The Myths of Eurocentric Diffusionism

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1 “Europeans, being more progressive, venturesome, achievement-oriented, and modern than Africans and Asians in the late Middle Ages and with superior technology and a more advanced economy, went forth to explore and conquer the world” (Blaut, 1993, p. 180).
This statement summarizes the myths of Eurocentric diffusionism, and it could be the answer to the question, “Why did Europe’s development accelerate while Africa and Asia’s development slowed?” and “Did Europe develop faster than the rest of the world?”. It is undeniable that Africa, Asia, and Europe all contributed to the rise of capitalism; however, Europe eventually took the lead, maybe because of the reasons above.
2 “…why did not West Africans “discover” America since they were even closer to it than the Iberians were?” (Blaut, 1993, p. 183).
This makes sense because Africa is closer to America than Europe in terms of proximity. However, because Africans only commerce on land, they lack the access and means to commerce on the seas. This prevented them from discovering America or other countries. Discovering America could have been their breakthrough and advantage, among others, but they missed the opportunity because they could not maximize the seas.