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BrikoX

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Is ‘Africa’ a racial slur and should the continent be renamed? (theconversation.com)

submitted 2 months ago by BrikoX to c/interestingshare

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The name Africa was given to the continent by European explorers, exploiters, slavers and colonists. It ignores the indigenous people and their accomplishments.

Research paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14725843.2021.2017262?needAccess=true

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The article already seems discredited in the first few sentences by claiming the name was given by European colonists in the 1300's. Just by virtue of knowing the Roman military leader Scipio Africanus existed, and knowing that he was named after the place rather than the other way around, I feel like that can't be the case.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

The origins are disputed, but it has been called Africa for over a thousand years, absolutely.

From the internet: 'The origin of the name “Africa” is greatly disputed by scholars. Most believe it stems from words used by the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans. Important words include the Egyptian word Afru-ika, meaning “Motherland”; the Greek word aphrike, meaning “without cold”; and the Latin word aprica, meaning “sunny.”'