Question

Why did the europeanans became involed with the exploration and explotion of africa

Answer 1

Answer:

The geography of North Africa has been reasonably well known among Europeans since classical antiquity in Greco-Roman geography. Northwest Africa (the Maghreb) was known as either Libya or Africa, while Egypt was considered part of Asia.

European exploration of Sub-Saharan Africa begins with the Age of Discovery in the 15th century, pioneered by Portugal under Henry the Navigator. The Cape of Good Hope was first reached by Bartolomeu Dias on 12 March 1488, opening the important sea route to India and the Far East, but European exploration of Africa itself remained very limited during the 16th and 17th centuries. The European powers were content to establish trading posts along the coast while they were actively exploring and colonizing the New World. Exploration of the interior of Africa was thus mostly left to the Arab slave traders, who in tandem with the Muslim conquest of the Sudan established far-reaching networks and supported the economy of a number of Sahelian kingdoms during the 15th to 18th centuries.

Answer 2

Answer:

The following are the reasons why the Europeans got involved with the exploration and exploitation of the Africa :

a.) As a result of Industrial Revolution in Europe, the countries started to acquire crops and minerals for their industries. Africa being closer to Europe became their first target.

b.) They could get cheap labourers in abundance at cheap rates. Many exploration have discovered that Africa was really rich in minerals and land. This could provide raw materials to the industries in the Europe.

c.) The African countries were militarily weak and backward. So they could not face the new weapons used by the European powers. Also due to their long isolation, they were not developed.

d.) The industrial revolution had not yet taken place in Africa. So the European countries could find good markets for selling their surplus goods.

e.) The explorers and missionaries had already entered Africa and prepared the ground for European expansion.

In 1885 the big European powers met in Berlin to complete the carving up of Africa between them. The line used to seperate states were drawn straight as if they were drawn using a ruler. This was known as the Paper Partition.