Africa is a distant and mysterious continent that has recently revealed its secrets to Europeans. A few centuries ago, there were not even detailed maps depicting hot exotic countries located on the African mainland. The history of the study of the continent is filled with interesting cases and unusual details that deserve attention. For their understanding, a table can be compiled (a study of Africa was conducted in different areas). So it will be possible to get a general idea of who studied the continent, and we will examine their studies in more detail.
| Territory | Who studied? |
| East africa | Charles Jacques Poncet James bruce |
| White Nile Valley | William George Brown |
| West Africa | Bartholomew Stibs Andre Brue |
| Niger Valley | Mungo Park |
| Angola | Giovanni Antonio Cavazzi |
| South Africa | August Frederick Beitler Jan Dantcard Jacob Kutze |
| Madagascar | Etienne Flacourt |
| Central africa | Egor Kovalevsky |
Travels in East Africa
In the seventeenth century, Europeans did not possess all the necessary geographic information. African studies mainly concerned only Mediterranean countries. Therefore, many scientists sought the continent for further information. At the end of the seventeenth century, a French doctor named Charles Jacques Poncet established Ethiopia's connection with the Mediterranean Sea (before the Portuguese traveled there only along the Red). Having joined the Jesuit mission, the scientist climbed the Nile, passed through the Nubian desert and ended up in the capital of the country, where he cured the ill emperor Iyasu I. His further journey was directed to the Red Sea, by which he made the usual Portuguese campaign to Lower Egypt, from there he returned to France.
The next scientist who set about exploring Africa was Scot James Bruce. Interestingly, he was a doctor, like Ponce. He studied the way from Alexandria to Ethiopia, drove along the Arabian desert with a caravan, visited the northern shores of the Red Sea, documenting the coastal strip. In the process of medical practice, he also visited Lake Tana. His personal story of the discovery of Africa is set forth in the book Travels to Discover the Origins of the Nile in 1768-1773, which was published in 1790. The appearance of this work attracted the attention of geographers to the continent and became the starting point for a number of new studies.
Exploring the White Nile
The left bank of Bahr el Abyad has long been a "mysterious country" for Europeans. The White Nile has been linked to Ethiopia by many trade routes. The first European to go through one of them was the Englishman William George Brown. He wanted to study Darfur, but the ruler of the country forbade him to do this. In the capital, called El Fasher, the archaeologist had to spend three years until the sultan allowed him to return to Egypt. Despite such limitations for exploring Africa, Brown has gathered a lot of data for a valuable report. Until the twenties of the nineteenth century, his description of Darfur, located on the territory of modern Sudan, was the only one.
West Africa
Until the eighteenth century, Europeans knew only the part surrounding the Gambia river basin . The geographical location and exploration of Africa became the subject of interest for the Englishman Bartholomew Stibs, who in 1723 proceeded 500 kilometers further than the previously studied territories and reached the Fouta Jallon massif. He found that the Gambia is not connected to Niger and begins somewhere nearby. Following the trail of his travels, the English officers Smith and Leach plotted a map and plotted the exact coordinates of the river in 1732. A considerable contribution was left by the French. Their studies of Africa concerned the Senegal basin, the course of which they studied in detail as colonizers. André Brue, the former director of a trading company, stood out especially. He studied the Atlantic coast and became the first of the Europeans who began to seek penetration into the interior of the mainland to establish colonies. His reports were processed by the missionary Jean Baptiste Laba, who wrote on their basis the book “A New Description of West Africa”. The work was published in 1728 and became an important source of information about this territory.
The emergence of the African Association
Many inland areas of the continent remained unexplored even in the second half of the eighteenth century. In order to continue exploring Africa, the Joseph Banks Association was founded. She had to solve several problems. Firstly, it was necessary to find the origins of the White Nile. Secondly, the exact coordinates of the Niger River were unknown. Thirdly, Congo and Zambezi were equally unexplored. Finally, it was worth exploring the tributaries of large African rivers to discover possible connections. The most important thing was to deal with the territory around Niger. Therefore, the African Association sent several expeditions there. All attempts ended in the death of travelers or simply did not lead to anything.
For research, a Scot from Mungo Park was invited. He went east on a horse, accompanied by African servants. The success of his expedition Mungo owed the idea to go through territories that had not yet belonged to Muslims. So he managed to get to Niger. Returning to England, he published the book "Journey Deep into Africa in 1795-1797.", But some sections remained unknown to him.
Portuguese contribution
The list of people who studied the mainland includes people from different countries. A study of Africa was carried out by the Portuguese. Their efforts mapped the basins of the Congo, Kwa and Kwango rivers . In addition, it was the Portuguese who studied the cities of Angola - Benguela and Luanda. The Capuchin preachers were also engaged in research. The Portuguese king allowed them to travel. One of the Capuchins, Italian Giovanni Antonio Cavazzi, studied the whole of Angola, and then published the most reliable notes. No less successfully, the Portuguese studied the Zambezi basin, where gold seekers worked. Their maps made it possible to get a good idea of this part of the continent.
Southern part of the continent
The history of Africa's discovery and exploration of the Cape of Good Hope is connected with the Dutch. There they founded the village, now known as Cape Town. From there the main expeditions went to the deep regions of the continent. By the middle of the eighteenth century, the Dutch managed to map all the coastal areas. Particularly outstanding was the expedition of August Frederick Beitler, who reached the Great Cay River. The Olivants River was discovered by Jan Dantkart, and the Orange was discovered by Jacob Kutze. To the north, the Dutch discovered the previously unknown plateau Big Namkavaland, but the heat did not allow them to move further.
Madagascar
The history of exploring Africa would be incomplete without exploring this island. It was opened by the French. Etienne Flacourt carried out several successful expeditions to the interior of the island, and in 1658 he published The History of the Great Island of Madagascar, where he described in detail everything that had been studied before. This is the most important document, which is still considered very significant. As a result of expeditions, the French managed to establish dominance on the island, and Madagascar became an official colony.
Russian contribution
Many countries sent expeditions to the mysterious continent. The Russian Empire was no exception. The study of Africa by Russian travelers was associated with different territories. The central regions were studied by Kovalevsky, invited to the excavation of gold mines by the ruler of Egypt. He was in Cairo, the Nubian desert, Berber and Khartoum, studied the Tumat basin and reached its upper reaches, becoming the first European to move so far. Another famous scientist was Tsenkovsky, who studied the Nile Valley. He brought to Russia an amazing collection of natural science exhibits. Africa fascinated the famous Miklouho-Maclay, who studied Sudan and Eritrea, while conducting zoological research. Finally, it is worth mentioning Junker and his journeys along the equatorial part. He lived for several years in wild tribes and obtained information about local residents, which the history of the exploration of Africa did not know either before or after.