A review by butch
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney

challenging informative slow-paced

5.0

This was an incredible and wholly relevant read. Rodney provides such a detailed and rich history of the African continent, its economic, political, and cultural systems prior to and during colonization. His case examples, which reference exploiters such as the US's Firestone brand tires who sourced much of their rubber from colonized nations on the continent, still feel so pertinent to the present. Though detailed, Rodney really keeps this text accessible without sacrificing specificity and nuance. I especially appreciated his analysis on the role of education in colonization, which would be used to serve indoctrinating and underdeveloping purposes, and the will of colonized peoples to fight for the expansion of education opportunities before, during, and after colonization. Definitely a necessary read.