| The Portuguese |
 The Portuguese were the first to set foot on the African land in the 1470s in their quest to gain direct access to the gold-producing regions of West Africa. Their main objective was to reach India for trade reasons and they wanted to avoid passing the Red Sea. They built a castle on the West African coast, modern day Ghana, and named it Elmina. They did so to protect their trading post from their rival Europeans. The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited equatorial islands of Príncipe and São Tomé and used slave labour from African mainland to cultivate the sugar plantations. Although they mainly settled in different parts of west Africa, they still traveled to different parts of Africa.
|
| The Dutch and the British |
 The Dutch and the British arrived in Southern Africa in the 16th century, through the Cape of Good Hope, the port they used to replenish their ships on their way to India. They traded with the Khoisan pastoralists communities who later resented the settlers and were defeated in armed opposition. This paved the way for Dutch settlement in this region. As the Dutch continued to settle in Southern Africa, the British joined them and intensified the competition for land.
|
back to Africa History
|
|
