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The Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa (commonly known as the African Association), founded in London on 9 June 1788,〔Geo. Cawthorn, ''The Modern Traveller Vol. II, Travels of Ledyard, Lucas, and Sonnini'', London: British Library, 1800.〕 was a British club dedicated to the exploration of West Africa, with the mission of discovering the origin and course of the Niger River and the location of Timbuktu, the "lost city" of gold. The formation of this group was effectively the "beginning of the age of African exploration".〔Frank T. Kryza, ''The Race for Timbuktu: In Search of Africa’s City of Gold'', New York: HarperCollins, 2006, p. 11.〕 Organized by a dozen titled members of London’s upper-class establishment and led by Sir Joseph Banks, the African Association felt that it was the great failing of the Age of Enlightenment that, in a time when men could sail around the world, the geography of the Dark Continent remained almost entirely uncharted. The Ancient Greeks and Romans knew more about the interior of Africa than did the British of the 18th century.〔Kryza p. 12.〕 Motivated by sincere desires for scientific knowledge and the abolition of the slave trade, yet not averse to gaining opportunities for British commerce, the wealthy members each pledged to contribute five guineas per year to recruiting and funding expeditions from England to Africa.〔 == Background and incentives == The Mali Empire, from the 13th to 15th centuries, dominated the region which stretched from the West African coast between the Gambia and Senegal rivers almost to Sokoto in the east, and from 150 miles north of Timbuktu to the headwaters of the Niger.〔Peter Brent, ''Black Nile: Mungo Park and the Search for the Niger'', London: Gordon & Cremonesi, 1977, p. 45.〕 From Timbuktu flowed exports of gold and slaves in such quantities that the city took on the reputation in the outside world of possessing endless wealth. To Europeans fascinated by the discovery of new worlds, Timbuktu was too great a temptation to resist. The Scotsman James Bruce had ventured to Ethiopia in 1769 and reached the source of the Blue Nile. His account of his travels provoked enthusiasm for further exploration into Africa by Europeans, and the men of the African Association were especially inspired in their own goals.〔Brent, p. 26.〕 The location and course of the Niger River were almost completely unknown by Europeans in the 18th century, and most of their maps charting it were mere guesses.〔Davidson Nicol, "Mungo Park and the River Niger", ''African Affairs'' 55, no. 218, January 1956, p. 47.〕 According to Davidson Nicol, Almost all the European theories of the river’s course hypothesized that it flowed east to west, which contradicted reality. Up to this point, no white man had ever seen the river itself.〔 In fact, many Europeans were not even convinced of its existence, though it had been well-known and well-traveled by Muslims for hundreds of years.〔Brent p. 46.〕 The Niger had long been the major highway of commerce between the kingdoms of Africa’s interior and traders from as far away as Iraq,〔 and offered significant trade opportunities for Europe. According to Peter Brent’s ''Black Nile'', 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「African Association」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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