so what did they do it for? who can paint the biggest chunk of the map to their own color? resources the sahara might have? control of trade routes to subsaharan africa?
to extract the resources, and probably a bit of pride to paint the map & connect the north with subsaharan colonies. by the time the French were colonizing africa it was faster to use boats for trade though
so what did they do it for? who can paint the biggest chunk of the map to their own color? resources the sahara might have? control of trade routes to subsaharan africa?
to extract the resources, and probably a bit of pride to paint the map & connect the north with subsaharan colonies. by the time the French were colonizing africa it was faster to use boats for trade though
At least in Algeria they have huge deposits of oil and gas in the desert
Also the french used the desert as a test site for nuclear bombs