Why Africa is called a "Dark Continent" ?

African continent

Very close to Europe and Asia, Africa is a home to rich and varied cultures, beautiful coasts and deserts. It is a place of one of the oldest human civilizations, Egyptian civilization, in the World. In addition, Africa boasts of having the best football and cricket players, great leaders and miss universe titles in the world. Hardly is there any world title left that Africans has not earned! It is the only continent through which the Equator, Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn run. Then, why it is called as dark continent. Is it correct to name Africa as "Dark Continent"?

Why Africa is called the Dark Continent?

The phrase itself was actually popularized by the British explorer Henry M. Stanley. Africa was known as the “Dark Continent” because it remained unexplored for a long period of time for Europeans explorers due to The largest desert in the world, the Sahara Desert acted as a natural barrier. Further, the hot and humid climate and dense forests made the climate of Africa inhospitable.

It is also believed that white people called Africa the Dark Continent because they wanted to legitimize the enslavement of Black people and exploitation of Africa's resources. The continent was colonized, enslaved and exploited for about past two decades. Africa still, to many people outside the continent, is the land of savages and cannibals. 

Today, Africa is still called as a Dark Continent because of the lack of science and technology, poverty, unemployment, poor governance, health issues and the inability to compete with the world.

However, the phrase is totally misleading. Now, the Africans are not the way they were under and during European Colonization era. They have made wonderful contribution in all walks of life. They have won Nobel Prizes, cricket, and football world cups, and miss universe titles. Apart from these, Africans have witnessed revolutions like “Arab Spring”. Africa is a place of the biggest Islamic university, Al-Azhar. Great civilizations of Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria speak volumes of African intellect. Due to the advancement in technology and media, Africa is undergoing rapid changes  in all spheres of life.

In fact, Africa was never a Dark Continent. It is rather culturally and intellectually the cradle of world civilization.

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