<P> European exploration of Sub-Saharan Africa begins with the Age of Discovery in the 15th century , pioneered by Portugal under Henry the Navigator . The Cape of Good Hope was first reached by Bartolomeu Dias on 12 March 1488 , opening the important sea route to India and the Far East , but European exploration of Africa itself remained very limited during the 16th and 17th centuries . The European powers were content to establish trading posts along the coast while they were actively exploring and colonizing the New World . Exploration of the interior of Africa was thus mostly left to the Arab slave traders , who in tandem with the Muslim conquest of the Sudan established far - reaching networks and supported the economy of a number of Sahelian kingdoms during the 15th to 18th centuries . </P>
<P> European exploration of Sub-Saharan Africa begins with the Age of Discovery in the 15th century , pioneered by Portugal under Henry the Navigator . The Cape of Good Hope was first reached by Bartolomeu Dias on 12 March 1488 , opening the important sea route to India and the Far East , but European exploration of Africa itself remained very limited during the 16th and 17th centuries . The European powers were content to establish trading posts along the coast while they were actively exploring and colonizing the New World . Exploration of the interior of Africa was thus mostly left to the Arab slave traders , who in tandem with the Muslim conquest of the Sudan established far - reaching networks and supported the economy of a number of Sahelian kingdoms during the 15th to 18th centuries . </P>
when did the portuguese explore the gold coast of west africa
when did the portuguese explore the gold coast of west africa
15th century
15th century