African exploration - Essay Example

The article has got a number of issues discussed regarding the European and East Africans during the age of exploration. This has raised several important points which are of interest and need to be elaborated.The majority of the visitors coming to the African exploration were surprisingly not from the European explorers, in stead, they were the Africans, Arabs and Swahilis in particular. The changes taking place as a result of exploration were tremendous including various structural changes that were evident.

All these things were clear and visible during and/or after the exploration by the Arabs and the Europeans. These points individually are explained below.The explorers coming to the east African exploration were composed of European explorers and the east Africans. The formation and the number of explorers were surprisingly strange. The majority of the explorers were east Africans, Arabs and Swahilis in particular. They had a huge adaptability to the culture of the African area. The explorers coming from Europe and other areas also relied on Arabs and other Africans for guidance and routes for help and support.

They took detailed accounts of the societies they encountered as they planned to give a complete account of the regions they were traversing. The degree of satisfaction of the obtained knowledge depended upon the individual explorer's perspective and interests and tended to vary fro explorer to explorer.In the second period of exploration under discussion, 1856-70, the number of people with Indian backgrounds rose. In a taken sample, around 54 percent of the people joining in that period were of Indian background.

The other segments of people in that period increased. Men with army connections increased as compared to those with naval men. Number of men with missionary activities increased. The number of administrators increased in the period whereas the number of scholars was relatively small.The practical, administrative and functional memberships seem to have become even more marked in that period. The composition of the people and their professions was changing with the changing time periods and particularly in this period.

The creation of infrastructure and the relevant setup was to make the enforcement of law and order better. The people who were given to slavery were to be relieved from that and the civilization was to be established there. The east African cohesion was pretty much visible in the traversing of the European and other African voyagers. Besides the justification provided for the discovery and exploration of east Africa, the hidden motives were very much there with the British people. They were not disclosed as the justification was reasonably acceptable.

The motives of the east India company and the British explorers were multifold with a focus on reaping the benefits from the east African products and produce. The exploration of course resulted in a direct contact of the British explorers and the Africans. The Arabs were an integral part of the exploration. They were adaptive to the changed culture of east Africa. The Arabs and the Swahilis adjusted themselves to African conditions, culture and the social and political norms in the African region, even when they were in dominating position.

There was an implicit alliance between the Arabs and the Europeans. They helped each other in the exploration and Europeans heavily relied on the Arabs for support and guidance in the region. The British government advanced money for the cause of