History of Africa Other significant European explorers included Heinrich Barth, Henry Morton Stanley (coiner of the term "Dark Continent" for Africa in an 1878 book), Silva Porto, Alexandre de Serpa Pinto, Rene Caille, Friedrich Gerhard Rohlfs, Gustav Nachtigal, George Schweinfurth, and Joseph Thomson. The most famous of the explorers was David Livingstone, who explored southern Africa and traversed the continent from the Atlantic at Luanda to the Indian Ocean at Quelimane. European explorers made use of African guides and servants, and established long-distance trading routes were used. Missionaries attempting to spread Christianity also increased European knowledge of Africa. Between 1884 and 1885, European
The Scramble for Africa (book) The Scramble for Africa (book) The Scramble for Africa: The White Man's Conquest of the Dark Continent from 1876 to 1912 is a comprehensive history of the colonisation of African territory by European powers between 1876 to 1912 known as the Scramble for Africa. The book was written by historian and arborist Thomas Pakenham and published by Random House in 1990. The book juxtaposes the motives of missionary David Livingstone, King Leopold II, and other leading figures in the southern African land-grab of the late 19th and early 20th century. Pakenham details the famous battles and short wars, such as