Exploration of Africa

Exploration of the African Coast

• Portuguese sailors explored the coast of Africa in the 1400s.
• Europeans established settlements along the western and southern coasts of Africa.
• Trade between Europeans and local tribes involved exchanging goods such as: • European goods: guns, gunpowder, cloth • African goods: ivory, gold, animal skins, slaves

Exploration of the Interior of Africa

• Prior to the 1850s, Europeans had limited knowledge of the interior of Africa.
• David Livingstone, a European explorer and missionary, traveled through Africa.
• Livingstone was the first European to cross Africa from west to east.
• He discovered several lakes and rivers, including: • Victoria Falls • Zambezi River
• Livingstone was commissioned to verify John Speke's discovery of the source of the White Nile.

Discovery of Lake Victoria

• English explorer John Speke first encountered Lake Victoria in 1858.
• Lake Victoria is a freshwater lake located at the borders of: • Uganda • Kenya • Tanzania
• Speke confirmed that Lake Victoria is the source of the White Nile.