>>510789753
they were just too far behind, too isolated from the rest of the world to have advanced to a point they could have fought the colonials off. as primitive as africans were, they had at least been exposed to the advanced ideas and technologies of the arabs to their north. swords and metal-headed spears were quite common among the africans, while almost nonexistent (or purely ceremonial) among the natives. ironically them having obsidian ended up being a negative in the long run, it probably was a blessing in the stone age, but as time went on their lack of any need for new blades meant they just never discovered anything new. necessity is the mother of invention. the only native peoples that employed mining were mostly mesoamericans, and they did it in very limited amounts, mostly for gold, tin and bronze that would decorate their temples