European exploration of Africa
By Samson Ogaye
Because of the work of famous African explorers, Europeans became aware of Africa and the opportunities it presented. Some explorers came to Africa in the 13th century, others in the 10th century, with the latest being in the 18th century, a journey that pioneered the scramble and partition of Africa. Some explorers’ journey to Africa are documented and there is a real proof of their encounter in the continent. David Livingstone died in Africa. Henry Morton Stanley was a journalist for the New York Herald known for his successful search of David Livingstone. Here are your top five explores of Africa.
David Livingstone
David Livingstone was a renowned figure in African exploration history. The Britain African explorer was born and breed in Scotland. He moved to England to pursue a degree in Medicine with the intentions of traveling to Africa as a missionary. He vehemently opposed the slave trade and continued to preach that gospel with his pursuit of the source of river Nile. David Livingstone named the Victorian falls, was the first European to travel in the southern part of Africa. The great African explorer died in his final mission where he encountered Henry Morton Stanley, another European Explorer in Africa.
Henry Morton Stanley
As previous stated, Henry Morton Stanley was a Journalist for the New York Harold. In his search for David Livingstone, he was able to traverse the Central parts of Africa particularly Congo region. His works proposed that Congo be a British colony, but the Brits rejected that proposition. Even though he explored the central parts of Africa, many scholars have commented on his work as less flattering, cruel, and having racists’ views about Africa.
Fredrick Russell Burnham
Fredrick Burnham loved to adventure, and his pursuit for adventurous grounds landed him in Africa. He is renowned for the establishment of the scouting movement, fighting in the Apache Wars on United States behalf, serving in the Brits military, as well as fighting in a couple of conflicts in Rhodesia currently South Africa. His exploits of adventure in Africa led him to unfold wealth in the booming oil industry.
Richard Francis Burton
He was a multilingual explorer and his ability to speak more than 29 different languages made him learn a lot about different cultures in Africa. Burton was the first European to travel to Great Lakes of Africa. He was another explorer who was in pursuit of the source of the River Nile, and on that journey, he was able to study other lakes as Victoria and Tanganyika.
John Hanning Speke
John Hanning Speke was an associate of Burton, but due to their differences in opinion on the pursuit of the source of river Nile, they become an antagonist. John did three expeditions to discover the River Nile source. On one of his detour, he discovered Lake Victoria putting forward a hypothesis that it was the source of the River Nile. His Hypothesis was rejected by Burton, but Morton Stanley proved John’s hypothesis of Lake Victoria as the source of River Nile to be true. Speke died in a hunting accident with his gun in Africa.
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