African history and global exploration didn’t begin with Europe. Long before Columbus, Africans had already crossed the Atlantic, trading and settling in the Americas. Archaeological evidence — like the colossal heads of the Olmecs in Mexico — shows distinctly African features. Written records confirm it too: Columbus’s own diary mentioned Africans who “knew a way to the west.” Balboa’s writings described meeting African villages in Central America. Malian Emperor Abu Bakari II launched 200 ship