African American Influence

Although African reaction to the presence of external actors could, in some cases, be appropriately described as defiant, resistance did not exclusively define African attitudes toward the outside. The capacity and willingness to collaborate with European influences lends credence to the re-interpretation of Africa as an entity with agency, just as European states have typically been understood. African political units were just like other political entities throughout history in that they employed strategies according to their domestic and foreign policy interests.

Following elementary diplomatic logic, African political units would collaborate with European powers where it was conducive to their interests and goals. For example, in many

In addition, the Portuguese were unable to expand and gain control over the interior regions because indigenous African populations successfully resisted Portuguese force despite the Portuguese’ advanced firearms (Burns Collins 182-188). This example goes to illustrate that Africans had agency in the outcomes of interactions between themselves and Europeans. They were not forced to make concessions to more powerful Europeans- instead, they themselves possessed the power to influence their own outcomes.

This re-interpretation of Afro-European relations is crucial to our movement toward the understanding and appreciation of the actions of Africans as well as of Africans themselves. Additionally important to this matter is the recognition that, when African resistance did occur, it was not always violent and not always unsuccessful. In fact, Europeans vying to dominate commercial relationships with Africans were often unable to do so. In these relationships, Europeans were not always the supremely powerful, dominating, superior forces Early paints them to

In fact, the commercial ties between Europe and Africa operated mostly on equal, reciprocal terms: “African trade with Europe was very much the mirror image of European trade with Africa” (Thornton 54). Understanding this reciprocal nature is helpful in appreciating the equality of Europe and Africa, both being independent, autonomous characters. We must appreciate this equality in order to move past the academic objectification of Africa.

As a complete contradiction to Early’s assertions, Afro-European relationships could be hurtful to Europeans. As a specific example, a British trader in the Dahomian territory of 1812 wrote with frustration about the extreme subordination Europeans in Africa experienced: “the ferocious King of Dahomey…tyrannizes over the Governor and the few people about him, as to render such subjection utterly disgraceful to the British flag” (Law 61). The idea that anything Africans could do would be “disgraceful” to Europeans conflicts with the ideology set forth by Early’s