Page 62 - Volume 1_Go home mzungu Go Home_merged with links

Prelude to m’zungu colonisation of Africa

"Veni, Vidi,"

colonialism as a national policy in Europe. Several lands previously unknown to

Europeans were discovered by them during this period, though most were already
inhabited.

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European overseas exploration led to the rise of global trade and the European colonial
empires

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The Portuguese began systematically exploring the Atlantic coast of Africa in 1418,

under the sponsorship of Infante Dom Henrique (Prince Henry)

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Between the 12th and 15th centuries the European economy was transformed by the

interconnecting of river and sea trade routes, causing Europe to become one of the
world's most prosperous trading networks

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Technological advancements that were important to the Age of Exploration were the
adoption of the magnetic compass and advances in ship design.

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The Chinese had wide connections through trade in Asia and had been sailing to Arabia,
East Africa, and Egypt since the Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907).

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...due to Chinese involvement, ports such as Malacca (in Southeast Asia), Cochin (on the

Malabar Coast), and Malindi (on the Swahili Coast) had grown as key alternatives to
other important and established ports

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For the first time in its history, the maritime region from China to Africa was under the
dominance of a single imperial power and thereby allowed for the creation of a

cosmopolitan space.

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In 1415, Ceuta was conquered by the Portuguese aiming to control navigation of the

African coast. Young prince Henry the Navigator was there and became aware of profit
possibilities in the Trans-Saharan trade routes.

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He invested in sponsoring voyages down the coast of Mauritania, gathering a group of
merchants, shipowners and stakeholders interested in new sea lanes. Soon the Atlantic

islands of Madeira (1419) and the Azores (1427) were reached.