Hello everyone and welcome to the History of England, episode 29 of West Africa.

This week then I'm going to start on a sort of mini series about that most notable of

the Elizabethan Activatives, the expansion of international trade, the entry of England

into exploration and the development of an English Navy.

One of the parts of the world we shall be talking about is Africa, specifically West

Africa.

So I thought I'd start the little sweet by talking a very little about African history

or more specifically West Africa and really to give a bit of background.

But also, because it's a shiny new thing for me and shiny new things are always more

interesting.

I have to say there is a little in here that is specifically about the history of England

which could get me thrown off my own Facebook group, Mayor Culper.

The last time we discussed this we talked a little about how Portuguese, Mariners and

traders in the 15th century inch down the west coast of Africa agonizingly slowly.

What's difficult to grasp is just how little Europeans knew about Africa and more importantly,

how little they knew about the winds and the currents and how to navigate for what

was them an unknown land.

For example, in 1434 the Portuguese rounded Cape Bojador on the western coast of the Sahara.

This was a major obstacle and having for centuries.

The steady flow of currents from north to south along the coast of West Africa meant the

Mediterranean sailors were able to reach that point relatively easily by hugging the

coast.

...