West Africa was colonized primarily by Britain, France, and Germany for its natural resources like peanuts, timber, and palm oil. Britain controlled settlements along the Gold Coast and Sierra Leone, while France controlled the largest part of West Africa. Germany gained control of Togo, Cameroon, German Southwest Africa, and German East Africa. Egypt gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in the early 1800s and the Suez Canal was built in 1869, making Egypt strategically important to Britain's trade with India. Britain and France colonized North Africa, while Italy took Libya. Explorers like Livingstone and Stanley explored central Africa and encouraged European settlement in the Congo, which was colonized by Belgium.