Wanderings in West Africa : from Liverpool to Fernando Po. In two volumes / Richard Francis Burton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Burton, Richard Francis, Sir, 1821-1890.

Contributor:

Gotham Book Mart Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Standardized Title:

Wanderings in West Africa from Liverpool to Fernando Po

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Burton, Richard Francis, Sir, 1821-1890.

Travel.

Africa, West--Description and travel.

Africa, West.

West Africa.

Burton, Richard Francis, Sir, 1821-1890--Travel--Africa, West.

Burton, Richard Francis.

Penn Provenance:

Gotham Book Mart (former owner) (Gotham Book Mart Collection copy)

Physical Description:

2 volumes ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

[Santa Barbara] : The Narrative Press, [2001]

Summary:

Richard Burton's Wanderings in West Africa is a rare book. There are few narratives that deal with West Africa of the 19th century, especially in so much detail. Written a few years after the famous journey Burton describes in his Lake Regions of Central Africa, this book takes the reader on a port-by-port tour from Liverpool to Morocco and then as far south as Fernando Po (Equatorial Guinea).

There is certainly something in these volumes to interest any enthusiast of African history, or of colonial attitudes, as Burton is free with his opinion on everything -- costume, language, agriculture, colonial administration, and local religions and rulers.

Burton's text demonstrates his characteristic scorn for all kinds of people. For example, he is able to simultaneously exhibit his contempt for the customs of both the Africans and the English, who both treat young women like show dogs when they come of age.

However, the darker the person's skin, the more offensive Burton's commentary becomes, and sometimes it is really shocking. Aside from providing an insight into past attitudes, the book's value lies in its descriptions of cultural and physical phenomena. Burton makes everything his business, from circumcision rites and dietary preferences to local politics.

For example, his description of the kola nut is a wealth of sensory and cultural information, as he notes not only its taste and appearance, but the way one should use it, and the lore that surrounds it.

Only Richard Burton could create such a combination of immediate experience, botanical knowledge, practical advice, and folklore in one paragraph. That is the kind of writer, and the kind of man he was -- equally brilliant and opinionated in many fields.

Contents:

6 Six Hours at the Cape of Cocoa Palms 1

7 Twenty-Four Hours at Cape Coast Castle 34

8 Gold in Africa 88

9 A Pleasant Day in the Land of the Ants 110

10 A Day at Lagos 155

11 Benin

Nun

Bonny River to Fernando Po 203.

Notes:

"True first person accounts of high adventure."

ISBN:

1589761146

9781589761148

1589761162

9781589761162

1589761154

9781589761155

1589761170

9781589761179

OCLC:

49870404