Pāhonoa te oro

Only after Africans were brought to Virginia did colonists begin to learn about the societies they came from. Far from being “primitive,” African civilizations were: Highly organized, with cities like Timbuktu and Benin admired by Europeans Skilled in farming, metalwork, weaving, and sculpture Governed by complex legal systems, often more humane than Europe’s Built on communal traditions, not the harsh private‑property laws of Europe