Day 241 - Four Lessons and Life-Changing Events

 

You can't sail around the world without it impacting your view of the world. So here are my top four from the trip.

1. I never truly realized the horrendous impact that European Colonialism had on the world from the mid-1400s until well into the last century. The devastation and cultural destruction was massive. It seems the Spanish and Portuguese were the worst, the Danes, Dutch and Germans the best, and the French and Brits were somewhere in the middle. It's way different seeing it in real life than reading about it in a history book. And yes - my forefathers contributed on a huge scale. There was a time when the sun never set on the British Empire. 
2. If you look at slavery as seperate from colonialism, walking around the museums, memorials and the "gates of no return" in Angola and Ghana was emotionally harrowing. I never really grasped the scale of the slave trade. Millions and millions. I also never grasped the fact that much of it was enabled by local kings and chietains who sold their own people, or rival tribes, to the Europeans. 
3. Next up is the impact of religion. Along with rampant occupation and the stripping of natural resources came the forced imposition of religion. The damage that the church, notably Catholicism , did was enormous - both physically and emotionally. Entire cultures and local relions were just destroyed. And it continues. In some of the places we visited - notably the South Pacific - all th emoney goes to churches, and nothing to important infrastructure like medical clinics, preschool etc. Then touring through some of the Muslim countries you view some of the gender discrimination at play in everyday life and wonder.. I have to say, of all the religions/philosophies I encountered, Buddhism seemed the most appealing and accepting.
4. Lastly is the expansion of the Chinese sphere of influence. We encountered massive Chinese investments in the Middle East and Western Africa (and even in Australia and NZ). What was interesting is that the locals absolutely hated the Chinese as they use their own workers and set up their own shops so that the local inhabitants received zero benefit. Plus, much of the construction work is shoddy and substandard. Still- entire ports are under construction - all financed by loans from the Chinese government. 

So - that brings the 2024 Round The World Cruise to a close. An amazing experience that lived up to all expectations. Would we take another one? Well, not in the immediate future as there are so many places to see (and it's expensive), but maybe in another ten years.

Until then ...