The colonisation of Africa has a long history, the most famous phase being the European empire in Africa of the nineteenth century. Colonialism is now defined as ‘an alleged policy of exploitation of backward or weak peoples by a large power’. Colonialism normally refers to a period of history from the 15th to the 20th century when people from Europe established colonies on other continents like Asia, Africa, South America, and Australia. Colonisation often destroyed native cultures or altered them significantly, often producing new forms.
Related to this geo-political and cultural view of Africa is the 19th-century classification based on the so-called evolutionary theory of culture and religion. This classification of religions based on belief systems puts African religion and culture on the lowest level of the evolutionary ladder, because, it was believed, African primitive culture can only produce the most elementary and primitive belief systems. Until recently, this treatment of African religions in the Western intellectual tradition has made it impossible for African traditional religion to speak for itself except in terms of 19th-century evolutionism or the Western anthropological theories of primitive religions and cultures.
Related to this geo-political and cultural view of Africa is the 19th-century classification based on the so-called evolutionary theory of culture and religion. This classification of religions based on belief systems puts African religion and culture on the lowest level of the evolutionary ladder, because, it was believed, African primitive culture can only produce the most elementary and primitive belief systems. Until recently, this treatment of African religions in the Western intellectual tradition has made it impossible for African traditional religion to speak for itself except in terms of 19th-century evolutionism or the Western anthropological theories of primitive religions and cultures.
