European exploration of Africa
European exploration of Africa began with
Ancient Greeks and Romans, that explored
and settled in North Africa. Fifteenth Century
Portugal, especially under Henry the Navig-
ator probed along the West African coast.
Scientific curiosity and Christian missionary
spirit soon were subordinated to mercantile
considerations, including lucrative trafficking
in enslaved persons. Others (Dutch, Spanish,
French, English, etc.) joined in African trad-
ing, though for centuries European know-
ledge of Africa’s interior was very vague.
Much of the blank map was filled in by ardu-
ous, often fatal, expeditions in the Nineteenth
Century.
Prehistoric links between
Europe and Africa
The connection between Europe and North
Africa is older than recorded history. It
seems clear that cultural influences crossed
the Mediterranean barrier during the late Pa-
laeolithic and Neolithic ages. Hence, the late
Palaeolithic Aterian industry and Capsian cul-
ture, both from North Africa, are connected
with Europe. Some early Neolithic influences
may also have arrived to Europe via North
Africa. Additionally,
the Megalithic phe-
nomenon of the Chalcolithic period is found
on both shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
Early historical explora-
tion of Africa
Further information: North Africa during the
Classical Period
Africa
is named for the Afri people who
settled in the area of current-day Tunisia.
The Africa Province of the Roman Empire
spanned the Mediterranean coast of what is
now Libya, Tunisia and Algeria. The parts of
North Africa north of the Sahara were well
known in antiquity. Prior to the 2nd century
BC, however, Greek geographers were un-
aware that the land mass then known as
Libya expanded south of the Sahara, assum-
ing that the desert bounded on the outer
reconstruction of Hecataeus’ map of the
world
Ocean. Indeed, Alexander the Great, accord-
ing to Plutarchus’ Lives, considered sailing
from the mouths of the Indus back to Mace-
donia passing south of Africa as a shortcut
compared
to
the
land
route.