This 1554 map shows many imaginary features in the unknown continent. Note a one-eyed giant sitting on a mountain in the mythical region of Monoculi. Notice also the dense forest in the Sahara; the Niger River begins and ends in lakes; and the Nile River originates in the imagined Mountains of the Moon. The crown and scepter symbols indicate imagined kingdoms. No coastal towns are shown even though other maps show many existed.
Roger M McCoy
At one time Africa was often called “Darkest Africa” because so little was known about its interior. The coastal parts of north Africa, however, were well known since the Greco-Roman era. Prior to the fifteenth-century sailors feared sailing south of the equator because of unknown wind and weather conditions, and also superstitions. Sailors of that time lived with many fears of unknown waters.
Then in the fifteenth century the Kingdom of Portugal, under Henry the Navigator, sailed around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern end of Africa in 1488. From there it was easy sailing to India and China, which had been reached only by overland travel over the Silk Road for many centuries before that time. One such overland traveler was Marco Polo of Venice who was not the first to make the journey, but was the first to write about his experience in the late thirteenth century.
Europeans set up trading posts along the coast of Africa to allow an exchange of African goods and slaves from the interior for products from Europe; this continued through the eighteenth century. In the early nineteenth century interior European exploration began to move inward in South Africa, and soon the only unexplored areas were the Congo Basin and the African Great Lakes. These unexplored areas remained as blank spots on world maps into the middle of the nineteenth century.
By the late nineteenth century the so-called colonial “scramble for Africa” began in earnest and several European countries began a land grab. At the beginning of this period of colonization in1870 ten percent of the continent was under European control. By 1914 European nations controlled nearly 90 percent. France had the most colonies (35) followed by England (32). Other colonies were held by each of the following: Belgium, Denmark, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. Even Sweden and Russia each had a colony.
After the second World War the African colonies began to push for independence. In the beginning independence came by revolution, but other movements were more peaceful. In 1964 there was a conference by the Organization for African Unity which resulted in the newly formed countries keeping their colonial borders intact to prevent the instability of further regional wars.
When exploration revealed the interior of Africa and its richness of wildlife, soon the trophy hunters arrived along with the colonizers, eager to mount heads of gazelles, zebras, lions and many other animals on their walls back home.
This set of blogs will be about the period in exploration and exploitation of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Sources
Derived from Scramble for Africa in wikipedia
Derived from European exploration of Africa in wikipedia
At one time Africa was often called “Darkest Africa” because so little was known about its interior. The coastal parts of north Africa, however, were well known since the Greco-Roman era. Prior to the fifteenth-century sailors feared sailing south of the equator because of unknown wind and weather conditions, and also superstitions. Sailors of that time lived with many fears of unknown waters.
Then in the fifteenth century the Kingdom of Portugal, under Henry the Navigator, sailed around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern end of Africa in 1488. From there it was easy sailing to India and China, which had been reached only by overland travel over the Silk Road for many centuries before that time. One such overland traveler was Marco Polo of Venice who was not the first to make the journey, but was the first to write about his experience in the late thirteenth century.
Europeans set up trading posts along the coast of Africa to allow an exchange of African goods and slaves from the interior for products from Europe; this continued through the eighteenth century. In the early nineteenth century interior European exploration began to move inward in South Africa, and soon the only unexplored areas were the Congo Basin and the African Great Lakes. These unexplored areas remained as blank spots on world maps into the middle of the nineteenth century.
By the late nineteenth century the so-called colonial “scramble for Africa” began in earnest and several European countries began a land grab. At the beginning of this period of colonization in1870 ten percent of the continent was under European control. By 1914 European nations controlled nearly 90 percent. France had the most colonies (35) followed by England (32). Other colonies were held by each of the following: Belgium, Denmark, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. Even Sweden and Russia each had a colony.
After the second World War the African colonies began to push for independence. In the beginning independence came by revolution, but other movements were more peaceful. In 1964 there was a conference by the Organization for African Unity which resulted in the newly formed countries keeping their colonial borders intact to prevent the instability of further regional wars.
When exploration revealed the interior of Africa and its richness of wildlife, soon the trophy hunters arrived along with the colonizers, eager to mount heads of gazelles, zebras, lions and many other animals on their walls back home.
This set of blogs will be about the period in exploration and exploitation of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Sources
Derived from Scramble for Africa in wikipedia
Derived from European exploration of Africa in wikipedia
