History of Africa the early part of the 19th century was undergoing its Industrial Revolution. Nationalist rivalries and prestige were at play. Acquiring African colonies would show rivals that a nation was powerful and significant. These factors culminated in the Scramble for Africa. Knowledge of Africa increased. Numerous European explorers began to explore the continent. Mungo Park traversed the Niger River. James Bruce travelled through Ethiopia and located the source of the Blue Nile. Richard Francis Burton was the first European at Lake Tanganyika. Samuel White Baker explored the Upper Nile. John Hanning Speke located a source of the Nile at Lake Victoria.
PS Speke "Speke" and her barges were used mainly to carry cotton for export from nearby plantations. When the railway operator's successor, the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation (EARH), completed its northern Uganda extension from Tororo to Pakwach it superseded the Victoria Nile ferry service. EARH withdrew "Speke", "Stanley" and "Grant" from service in 1962 and offered "Speke" for sale in September of that year. The track of the Busoga Railway was lifted in 1964. PS Speke PS "Speke" was a British stern wheel paddle steamer in Uganda. She was built for the Uganda Railway in 1910 to operate on Lake