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This series focuses on Africa during the period of European colonial expansion. It includes anthropological studies, travel accounts from missionaries and explorers (including those searching for the sources of the Nile and the Congo) and works that shed light on colonial concerns such as gold mining, big game hunting, trade, education and political rivalries.

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103 results in Cambridge Library Collection - African Studies

Page 4 of 6

West African Studies
  • Mary Kingsley
  • Published online:
    05 December 2011
    Print publication:
    09 December 2010
    First published in:
    1899
  • Mary Kingsley (1862–1900) is one of the best known Victorian women travellers, whose solo adventures in West Africa made her a celebrity in England. This, her second book, published in 1899, was an instant best-seller. She travelled extensively, engaging in trade both to fund her trip and to get to know the African people, rather than merely observing as an outsider. Some of her views were considered controversial - she opposed the attempts by missionaries to impose European culture on native people, and defended polygamy and even slavery. She opposed direct colonial rule, and wanted Africans to have more self-determination. Her observations and interests are wide-ranging, and she showed an acute and sympathetic understanding of West African culture and society.For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=kingma

William Cotton Oswell, Hunter and Explorer
  • The Story of his Life with Certain Correspondence and Extracts from the Private Journal of David Livingstone, Hitherto Unpublished
  • Volume 1
  • William Edward Oswell
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    02 June 2011
    First published in:
    1900
  • The life of English explorer William Cotton Oswell (1818–93) was marked by adventures and discoveries. At nineteen, he left Essex for Madras, where he worked for the East India Company and became a renowned elephant catcher. Due to poor health, he was sent to South Africa, the 'empire of wild sport', where he specialised in hunting and exploration. He discovered the River Zouga and Lake Ngami during an expedition across the Kalahari desert, and travelled to the Zambezi River with Scottish missionary David Livingstone. Originally published in 1900, this two-volume biography was written by Oswell's eldest son. Since Oswell kept no diary, his life is here reconstructed through the many letters he sent to his family and friends. Volume 1 focuses on Oswell's youth. It describes the seven years he spent in India, where he trained as a surgeon, and his five African expeditions from 1844 to 1852.

A Year's Housekeeping in South Africa
  • Mary Anne Barker
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    30 June 2011
    First published in:
    1877
  • First published in 1877, this book is one of several colonial memoirs by the successful writer and journalist Lady Mary Anne Barker (1831–1911). Born in Jamaica and educated in England and France, Lady Barker spent periods living in New Zealand, South Africa, Mauritius, Trinidad, and Western Australia following the career and colonial service appointments of her second husband, Frederick Broome. She arrived in Natal in 1875 and lived there for three years while Broome was Colonial Secretary. This book, presented in the form of letters, vividly describes the family's experiences and domestic life. It begins with Barker's early impressions of Cape Town and Natal, mentioning particularly the 'forlorn and discouraging' Robben Island. Barker's detailed observations on African weather and scenery, Zulu customs and beliefs, and the interactions between indigenous people and the European colonists are still an invaluable resource for those interested in nineteenth-century colonial Africa.

The Congo and the Founding of its Free State
  • A Story of Work and Exploration
  • Volume 2
  • Henry Morton Stanley
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    25 August 2011
    First published in:
    1885
  • Sir Henry Morton Stanley (1841–1904) was a journalist and explorer renowned for his adventures in Africa. After emigrating to America in 1859, Stanley worked as a journalist for the New York Herald. In 1869 he was instructed to undertake an expedition to find the missionary David Livingstone, and the success of this mission brought him public recognition and financial success. These volumes, first published in 1885, provide an account of Stanley's exploration of the Congo river in the service of Leopold II of Belgium between 1879 and 1884. Deriving from Stanley's journal, the books describe the difficulties he faced as he founded permanent trading stations, and his negotiations with indigenous leaders, together with his plans for the commercial exploitation of Africa. Stanley's controversial methods to achieve this aim, which led to his modern reputation as a racist and imperialist, are also revealed. Volume 2 covers 1883–4.

Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo
  • Volume 2
  • Richard Francis Burton
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    02 June 2011
    First published in:
    1876
  • Sir Richard Burton (1821–90) is well known for his colourful career, recorded in numerous books and articles, as a diplomat, explorer and ethnographer. In 1861 he was appointed consul to Fernando Po (now Bioko) in Equatorial Guinea, remaining there for four years until he was transferred to Brazil. These volumes collate the expeditions and ethnographic observations made during his time there. In his preface, Burton writes that the 'plain truth' about the African has not been told in Britain, declaring that English occupation of West Africa has proved 'a remarkable failure'. First published in 1876, the second volume recounts a journey made from Fernando Po to Loango Bay and up the Congo River. Of particular interest is the penultimate chapter, 'The slaver and the missionary in the Congo River', in which Burton expresses his ambivalence towards a European presence in Africa. Volume 2 also includes appendices containing geographical observations.

The Congo and the Founding of its Free State
  • A Story of Work and Exploration
  • Volume 1
  • Henry Morton Stanley
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    25 August 2011
    First published in:
    1885
  • Sir Henry Morton Stanley (1841–1904) was a journalist and explorer renowned for his adventures in Africa. After emigrating to America in 1859, Stanley worked as a journalist for the New York Herald. In 1869 he was instructed to undertake an expedition to find the missionary David Livingstone, and the success of this mission brought him public recognition and financial success. These volumes, first published in 1885, provide an account of Stanley's exploration of the Congo river in the service of Leopold II of Belgium between 1879 and 1884. Deriving from Stanley's personal journal, the books describe the difficulties he faced as he founded permanent trading stations, and his negotiations with indigenous leaders, together with his plans for the commercial exploitation of Africa. Stanley's controversial methods to achieve this aim, which led to his modern reputation as a racist and imperialist, are also revealed. Volume 1 covers 1879–83.

The Last Journals of David Livingstone in Central Africa, from 1865 to his Death
  • Continued by a Narrative of his Last Moments and Sufferings, Obtained from his Faithful Servants, Chuma and Susi
  • Volume 2
  • David Livingstone
  • Edited by Horace Waller
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    15 September 2011
    First published in:
    1874
  • One of the most renowned nineteenth-century British explorers of Africa, David Livingstone (1813–73) was a medical missionary who received the Royal Geographical Society gold medal in 1855. His fame was established by his 1853–6 coast-to-coast exploration of the African interior, and by the best-selling Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa, published upon his return to England in 1857 (also reissued in this series). Livingstone's last expedition in search of 'the true source of the Nile', undertaken in 1866, forms the core of this two-volume travel diary, published posthumously in 1874. Volume 2 describes the last two years of his life, when, after his meeting with the journalist Henry Morton Stanley in 1871, Livingstone insisted on staying in Africa despite his poor health. It includes details about his death and the journey to bring his body back to the British authorities, reported by Livingstone's attendants Chuma and Susi.

The Last Journals of David Livingstone in Central Africa, from 1865 to his Death
  • Continued by a Narrative of his Last Moments and Sufferings, Obtained from his Faithful Servants, Chuma and Susi
  • Volume 1
  • David Livingstone
  • Edited by Horace Waller
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    15 September 2011
    First published in:
    1874
  • One of the most renowned nineteenth-century British explorers of Africa, David Livingstone (1813–73) was a medical missionary who received the Royal Geographical Society gold medal in 1855. His fame was established by his 1853–6 coast-to-coast exploration of the African interior, and by the best-selling Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa, published upon his return to England in 1857 (also reissued in this series). Livingstone's last expedition in search of 'the true source of the Nile', undertaken in 1866, forms the core of this two-volume travel diary, published posthumously in 1874. Volume 1 describes his illness-plagued journey from Zanzibar to Ujiji, in Western Tanzania. It also records his 1871 encounter with the New York Herald correspondent and explorer Henry Morton Stanley, who had been dispatched to find him after Livingstone had been cut off from the outside world for so long that he was presumed dead.

History and Ethnography of Africa South of the Zambesi, from the Settlement of the Portuguese at Sofala in September 1505 to the Conquest of the Cape Colony by the British in September 1795
  • Volume 2, Foundation of the Cape Colony by the Dutch
  • George McCall Theal
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    02 December 2010
    First published in:
    1909
  • George McCall Theal (1837–1919) was a prolific South African historian and civil servant. After working as a missionary between 1875–1880 he was appointed magistrate of Tamacha before taking a position as a clerk in the government and became Keeper of the Cape Colony Archives. He was appointed Colonial Historiographer in 1891. These volumes, first published in 1907, contain Theal's detailed history of South Africa between 1505–1795. Theal discusses the formation of the colony from the first Portuguese conquests, exploring the Dutch colonial establishment and administration. Theal also describes the societies of the various indigenous peoples of South Africa and their relations with the colonists. These volumes provide valuable details on the administration of the Dutch colony, and reveal contemporary attitudes to the ideas of history and colonisation. These volumes are reissued from the expanded 1910 edition. Volume 2 covers the years 1652–1745.

Travel and Adventure in South-East Africa
  • Frederick Courteney Selous
  • Published online:
    25 October 2011
    Print publication:
    19 May 2011
    First published in:
    1893
  • Frederick Courteney Selous (1851–1917) was a British explorer, officer, hunter, and conservationist, famous for his work in south-east Africa. In early 1882 he embarked on an eleven-year expedition to record species that, to his great sadness, were becoming endangered. First published in 1893, these revealing memoirs document the wildlife, landscapes and people that characterised his journey. Through vivid descriptions and extensive illustrations, he recalls exhilarating adventures with lions, leopards, hyenas and crocodiles, recounts challenging treks across lakes and mountains, and describes hostile - and at times barbaric - encounters with native peoples. Detailed accounts of hunting endeavours, colonial institutions, and commercial enterprises such as gold mining, also feature in this study, which provides a unique and diverse perspective on Africa in the late nineteenth century. Insightful and revealing, Selous' experiences remain of enduring interest to geographers, anthropologists, zoologists, and all those interested in African history and culture.

Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo
  • Volume 1
  • Richard Francis Burton
  • Published online:
    25 October 2011
    Print publication:
    02 June 2011
    First published in:
    1876
  • Sir Richard Burton (1821–90) is well known for his colourful career, recorded in numerous books and articles, as a diplomat, explorer and ethnographer. In 1861 he was appointed consul to Fernando Po (now Bioko) in Equatorial Guinea, remaining there for four years until he was transferred to Brazil. These volumes collate the expeditions and ethnographic observations made during his time there. In his preface, Burton writes that the 'plain truth' about the African has not been told in Britain, declaring that English occupation of West Africa has proved 'a remarkable failure'. First published in 1876, Volume 1 records Burton's landing at the Gaboon River and includes geographical details, information about local tribes, and reports of journeys to Sanga Tanga and up the Gaboon River to its source. Burton also writes about a 'specimen day' with the reputed Fán cannibals and includes a chapter on gorillas.

Through South Africa
  • Being an Account of his Recent Visit to Rhodesia, the Transvaal, Cape Colony and Natal
  • Henry Morton Stanley
  • Published online:
    25 October 2011
    Print publication:
    14 July 2011
    First published in:
    1898
  • Henry Morton Stanley (1841–1904), the Welsh-born explorer famous for his 1871 meeting with the missionary David Livingstone, travelled widely in Africa. First published in 1898, this is a compendium of letters written by Stanley during his travels to Bulawayo, Johannesburg and Pretoria, which lend a unique insight into colonial South Africa in the late nineteenth century. Focusing on the country's culture and commercial development, he recalls his impressions of industries such as railways, farms and gold mines, social issues such as immigration and poverty, and the contentious relations between the Boer peoples and the British colonists which led to the Second Boer War. Through his passionate exposition, we learn of his adversity towards President Kruger's policies, and his compassion for the people who he claims were left to starve because the government's priorities were military. His memoirs provide a revealing snapshot of an important period in South Africa's history.

Travels in Nubia
  • John Lewis Burckhardt
  • Published online:
    25 October 2011
    Print publication:
    17 February 2011
    First published in:
    1819
  • John Lewis Burckhardt (1784–1817) was a Swiss explorer who is best remembered for his rediscovery of the ancient city of Petra in modern Jordan. In 1809 he was commissioned by the African Association to discover the source of the River Niger. Posing as a Muslim convert, Burckhardt spent two years exploring and studying Arabic and Islamic law in Aleppo, before travelling widely in Arabia and Egypt This volume, first published posthumously in 1819, contains Burckhardt's account of his two visits to Nubia (modern Upper Egypt and Sudan) in 1813 and 1814. Burckhardt was the first western scholar to explore the Sudanese Nile valley, and one of the first western explorers successfully to cross the Nubian Desert. In this valuable volume, he describes in fascinating detail the many ancient ruins along the Nile and the logistics and hardships of his desert crossing.

A Tropical Dependency
  • An Outline of the Ancient History of the Western Soudan with an Account of the Modern Settlement of Northern Nigeria
  • Flora Shaw
  • Published online:
    25 October 2011
    Print publication:
    23 December 2010
    First published in:
    1905
  • Flora Shaw, Lady Lugard (1852–1929) was the first female reporter for The Times, and colonial editor from 1893 to 1900. She travelled widely, and wrote hundreds of articles promoting the British Empire and in favour of its expansion as a world power. She became very involved in South African politics as a friend of Cecil Rhodes, and in 1897 coined the name 'Nigeria' for the colony under the administration of the Royal Niger Company. In 1902 she married Sir Frederick Lugard, then High Commissioner of Northern Nigeria. In 1905 she published A Tropical Dependency, her most extensive work. Although expressing views which assume European superiority, she stressed the fact that the vast majority of the British Empire was not white, and the book is valuable for its information on pre-colonial northern Africa. For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=shawfl

The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia
  • And the Sword Hunters of the Hamran Arabs
  • Samuel White Baker
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    02 June 2011
    First published in:
    1867
  • Published in 1867, Sir Samuel Baker's journal describes his expedition to Africa in search of the source of the Nile. Baker (1821–93), one of the most important British explorers of the nineteenth century, undertook a twelve-month journey to examine every individual tributary to the Nile, accompanied throughout by his wife Florence (whom he had first encountered in an Ottoman slave market). Reflecting his passion for exploring and his strength of character, Baker's highly descriptive, witty and fluid writing records his dangerous and difficult project, telling fascinating stories of the native people as well as relaying the facts of his exploration. From his hunting expeditions with the Hamran Arabs to his extensive journeys on camel-back and his life at camp, Baker's experiences are far removed from today's world, and his vivid descriptions provide the reader with an invaluable insight into what life was like in Africa in the mid-nineteenth century.

First Footsteps in East Africa
  • Or, An Exploration of Harar
  • Richard Burton
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    07 July 2011
    First published in:
    1856
  • Sir Richard Burton (1821–1890), the famous Victorian explorer, began his career in the Indian army in 1842. While in India he developed his linguistic talent, mastering more than forty different languages and dialects. He turned to writing books in the 1850s and, over the remaining forty years of his life, published dozens of works and more than one hundred articles. In this book, first published in 1856, Burton recounts his travels to Harar, a city in East Africa notorious for its slave trade activity. His plan was a challenging one, as it was believed that no European had been there before; upon arrival he claimed to be an agent of the British government and presented himself to the ruler of Harar. Burton was allowed to spend ten days there, and his account give a fascinating glimpse into a then unknown city and culture.

Ismailïa
  • A Narrative of the Expedition to Central Africa for the Suppression of the Slave Trade Organized by Ismail, Khedive of Egypt
  • Volume 2
  • Samuel White Baker
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    11 May 2011
    First published in:
    1874
  • Sir Samuel White Baker (1821–1893) was a traveller and explorer. This two-volume work of 1874 is his account of a military expedition under Ismail Pasha (Ismail the Magnificent, 1830–1895), Khedive of Egypt, to suppress the slave-trade of central Africa between 1869 and 1873. Having found Egyptian citizens exploiting the population of the lawless central lands, Ismail determined to colonize and modernize the Nile basin (now southern Egypt and Sudan). He appointed Baker governor-general and major-general in the Ottoman army. Illustrated with over 50 plates and maps, and with Baker's lively observations of the country and of the society he was trying to reform, this book is a wonderful record of a lost world, and of an important stage in late Ottoman military expansion. In the second volume Baker continues the story of his mixed military successes in the south, and assesses his achievements in Africa.

What Led to the Discovery of the Source of the Nile
  • John Hanning Speke
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    19 May 2011
    First published in:
    1864
  • John Hanning Speke (1827–64) was an officer in the British Indian Army, best known for his explorations of Africa. In the 1850s he embarked on two major expeditions there, the first, to Somalia, inspiring the second, to East Africa, during which he endeavoured to locate the source of the White Nile. This book of 1864 brings together his memoirs of both ventures, in which he draws connections between the two, and provides dramatic recollections of his endurance of captivity, attack, and tropical disease. Despite the obstacles he faced, on his second mission he identified Lake Victoria as the Nile's source; however his claims were heavily contested, as the loss of vital equipment had left questions about its altitude and extent unanswered. The lake was eventually proved to be the source after Speke's tragic death from a gunshot wound, making these memoirs a cornerstone in the historical geography of Africa.

The Lake Regions of Central Africa
  • A Picture of Exploration
  • Volume 2
  • Richard Francis Burton
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    19 May 2011
    First published in:
    1860
  • Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821–90) was an explorer who began his career in the Bombay army in 1842. While in India he developed his linguistic talent, mastering more than forty different languages and dialects. He turned to writing books in the 1850s and over the remaining forty years of his life published dozens of works and more than 100 articles. In this two-volume work, published in 1860, Burton discusses geographical and ethnological matters, while also giving space to the 'picturesque points of view which the subject offers' in recounting his journey to Zanzibar and around the lakes in present-day Tanzania. Volume 2 sees Burton arrive at Lake Tanganyika, and much of this volume is dedicated to his exploration of this freshwater lake and investigation of the way of life of the inhabitants of its shores. He also includes an appendix of commerce in the region.

Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi and its Tributaries
  • And of the Discovery of the Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa: 1858–64
  • David Livingstone, Charles Livingstone
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    19 May 2011
    First published in:
    1865
  • The success of the Victorian explorer and missionary David Livingstone's first book, Missionary Travels (1857), led to his receiving government funding in 1858 for an expedition up the Zambezi River. The trip was expected to last two years, and was intended to further commercial and scientific as well as missionary aims. However, owing to internal disagreements, illness (including the death of Livingstone's wife), drought and tribal warfare, the explorers' mission took six and a half years and achieved little apart from collecting plant and geological specimens. The upper reaches of the Zambesi proved unnavigable owing to rapids and waterfalls, and the expedition was recalled. This account, published in 1865 by Livingstone (1813–1873) and his younger brother Charles, who had accompanied him, was in part an attempt to excuse the problems which had beset the expedition, and restore Livingstone's reputation in order to gain backing for further ventures.

Page 4 of 6