Africa

The New period of research of Africa begins since 1788 when the African association has been based. Encouragement of geographical opening in Africa and along with it development of the British trade and political domination on it yet not studied continent was an overall objective of this society. These problems were giant for in 1788 about an internal part of the African continent it was known very little. Everything, that during this epoch Europeans knew about Africa, was settled by a narrow strip of the earth in Northwest Africa, a small scrap of territory between the rivers Senegals and Gambia, separate pieces of the western coast to the south from a mouth of the river Congo, the Cape colony to the south from the river the Orange, narrow strip upstream the rivers Zambezis and more extensive territory covering Egypt and Ethiopia to the north from Blue Nile.

Research of Africa breaks up to three big periods. During the first period (1788-1849) in the attention centre there was a problem of Niger; considerable enough activity, in particular by the period end, was observed and in Northeast Africa. The second period begins with an exit on a scene as the researcher of Africa of Livingstone (1849) and Bart's travel across Sahara (1850) . These two travel were a turning point in business of research of Africa, and the era of opening in the Central Africa, Sahara and Sudan has begun them. With the termination in 1889 of work Stenli this second period during which it was possible to solve all pivotal problems of geography of Africa is closed also. The third period has opened in 1890 and proceeds till today. This period is marked by filling of details in those areas, the basic which lines of structure in general have been established during the previous period, and also by liquidation or reduction of the white stains still appearing on a card of Africa in 1889 During this last period the most important opening have been made in desert Sahara, in southern Ethiopia and a northeast extremity of Africa and around a watershed between Nile and Congo. As to other areas of Africa not stopping political rivalry has led here again to many large research expeditions and works of the commissions on demarcation of borders, in particular within current twentieth century.

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