A prime goal for explorers was to locate the source of the River Nile. Expeditions by Burton and Speke (1857–1858) and Speke and Grant (1863) located Lake Tanganyika and Lake Victoria. It was eventually proved to be the latter from which the Nile flowed.
What are the reasons for the exploration of Africa?
There are three main reasons for European Exploration. Them being for the sake of their economy, religion and glory. They wanted to improve their economy for instance by acquiring more spices, gold, and better and faster trading routes. Also, they really believed in the need to spread their religion, Christianity.
Why did European explorers come to Africa?
Europeans first became interested in Africa for trade route purposes. They were looking for ways to avoid the taxes of the Arab and Ottoman empires in Southwest Asia. Sailing around Africa was the obvious choice, but it was a long voyage and could not be completed without “pit stops” along the way.
When did explorers come to Africa?
The first Europeans to enter Southern Africa were the Portuguese, who from the 15th century edged their way around the African coast in the hope of outflanking Islam, finding a sea route to the riches of India, and discovering additional sources of food.
What explorers went to Africa?
Great Explorers: Africa
- Richard Francis Burton. One of Britain’s most iconic and individualistic explorers, Richard Francis Burton was a true polymath. …
- John Hanning Speke. …
- David Livingstone. …
- Henry Morton Stanley. …
- Heinrich Barth. …
- Frederick Russell Burnham. …
- Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza. …
- Mungo Park.
Why is Africa so special?
Africa is the world’s hottest continent with deserts and drylands covering 60% of land surface area (e.g. Kalahari, Sahara and Namib). Africa is the world’s second driest continent (after Australia). Africa has approximately 30% of the earth’s remaining mineral resources.
Who Found Africa?
European exploration of Sub-Saharan Africa begins with the Age of Discovery in the 15th century, pioneered by the Kingdom of Portugal under Henry the Navigator.
Who first colonized Africa?
By 1900 much of Africa had been colonized by seven European powers—Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. After the conquest of African decentralized and centralized states, the European powers set about establishing colonial state systems.
Where did slavery start in Africa?
The transatlantic slave trade began during the 15th century when Portugal, and subsequently other European kingdoms, were finally able to expand overseas and reach Africa. The Portuguese first began to kidnap people from the west coast of Africa and to take those they enslaved back to Europe.
What is the oldest civilization in Africa?
Africa’s first great civilization emerged in ancient Egypt in c. 3400 BC. Carthage was founded by Phoenicians in the 9th century BC. Ancient civilization, based around the River Nile in Egypt, which emerged 5,000 years ago and reached its peak in the 16th century BC.
…
| UC Merced Library | – |
|---|---|
| GIS Lab (SpARC – SSM 209) | – |
How old is Africa?
The oldest formed about 3.4 billion years ago, the second some 3 to 2.9 billion years ago, and the third some 2.7 to 2.6 billion years ago. Some of the oldest traces of life are preserved as unicellular algae in Precambrian cherts of the Barberton greenstone belt in the Transvaal region of South Africa.
Who Discovered Antarctica?
The first confirmed sighting of mainland Antarctica, on 27 January 1820, is attributed to the Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev, discovering an ice shelf at Princess Martha Coast that later became known as the Fimbul Ice Shelf.
Where did the name of Africa come from?
In the early sixteenth century the famous medieval traveller and scholar Leo Africanus (al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazan), who had travelled across most of North Africa giving detailed accounts of all that he saw there, suggested that the name ‘Africa’ was derived from the Greek word ‘a-phrike’, meaning ‘without cold’, …
Who was Africa’s most famous explorer?
David Livingstone. In the late 19th century, Europeans and Americans were fascinated by the continent of Africa. Few did more to increase Africa’s fame than Livingstone, one of the United Kingdom’s most famous explorers.
What is one problem that Africans face today?
Today, Africa remains the poorest and least-developed continent in the world. Hunger, poverty, terrorism, local ethnic and religious conflicts, corruption and bribery, disease outbreaks – this was Africa’s story until the early 2000s.
Who was the famous British explorer in West Africa?
David Livingstone, (born March 19, 1813, Blantyre, Lanarkshire, Scotland—died May 1, 1873, Chitambo [now in Zambia]), Scottish missionary and explorer who exercised a formative influence on Western attitudes toward Africa.