World Blog by humble servant.‘We Had the Bible, and They Had the Land’: How the West Plundered Africa Under the Guise of Christ
‘We Had the Bible, and They Had the Land’: How the West Plundered Africa Under the Guise of Christ Introduction: The Veil of Benevolence For decades, the narrative of Western engagement with Africa has been one of selfless humanitarianism—a continent perpetually in need of food, medicine, governance, and human rights, met with the West's open hand of cooperation and generosity. Yet history, as chronicled in accounts of colonial exploitation, reveals a far more insidious reality: beneath this facade lie "hidden dark secrets" that have perpetuated dependency and stymied African progress. The apocryphal yet resonant words attributed to South African theologian Desmond Tutu—"When the missionaries came to Africa, they had the Bible, and we had the land. They said, ‘Let us pray.’ We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the Bible, and they had the land"—encapsulate this sleight of hand. This essay explores how European powers, exemplified by Belgium's King ...