Page 73 - Volume 1_Go home mzungu Go Home_merged with links
P. 73
Prelude to m’zungu colonisation of Africa
"Veni, Vidi,"
Along the western and eastern coasts of Africa, progress was also steady; Portuguese
sailors reached Cape Bojador in 1434 and Cape Blanco in 1441. In 1433, they built a
fortress on the island of Arguin, in modern day Mauritania, trading European wheat and
cloth for African gold and slaves.
***
In 1469, Fernão Gomes rented the rights of African exploration for five years. Under his
direction, in 1471, the Portuguese reached modern Ghana and settled in La Mina (the
mine), later renamed Elmina.
***
Finally, in the years 1497-98, Vasco da Gama, again with Alemquer as pilot, took a direct
route to Cape of Good Hope, via St. Helena. He went beyond the farthest point reached
by Dias and named the country Natal. Then he sailed northward, making land at
Quelimane (Mozambique) and Mombasa, where he found Chinese traders, and Malindi
(both in modern Kenya).
***
Beginning in the seventeenth century, the Netherlands began exploring and colonizing
Africa. While the Dutch were waging a long war of independence against Spain, Portugal
had temporarily united with Spain, starting in 1580. As a result, the growing colonial
ambitions of the Netherlands were mostly directed against Portugal.
***
For this purpose, two Dutch companies were founded: the West Indies Company, with
power over all the Atlantic Ocean, and the East Indies Company, with power over the
Indian Ocean.
The West India Company conquered Elmina in 1637 and founded Luanda in 1641. In
1648, they were expelled from Luanda by the Portuguese. Overall the Dutch built 16 forts
in different places, including Goree in Senegal, partly overtaking Portugal as the main
slave-trading power.
***
As early as 1530, English merchant adventurers started trading in West Africa, coming
into conflict with Portuguese troops. In 1581, Francis Drake reached the Cape of Good
Hope. In 1663, the British built Fort James in Gambia.
***
In 1626, the French Compagnie de l'Occident was created. This company expelled the
Dutch from Senegal, making it the first French domain in Africa. France also set her eyes
on Madagascar, the island that had been used since 1527 as a stop in travels to India. In
