<P> The Dutch left a lasting impact in South Africa, a region ignored by Portugal that the Dutch eventually decided to use as station in their route to East Asia . Jan van Riebeeck founded Cape Town in 1652, starting the European exploration and colonization of South Africa . </P> <P> Almost at the same time as the Dutch, other European powers attempted to create their own outposts for the African slave trade . </P> <P> As early as 1530, English merchant adventurers started trading in West Africa, coming into conflict with Portuguese troops . In 1581, Francis Drake reached the Cape of Good Hope . In 1663, the English built Fort James in Gambia . One year later, another English colonial expedition attempted to settle southern Madagascar, resulting in the death of most of the colonists . The English forts on the West African coast were eventually taken by the Dutch . </P> <P> In 1626, the French Compagnie de l'Occident was created . This company expelled the Dutch from Senegal, making it the first French domain in Africa . </P>

Who funded the exploration of the african coast