The Role of the ‘Unholy Trinity’ in European Domination of West Africa

Abstract

The history of West Africa has been that of continual contact with foreign elements beginning from early times. These past contact ranged from friendly, conflictual and supicious interactions to outright war in some other cases, and have indeed had profound impact on the present state of being in Western Africa and also has a greater implication for her future. This esssay’s focus is on the activities of the Tripate -Merchants, Missionaries and Explorers – who were present in West Africa prior to its colonisation and how these agents played active roles in the eventual domination of the sub-region by their home country. It investigates this subject side-by-side examining how some factors that resulted in the evolution of the international economic system influenced the course of history of West Africa by extension.

Keywords: West Africa, International Economic System, Slave Trade, Colonialism