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Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Even before colonialism, why were European and Asian countries typically more advanced than African?

We hear all the time of European and Asian history with their technological advancements, is there any reason why these didn't happen on the African continent? I'm talking about pre 1800 Europe dividing up Africa and conquering and destroying everything.
gpt
ELI5: Answer,  your question is incorrect. History didn't happen that way.

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ELI20 Answer:

So lets go over a few things.

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Pre-1500 West Africa was more advanced than Western Europe.  The reason we know the name of Timbuktu to this day is because of how wealthy it was. The great library at Djenne is still being excavated to this day. It was the wealthiest and most military powerful empire in the Muslim world.

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That region experienced its own "Fall of Rome" level dark ages at just the wrong time.

1.) the famed Mansa Musa was the original scheming Vizier and convinced Abu Bakr II (I think it was the second) to take the massive Mali fleet and try to sail across the Atlantic in search of the new world.  Yes this is pre-columbus but this wasn't that crazy.  People knew there was land over there because there was a Bishopric in Greenland and they knew Markland (Labrador) existed and even had converted a handful of Native American's to Christianity in the thirteenth century (according to church records).

Trade winds don't work that way,  both waves (including the second one that Abu Bakr II personally lead were lost at sea.

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Mansa Musa then cemented his newly found reign by going on a lavish pilgrimage to Mecca and spending so much money that gold was devalued in Egypt for 7 years after his passing.  Mali had more than half the western world's wealth but still needed a loan to get back. He figured no problem since they controlled all trans-sahara trade so he'd just raise prices on gold, slaves, and salt.

Problem: Lacking a fleet the portugese started poking around and offering competition, LOWERING prices.

Solution: Sell even more slaves.  Send your client state of the Sonhai to go raid deeper inland then use your forces to raid and sack the Songhai and sell their wives and children as slaves on bulk.

Problem: The sonhhai were the WARRIOR client state and ended up overthrowing Mali

New Problem: The songhai were not skilled administrators and didn't know how to run their new empire

Solution: Ask your friends in Morocco for help

New Problem: Seeing they were weakened from their war, Morocco invades and wins.

New New Problem: Morocco also has no idea how to govern a state this size and takes what isn't nailed down and retreats.

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West Africa becomes a bunch of dark ages shattered mini-nations.  Still they have a tonne of wealth and make a new fortune selling slaves to Portugal which sets up shop (along with other Europeans).  

They keep Europe at bay until Britain industrializes and wants materials that African states have.  This is one of the reasons Britain starts halting the Atlantic slave trade. Morals are nice, but money talks and crippling the Atlantic slave trade starves African states of funds and allows them to be conquered in the Scramble for Africa pretty much as soon as slavery is done with (the late 1800s).

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This is all a narrative account and there is a LOT of deeper nuance and timelines and alternate reasons and new context that make this even more complex.

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Think of this as the Bohr Atomic Model of African history,   wrong, but accurate enough to get a grasp on more or less what is going on.