The history of colonialism and immigration leave their marks on the Olympics
When the first slave market in Europe, known as Mercado de Escravos, was established in Portugal in the town of Lagos between 1441 and 1444, and with it the commencement of the importing of slaves from West Africa, the world was forever changed. The colonization of Africa by European countries later followed.
Centuries before the Berlin Conference of 1884 and 1885 formalized European colonization of Africa, the seizing of land and vast human and natural resources had begun. Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria and the most populated city in sub-Subharan Africa, is the namesake of Portugal’s Lagos.
The indelible imprint of colonialism and its unmistakably lasting remnants, and polarizing modern day immigration were optically apparent on the soccer pitches, basketball courts, track stadium and everywhere else sporting events were held at Paris Olympics, which concluded on Sunday. Several European teams, among them France’s men’s soccer and basketball contingents, were predominated by athletes of African descent. Both won silver medals in their respective sports.
The soccer team, coached by Thierry Henry, one of the greatest strikers of all-time, a Black man, whose mother is from Martinique and father from Guadeloupe, lost in the finals 5-3 to Spain in extra-time. The basketball team fell to the U.S. in the gold medal game 98-87.
Emmanouil Karalis, who took bronze in the pole vault representing Greece, is Ugandan on his mother’s side. NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who led the Greek squad to the medal round, was born in Athens but his parents immigrated to Greece from Nigeria.
The United Kingdom’s top male and female sprinters, Zharnel Hughes and Dina Asher-Smith, are both Black. Smith is a three-time Olympic medalist, including winning a silver in Paris in the women’s 4×100 meter relay as the UK finished second to the U.S. Meanwhile, Hughes helped the U.K. men’s team earn a bronze in the 4×100.
The presence of African descendants in the Olympics traces to Constantin Henriquez, considered to be the first known Black athlete to compete in the Olympics and first Black gold medal winner, both achieved at the Paris Olympics in 1900 representing France in rugby.
Born in Haiti in the late 1800s, the exact date is unknown but estimated to be around 1877. Henriquez’s father, a Haitian politician, sent him to France in 1893 to study medicine. Soon after his arrival, Henriquez began playing rugby and excelled at the sport.
It has been well documented that athletes of African descent are subjected to racial slurs and even physical assault playing in professional sports leagues in Europe. Yet their ancestral lineage, resulting from millions brought forcibly and millions voluntarily seeking improved economic opportunities, has reset the course of the past, present and future.
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