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Imperialism Reading Group - How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, by Walter Rodney - Week 4
(hexbear.net)
This is a weekly thread in which we read through books on and related to imperialism and geopolitics. Last week's thread is here.
The book we are currently reading through is How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. Please comment or message me directly if you wish to be pinged for this group, or if you no longer wish to be pinged.
This week, we will be reading all of Chapter 3: Africa's Contribution to European Capitalist Development - The Pre-Colonial Period.
Next week, we will be reading the first two sections, "The European Slave Trade as a Basic Factor in African Underdevelopment" and "Technical Stagnation and Distortion of the African Economy in the Pre-Colonial Epoch" of Chapter 4: Europe and the Roots of African Underdevelopment - To 1885.
Call me ignorant if you want, but I did not know the Barclays bank was founded by literal slavers. Not surprising in hindsight but definitely something I'll keep in mind. Always thought finance was a sophisticated way of enslaving people (especially after reading Debt), but this makes it even more obvious.