How did west Africans see the Europeans

Why was Africa attractive to Europeans?
Europeans first became interested in Africa for trade route purposes. They were looking for ways to avoid the taxes of the Arab and Ottoman empires in Southwest Asia. Sailing around Africa was the obvious choice, but it was a long voyage and could not be completed without “pit stops” along the way.

The statistics for the eastern war are grim. more than three-million men died in the fighting, more than nine-million men were wounded, and every major country which participated lost its form of government.