&c., farther north, a region in Eastern Africa extending from the sea to Lake Victoria and the headwaters of the Nile, Nigeria, Gold Coast, and other tracts on the west, with Mauritius, &c.; to France belong Algeria and Tunis, Senegambia, Zone of Morocco, territory north of the Lower Congo, Madagascar, &c.; the Portuguese possess Angola on the west coast and Mozambique on the east; Italy has a territory on the Red Sea, and part of Somaliland; Spain has a part of the coast of the Sahara; the Congo State is a colony of Belgium; Zanzibar is merged in Kenya Colony. Germany was deprived of her possessions in Africa during the European War, and the Peace Conference of 1919 appointed Great Britain, France, and Belgium to act as mandatories of the League of Nations.
The name Africa was given by the Romans at first only to a small district in the immediate neighbourhood of Carthage. The Greeks called Africa Libya, and the Romans often used the same name. The first African exploring expedition on record was sent by Pharaoh Necho about the end of the seventh century B.C. to circumnavigate the continent. The navigators, who were Phœnicians, were absent three years, and according to report they accomplished their object. Fifty or a hundred years later, Hanno, a Carthaginian, made a voyage down the west coast and seems to have got as far as the Bight of Benin. The east coast was probably known to the ancients as far as Mozambique and the island of Madagascar. Of modern nations the Portuguese were the first to take in hand the exploration of Africa. In 1433 they doubled Cape Bojador, in 1441 reached Cape Blanco, in 1442 Cape Verde, in 1462 they discovered Sierra Leone. In 1484 the Portuguese Diego Cam discovered the mouth of the Congo. In 1486 Bartholomew Diaz rounded the Cape of Good Hope and reached Algoa Bay. A few years later a Portuguese traveller visited Abyssinia. In 1497 Vasco da Gama, who was commissioned to find a route by sea to India, sailed round the southern extremity as far as Zanzibar, discovering Natal on his way. The first European settlements were those of the Portuguese in Angola and Mozambique, soon after 1500. In 1650 the Dutch made a settlement at the Cape. In 1770 James Bruce reached the source of the Blue Nile in Abyssinia. For the exploration of the interior of Africa, however, little was done before the close of the eighteenth century.
Modern African exploration may be said to begin with Mungo Park, who reached the upper course of the Niger (1795-1805). Dr. Lacerda, a Portuguese, about the same time reached the capital of the Cazembe, in the centre of South Africa, where he died. During 1802-6 two Portuguese traders crossed the continent from Angola, through the Cazembe's dominions, to the Portuguese possessions on the Zambezi. During 1822-4 extensive explorations were made in Northern and Western Africa by Denham, Clapperton, and Oudney, who proceeded from Tripoli by Murzuq to Lake Tchad, and explored the adjacent regions; Laing, in 1826, crossed the desert from Tripoli to Timbuktu; Caillié, leaving Senegal, made in 1827-8 a journey to Timbuktu, and thence through the desert to Morocco. In 1830 Lander traced a large part of the course of the Niger downward to its mouth, discovering its tributary the Benue. In the south Livingstone, who was stationed as a missionary at Kolobeng, setting out from that place in 1849 discovered Lake Ngami. In 1851 he went north again, and came upon numerous rivers flowing north, affluents of the Zambezi. In 1848 and 1849 Krapf and Rebmann, missionaries in East Africa, discovered the mountains Kilimanjaro and Kenya. An expedition sent out by the British Government started from Tripoli in 1850 to visit the Sahara and the regions around Lake Tchad, the chiefs being Richardson, Overweg, and Barth. The last alone returned in 1855, having carried his explorations over 2,000,000 sq. miles of this part of Africa, hitherto almost unknown. During 1853-6 Livingstone made an important series of explorations. He first went north-westwards, tracing part of the Upper Zambezi, and reached St. Paul de Loanda on the west coast in 1854. On his return journey he followed pretty nearly the same route till he reached the Zambezi, and proceeding down the river, and visiting its falls, called by him the Victoria Falls, he arrived at Quelimane at its mouth on 20th May, 1856, thus crossing the continent from sea to sea. In 1858 he resumed his exploration of the Zambezi regions, and in various journeys visited Lakes Shirwa and Nyasa, sailed up the Shiré to the latter lake, and established the general features of the geography of this part of Africa, returning to England in 1864. By this time the great lakes of equatorial Africa were becoming known, Tanganyika and Victoria having been discovered by Burton and Speke in 1858, and the latter having been visited by Speke and Grant in 1862 and found to give rise to the Nile, while the Albert Nyanza was discovered by Baker in 1864. In 1866 Livingstone entered on his last great series of explorations, the main object of which was to settle the position of the watersheds in the interior of the continent, and which he carried on till his death in 1873. His most important explorations on this occasion were west and south-west of Tanganyika, including the discovery of Lakes Bangweulu and Moero, and part of the upper course of the River Congo (here called Lualaba). For over two years he
was lost to the knowledge of Europe till met with by H. M. Stanley at Tanganyika in 1871. Gerhard Rohlfs, in a succession of journeys from 1861 to 1874, traversed the Sahara in different directions, and also crossed the continent entirely from Tripoli to Lagos by way of Murzuq, Bornu, &c. During 1873-5 Lieutenant Cameron, who had been sent in search of Livingstone, surveyed Lake Tanganyika, explored the country to the west of it, and then travelling to the south-west, finally reached Benguella on the Atlantic coast. During 1874-7 Stanley surveyed Lakes Victoria Nyanza and Tanganyika and explored the intervening country; then going westward to where Livingstone had struck the Congo he followed the river down to its mouth, thus finally settling its course and completing a remarkable and valuable series of explorations. In 1879 Serpa Pinto completed a journey across the continent from Benguella to Natal, and in 1881-2 Wissman and Pogge crossed it again from St. Paul de Loanda to Zanzibar. In recent years our knowledge of all parts of Africa has been greatly increased, thanks to the efforts of travellers, missionaries, and commercial agents. Steamers now ply on the Congo, and on Lakes Tanganyika, Nyasa, and Victoria, and numerous railways ('Cape to Cairo', &c.) extend far into the continent.—Bibliography: Mungo Park, Travels; D. Livingstone, Missionary Travels; Sir H. M. Stanley, In Darkest Africa; Sir H. H. Johnston, Africa.
Afridis (a˙-frē′diz), a tribe or clan on the north-west frontier of India, about the Khyber Pass, who have at various times given trouble to the British, and are included in a new (1922) scheme of Khassadars (irregulars). In 1897-8 a campaign ('the Tirah campaign') had to be undertaken against them, costly both in men and money, before British authority was asserted. In 1905 the Afridis of the force called the Khyber Rifles formed an escort for the Prince and Princess of Wales on their visit to the famous pass, which was long in their charge.—Cf. Holdich, The Indian Borderland.
Afrikander Bund, an association dating from 1880 and founded for the purpose of consolidating Afrikander influence in South Africa. For a time it supported the policy of Cecil Rhodes, but after 1895 separated itself from him. After the war in 1902 the Bund was reorganized, and identified with the South African party whose policy is to further the federation of the South African colonies under the British crown.
A′ga, formerly title of Turkish officers of a lower military rank, now of men of great wealth and influence except learned men and ecclesiastics, to whom the corresponding title of effendi, meaning 'elder brother' and subsequently 'master', is given.
Ag′ades, a town of Africa, near the middle of the Sahara, capital of the Saharan oasis of Aïr or Asben; at one time a seat of great traffic, probably containing 60,000 inhabitants, now with a pop. of about 7000.
Agadir, a little town on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, the Santa Cruz May of the Spaniards. It was seized by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century, and captured by Mulai Ahmed in 1536. It was once one of the most important seaports of Morocco, but is now closed to commerce and only used as a customs station, its place being taken by Mogador. In July, 1910, the appearance of a French cruiser in the port of Agadir gave rise to a Franco-German dispute, and in 1911 Germany sent the gunboat Panther, and a few days later the Berlin, to Agadir for the protection of German subjects. See France, Germany.
Agallochum (a-gal′o-kum), a fragrant wood obtained from Aloexўlon Agallŏchum, a leguminous tree of Cochin-China, and Aquilāria Agallŏcha, a large tree found in north-east Bengal, abounding in resin and an essential oil which yields a perfume used as incense.