Africa, as a continent, was known to its inhabitants for thousands of years. The concept of “discovery” typically refers to the first recorded contact by people from another region.
In terms of ancient external contact, the ancient Egyptians, who were indigenous to Africa, had knowledge of the continent. However, outside of Africa, one of the earliest known contacts with the continent was by ancient Mediterranean civilizations. The Phoenicians, an ancient seafaring people from the region of modern-day Lebanon, are believed to have explored parts of the African coast around 1000 BCE.
Later, in the 5th century BCE, the Greek historian Herodotus mentioned stories of African exploration, particularly of the Nile and regions beyond Egypt.
If you’re referring to the “discovery” by Europeans during the Age of Exploration, the Portuguese were among the first. In the 15th century, Portuguese explorers like Prince Henry the Navigator initiated expeditions along the West African coast, leading to the European rediscovery of parts of Africa. This culminated in Bartolomeu Dias reaching the southern tip of Africa in 1488 and Vasco da Gama reaching India by sailing around Africa in 1498.
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