DISCLAIMER: I have not read the comics. If there is a logical explaination in the comics for the question i am about to ask, let me know
In Civil War we meet T'Challa, the fresh king of Wakanda, a small country neighbouring Nigeria that has been a highly reclusive monarchy for as long as anyone seems to remember. In the movie T'Challa mentions that in the wakandan culture the traditional view of the afterlife entails a sort of elysian field governed by Sekhmet (an egyptian warrrior godess, former bodyguard of Ra, associated with lions) and Bast (an egyptian warrior godess, current bodyguard of Ra, associated with cats). This means that Wakanda has been in isolation since before the conquests of Alexander the Great who inserted the Ptolemaic dynasty which made the olympian gods the new majority religion. Although the most important egyptian gods were retained and the old customs remained vital to society there does not appear to be any greko-roman influences in the culture of Wakanda, nor any colonial, christian, arab or muslim influences. Wakanda is believed to be a primitive third world country but is actually the most technologically advanced and wealthy country on earth and the only one capable of processing vibranium. I get the purpose of Wakanda, to subvert a stereotype regarding african countries that a lot of western audiences believe. these stereotypes are patronising and simply false today. What i don't get about Wakanda is how they became so wealthy and advanced when they are complete isolationists and have been for at least 2500 years. Trade is vital to building up an economy and to exchange knowledge which leads to scientific developement. Today we like to imagine scinetific progress as something that is exclusively made in laboratories but it is more complicated than that and always has been. adapting ideas from other prts of the world will require them to be changed in order to suit local conditions, potentially leading to improvements and discoveries along thee way. Newcoman made the first steam engine but James Watt is much more famous because he improved the existing technology to such an efficient level that it remains an integral part of modern energy production. Local needs and conditions are also a factor in the creation process of innovations. many historians have questioned why the industrial revolution began in england rather than say China, a highly developed country ruch on resources. My answer to that question is: China didn't need the steam engine as much as England. Chinese agriculture and industry was already the most efficient in the world. their main import was silver to be able to make enough coins for their massive economy. england had coual adn iron in abundance but much of it was not only underground but under water as well. the steam engine could efficiently empty out flooded mines and make previously unobtainable resources readily available. At the same time it wasn't england alone that revolutionized industry. ideas, resources and technology from all over europe went into the industrialization. and while englland may have started things off germanny was quick to catch up and improve upon the system with their welfare state. Without the ability to learn from the other powers in the world, how could wakanda possibly have reached the level it did? as for economy Wakanda is rich on vibranium but as several countries have demonstrated resources are not enough. Wakanda doesn't even have any trade partners to sell their resources to or to buy important resources from. and in such a small country the complete reliance on their own market would quickly lead to stgnation. So the question is: How could Wakanda possibly be as advanced as it is?
In Civil War we meet T'Challa, the fresh king of Wakanda, a small country neighbouring Nigeria that has been a highly reclusive monarchy for as long as anyone seems to remember. In the movie T'Challa mentions that in the wakandan culture the traditional view of the afterlife entails a sort of elysian field governed by Sekhmet (an egyptian warrrior godess, former bodyguard of Ra, associated with lions) and Bast (an egyptian warrior godess, current bodyguard of Ra, associated with cats). This means that Wakanda has been in isolation since before the conquests of Alexander the Great who inserted the Ptolemaic dynasty which made the olympian gods the new majority religion. Although the most important egyptian gods were retained and the old customs remained vital to society there does not appear to be any greko-roman influences in the culture of Wakanda, nor any colonial, christian, arab or muslim influences. Wakanda is believed to be a primitive third world country but is actually the most technologically advanced and wealthy country on earth and the only one capable of processing vibranium. I get the purpose of Wakanda, to subvert a stereotype regarding african countries that a lot of western audiences believe. these stereotypes are patronising and simply false today. What i don't get about Wakanda is how they became so wealthy and advanced when they are complete isolationists and have been for at least 2500 years. Trade is vital to building up an economy and to exchange knowledge which leads to scientific developement. Today we like to imagine scinetific progress as something that is exclusively made in laboratories but it is more complicated than that and always has been. adapting ideas from other prts of the world will require them to be changed in order to suit local conditions, potentially leading to improvements and discoveries along thee way. Newcoman made the first steam engine but James Watt is much more famous because he improved the existing technology to such an efficient level that it remains an integral part of modern energy production. Local needs and conditions are also a factor in the creation process of innovations. many historians have questioned why the industrial revolution began in england rather than say China, a highly developed country ruch on resources. My answer to that question is: China didn't need the steam engine as much as England. Chinese agriculture and industry was already the most efficient in the world. their main import was silver to be able to make enough coins for their massive economy. england had coual adn iron in abundance but much of it was not only underground but under water as well. the steam engine could efficiently empty out flooded mines and make previously unobtainable resources readily available. At the same time it wasn't england alone that revolutionized industry. ideas, resources and technology from all over europe went into the industrialization. and while englland may have started things off germanny was quick to catch up and improve upon the system with their welfare state. Without the ability to learn from the other powers in the world, how could wakanda possibly have reached the level it did? as for economy Wakanda is rich on vibranium but as several countries have demonstrated resources are not enough. Wakanda doesn't even have any trade partners to sell their resources to or to buy important resources from. and in such a small country the complete reliance on their own market would quickly lead to stgnation. So the question is: How could Wakanda possibly be as advanced as it is?
