to refer to the region around Carthage. Because Carthage was a Phoenician colony, and the word Afrygah meant colony, it's possible that the Romans adapted this word to name the entire continent.
So, the name Africa might not have come from a word meaning sunny, as some people thought, but rather from the Phoenician/Carthaginian word for colony, emphasizing the Phoenicians' early presence and influence in North Africa.
Suppose the name Africa originates from a word meaning colony. In that case, it suggests that the continent was named from the perspective of colonizers (in this case, initially the Phoenicians/Carthaginians and later the Romans). This implies a sense of ownership or control over the land and its people.
Renaming the Land
When European powers took over parts of Africa, they often replaced local names with ones that reflected their own languages, cultures, or leaders. Imagine if Miami were suddenly renamed "Mbeki City" after South Africa's second president, Thabo Mbeki. Changing the name would sever the historical connection to the Indigenous Mayaimi people, erasing an important link to the region's origins.
The original name, which might hold deep meaning for its people and history, would be erased and replaced with something unfamiliar, disconnecting the community from its roots. This is similar to what happened across Africa during colonial times, where renaming places often disregarded the history and significance of the Indigenous names.
For example, Salisbury in Zimbabwe was named after a British prime minister, and Lรฉopoldville in the Democratic Republic of Congo was named after a Belgian king. Lake Victoria had many local names in different African languages. In Luganda, it was called Nalubaale. When British explorer John Hanning Speke became the first European to document the lake in 1858, he named it Lake Victoria after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
While Liberia was founded by free Black people from America, it was still a colonial project. The settlers, though of African descent, imposed their own culture and governance structures on the Indigenous populations already living in the area.
Acknowledging the Name Africa
t's also crucial to remember that the etymology of Africa is not definitively proven. There are other theories about its origin; the colony theory is just one possibility. However, a sense of dominance, a belief in the right to claim territory, and a disregard for the rights and humanity of the people already living there is the naming origin of Africa.
Renaming places was a way for colonizers to assert their dominance and erase existing identities. Acknowledging that the name Africa was given by outsiders and that the continent's original, unified name is lost to history, it honors the past while ensuring Indigenous people's voices are heard in the future.
Tunisian Proverb About the Power of Words
"ุงูุณุงูู ุญุตุงูู، ุงู ุตูุชู ุตุงูู ูุงู ุฎูุชู ุฎุงูู" (Lsanek แธฅแนฃฤnek, in แนฃuntu แนฃฤnek w in khuntu khฤnek) - "Your tongue is your horse; if you protect it, it protects you, and if you betray it, it betrays you." This Tunisian proverb teaches the power of words, which can protect or harm you, depending on how you use them. Names have power and can shape how people are perceived and how they perceive themselves.
