对非洲地理的考察是帝国主义瓜分非洲的前奏。欧洲殖民主义者虽从十五世纪起就侵入非洲,但直到十九世纪中期,他们仍只盘踞在沿海地带,对非洲内陆的情况几乎一无所知。殖民主义者为了占有更多的原料和商品销售市场,需要搞清非洲内陆资源的分布和交通路线等情况。图左上是1854年德国根据四位探险家的报告绘制的非洲地图(从的黎波里到中苏丹部分)。它反映了当时的考察工作还只限在赤道以北的中非洲地区。图上的四个探险家都是从的黎波里出发,越过撒哈拉沙漠到达乍得湖一带的。其中最著 An examination of the geography of Africa is a prelude to the division of Africa by the imperialists. Although the European colonialists invaded Africa from the 15th century onward, they did not occupy the coastal zone until the mid-19th century and knew little about the situation in inland Africa. In order to gain more market for raw materials and commodities, the colonialists need to find out the distribution of inland resources in Africa and the traffic routes. The upper left is the map of Africa (from Tripoli to the Middle Sudan section) drawn by Germany in 1854 on the basis of the reports of four explorers. It reflects that the survey was limited to Central Africa, north of the equator. The four explorers on the map all depart from Tripoli and across the Sahara to Lake Chad. One of the most