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In 1907, Winston Churchill, then parliamentary undersecretary of state for the colonies for the British Empire, traveled among the British colonies in Africa, observing their current condition. He then wrote "My African Journey," a collection of prose and account of his thoughts concerning the development of these states. Within the masterful writing, he justified current imperialism - a crude form and beginning of modern-day globalization - citing that the British Empire was obligated as beneficiaries of the Industrial Revolution to build up Africa, using their technology, skills and knowledge to convert what he saw as a primitive and backwards continent into a modernized, Westernized continent.

Now, a century later, we look at the effects of imperialism and the contacts the Western world has developed with Africa and see that it is rarely the case. The artificially created states of the imperialistic era brought cultures that had existed as neighbors together into poorly planned borders, and the hostilities among the peoples forced to live next to each other explode today in bloodbaths and genocide. Despite the influx of technology such as railroads, automobiles, and means of rapid communication, few cultures have available, clean drinking water. Many people go without amenities that most of the Western world takes for granted, ranging from computers to telephones to basic forms of transportation to electricity. In fact, many of the beneficiaries of such Western technology remain securely in the wealthy, the rich, and the ruling classes who make up an incredibly small percentage of the general African population. Many citizens live in fear as civil wars and the uncontrollable armies of despotic leaders rage and ravage their lands, while millions have perished from lack of basic necessities such as food, water or shelter. Despite medical advancements, disease races through the continent, running its unstoppable course of death throughout the population. Many politicians admit that the immediate future of Africa remains bleak.

Proponents of globalization - defined by a free flow and exchange of ideas, goods and people to create a strong, tight global web of interdependence among countries - declare that increased contact among nations will increase the standard of living among the whole world as wealth, knowledge and ideas disseminate everywhere. But history has shown the opposite. Ever since the dawn of civilization, contact among cultures breed violence

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