When did Europeans first explore sub-Saharan Africa?

European exploration of sub-Saharan Africa started around the Renaissance, but was quite limited for a very long time. Portuguese expeditions were more interested in circumnavigating Africa than penetrating the interior, though they were perfectly happy to set up coastal trading posts along the way and send missionaries. read more

When Europeans first explored sub Sahara Africa, the natives definitely thought they (the Europeans) weren’t humans. According to popular folklore in my village in Ile Ife, Nigeria, the natives thought the white man (Europeans) had no skin. read more