With the beginning of the era of the great geographical discoveries, Spain and Portugal rushed to saw the world, establishing their power in the overseas territories. Later they were joined by England, France and Holland. Russia, which did not have a sensible fleet, could only think of annexing neighboring lands.
Until Peter I ascended the throne.
The great reformer, among other things, brought from Europe the culture of shipbuilding. With the advent of solid ships, the emperor could not help but have colonial ambitions. But by that time, most of the land had already been divided, so it was necessary to look for what was bad. Poorly lay an island off the east coast of Africa called Madagascar, where pirates organized a semblance of a state.
Previously, Madagascar was ruled by the French, but in 1670 a rebellion broke out on the island, and all the colonialists were killed. The remaining bases were chosen by corsairs: from here it was easy to attack merchant ships sailing to India and back. From time to time, Europeans sent punitive expeditions, but not too accented, so it was not possible to eradicate piracy. This is how the so-called Madagascar Kingdom gradually took shape on the island, which was ruled by reputable sea robbers.
Map of Madagascar 1702. In 1721, the Swedes conceived to seize Madagascar. After losing the Northern War, the kingdom needed new sources of income. Vice Admiral Daniel Wilster was put in charge of the African expedition, but it soon became clear that the treasury was so poor that there was not enough money to equip ships, and the project stalled. Wilster turned out to be a very cunning man: he soon arrived in St. Petersburg, where he announced that he was not an enemy of Russia and had an important state matter for the tsar (surprising, however, simplicity of morals). Peter, having learned about Madagascar, flared up.
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The training was launched in Reval (present-day Tallinn) in the strictest secrecy. All correspondence was conducted in the field office of the commander of the Russian fleet, General-Admiral Apraksin, without the involvement of the staff of the Admiralty Collegium and the Collegium of Foreign Affairs: they were filled with representatives of the western courts. The documents did not even indicate the destination, they wrote: "Follow to the place assigned to you."
World map of the 17th century with the proposed route of the expedition. Wilster was taken to Rogervik, and until his departure he lived in the commandant's house in complete isolation, in fact, in the position of a prisoner. They decided to go not under a military flag, but since multi-gun frigates under a trade flag are a suspicious phenomenon, they were ordered to avoid busy sea routes. The route was laid not across the English Channel, but around Britain.
Three thousand rubles allocated from the treasury were used to equip two Dutch-built frigates: "Amsterdam Galey" and "Decron de Livde". Wilster, who led the expedition, was instructed to destroy the main pirate bases, hand over Peter's letter to the ruler of Madagascar and negotiate with him on the establishment of diplomatic and trade relations.
The ships left Reval on December 21, 1723. But before they even got to the Danish wrecks, during a storm, one of the frigates leaked, and the other showed stability problems. They had to return to the port, not salty. Peter nevertheless did not abandon his intention, new and more careful preparations were unfolded. However, after the death of the first Russian emperor, a cross was raised on the African campaign.
So Russia never made it to the Black Continent.