If the very idea of being an African is foreign to Africa why do the Africans call themselves Africans?

Question

It has been Prof Ali Mazrui through the book "The triple heritage" who has eloquently agued that it is Europe that gave the continents their names. So why is it that the so called Africans do not even try to call themselves by another name?

Answer 1

Coming from africa myself i can understand your confusion. but lets look at it from a different angle... as you say that europe gave africa its names... why did it give them african names?? therefore it seems slightly logical that the africans will see themselves as different to all the european and american countries..

africans have a tendancy to complain that they don't have all that the europeans have but they are still a proud people when it comes to their african heritage... i say this coz it has been noticed that europeans and others are so fascinated by the idea of 'AFRICA' and all that is in it... why wouldn't the africans prefer then to call themselves Africans?!?

Answer 2

Africans have changed the names of their individual nations. Africa describes a continent of very diverse cultures and peoples just like any of the other continents. I guess that the Europeans were the first ones really interested in exploring and mapping everything and the names that they assigned to the continents and peoples just stuck. The earliest explorers did not give insulting or crude names - they tried to call places by the names that the natives called it or if there was no consensus then they named it after a famous person, themselves, a landmark or some random name that seemed to work.

It may be easier for the "Africans" just to call themselves that when describing where they're from.

Answer 3

Because its been Africa for the longest and it works.

Answer 4

because they tried calling themselves Asian but every one confused them with the Chinese