Who discovered Africa and in what year

On the question of who discovered Africa and in which year, it is impossible to give an unambiguous answer. The northern coast of the Black Continent was well known to Europeans even in ancient times. Libya and Egypt were part of the Roman Empire.

The study of the territories located to the south of the Sahara was started by the Portuguese in the era of the Great Discoveries. However, the internal regions of the African continent remained unexplored until the middle of the 19th century.

Antiquity

The Phoenicians founded a number of colonial cities in the Mediterranean region, the most famous of which was Carthage. It was the people of merchants and seafarers. Around 600 BC, the Phoenicians on several ships made a voyage around Africa. They sailed from the Red Sea in Egypt, headed south along the coast, rounded the continent, turned north, finally got to the Mediterranean and returned home lands. Thus, the first to discover Africa, we can consider the ancient Phoenicians.

Gannon Expedition

An ancient Greek source has been preserved that describes the Phoenicians' journey to the coast of Senegal around 500 BC. The expedition leader was a navigator from Carthage. This is the earliest known traveler's history among those who discovered Africa. The name of this man is Gannon.

His fleet of 60 ships left Carthage, passed the Strait of Gibraltar and moved along the Moroccan coast. There the Phoenicians founded several colonies and moved on. Modern historians agree that Hanno has reached, at least, Senegal. Perhaps the last point of the expedition was Cameroon or Gabon.

Arab campaigns

By the 13th century AD, northern Africa was conquered by Muslims. After that they moved on. In the east along the Nile to Nubia, in the west - through the Sahara to Mauritania. Precise information about the year in which Arabs discovered Africa was not preserved. It is believed that the spread of Islam among the black population of the continent took place in the 9th-14th centuries.

Early Portuguese expeditions

Europeans became interested in the Black Continent in the 15th century. Portuguese prince Enrique (Henry), called the Navigator, methodically explored the African coast in search of a sea route to India. In 1420, the Portuguese founded a settlement on the island of Madeira, and in 1431 the Azores declared their territory as their territory. These territories became strong points for further expeditions.

In 1455 and 1456 two explorers Aloisius Cada Mosto of Venice and Uzus di Mare from Genoa on ships reached the mouth of the Gambia and the coast of Senegal. At the same time, another Italian navigator Antonio de Noli opened the islands of Cape Verde. Subsequently, he became their first governor. All these travelers who discovered Africa Europeans, were in the service of the Portuguese prince Enrique. Organized expeditions opened Senegal, Gambia and Guinea.

Further research

But even after the death of Enrique the Navigator, the expeditions of the Portuguese along the African coast did not cease. In 1471, Fernán Gomez discovered lands rich in gold on the territory of Ghana. In 1482, Diogu Kan found the mouth of a large river and learned of the existence of the great kingdom of the Congo. The Portuguese founded several fortified forts in West Africa. They sold wheat and cloth to local rulers in exchange for gold and slaves.

But the search for a way to India continued. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias reached the southernmost point of the African continent. It was called the Cape of Good Hope. When asked about who discovered Africa and when, this event is often referred to.

Finally, Vasco da Gama, leaving behind the Cape of Good Hope, went further and in 1498 reached India. Along the way, he discovered Mozambique and Mombasa, where he found traces of the stay of Chinese merchants.

Dutch colonization

Since the XVII century, the Dutch are also beginning to penetrate into Africa. They founded the West Indian and East Indian companies to colonize overseas lands and they needed intermediate ports for travel to Asia. The Portuguese tried to obstruct the ambitions of the Netherlands. They claimed that who discovered Africa first, he must own the continent. Between the states a war ensued, during which the Dutch managed to gain a foothold on the Black Continent.

In 1652, Jan van Ribek founded the city of Cape Town, which was the beginning of the colonization of South Africa.

Ambitions of other European countries

In addition to the Portuguese and the Dutch, other states also sought to establish colonies on the Black Continent. All of them to a certain extent can be called those who discovered Africa, because the territory to the south of the Sahara were at that time completely unexplored, and each expedition made new discoveries.

Already in 1530, British merchants began to trade in West Africa, in conflict with the Portuguese troops. In 1581, Francis Drake reached the Cape of Good Hope. In 1663, the British built Fort James in the Gambia.

France has put an eye on Madagascar. In 1642, the French East India Company founded a settlement in its southern part called Fort Dauphin. Etienne de Flacourt published memoirs about his stay in Madagascar, which for a long time served as the main source of information about the island.

In 1657, Swedish merchants founded the settlement of Cape Coast in Ghana, but were soon superseded by the Danes who founded Fort Christiansborg near modern Accra.

In 1677 Prussian King Frederick William I sent an expedition to the west coast of Africa. The commander of the expedition, Captain Blonk, built a settlement called Gross Friedrichburgh and rebuilt the abandoned Portuguese fort Arguin. But in 1720 the king decided to sell these bases to the Netherlands for 7000 ducats.

Studies of the XIX century

In the XVII-XVIII centuries, the entire coast of Africa was thoroughly investigated. But the territories inside the continent remained for the most part a "white spot". Those who discovered Africa were engaged in making profits, not scientific research. But by the middle of the XIX century and the interior areas became a subject of interest of Europeans. In 1848, Mount Kilimanjaro was opened , on top of which lay snow. Unusual nature of Africa, previously unknown species of animals and plants attracted European scientists.

Catholic and Protestant missionaries also sought to penetrate deeper into the continent to preach among tribes unfamiliar with Christianity.

David Livingston

At the beginning of the XIX century Europeans knew where Africa was. But very poorly understood that it is from the inside. One of those people who discovered Africa from an unexpected side was the Scottish missionary David Livingston. He made friends with the local population and for the first time visited the most remote regions of the continent.

In 1849, Livingston crossed the Kalahari desert and met a previously unknown to the Europeans tribe Bushmen. In 1855, while traveling along the Zambezi River, he discovered a stunningly beautiful waterfall, which he decided to give the name of the British Queen Victoria. Returning to Britain, Livingston published a book about his expedition, which aroused unprecedented interest and sold 70,000 copies.

In 1858 the explorer again went to Africa. He studied the lake Nyasa and its surroundings in detail. As a result of the trip, the second book was written. After that, Livingston took the third, final, expedition. Its purpose was to search for the origins of the Nile. Livingstone explored the area of the great African lakes. He did not find the source of the Nile, but he mapped many previously unknown territories.

Livingstone was not only an outstanding researcher, but also a great humanist. He opposed slavery and racist prejudices.

So who discovered Africa?

The only correct answer to this question does not exist. It is impossible to say exactly who discovered Africa and in which year. And not only because the northern part of this continent is known to the inhabitants of Europe from time immemorial. But also because Africa is the birthplace of man. Nobody opened it. These Africans discovered other continents and populated them.