Political

Henry Stanley’s successful search for Dr. David Livingstone did much to publicize the possibilities for imperialistic development in central Africa. Stanley tried but failed to interest the British government in . the vast area that he had explored. He then turned to King Leopold II of Belgium, who did want the region. After much national […]

On the east coast of Africa, Portugal strengthened and extended its control over Mozambique. To the north of Mozambique, Great Britain and Germany Competed For territorial domination. The slave trade had been only marginally active in East Africa before the late 1700s, but it began to increase after about 1780. During this period of more active

European settlement in South Africa began in 1652, when Dutch settlers founded Cape Town as a resupplying station for ships sailing to the East Indies. The Dutch settlement grew into a large colony called Cape Colony. During the Napoleonic Wars of the early 1800s, the British seized Cape Colony, which then became a British possession.

Niccolo Machiavelli is considered one of the most influential political writers of the Renaissance. While the political theorists of the Middle Ages wrote about politics in an idealistic way, Machiavelli strived to present the realistic side of politics in his work. His ideas were based on his perception of human nature from a historical context.