Customer Reviews

Wanderings in West Africa

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Note: I am resubmitting this review so it will not be anonymous...

One must come to Burton's "Wanderings in West Africa" with the understanding that there are not a lot of primary (first-hand) sources of information about Atlantic coast Africa in the 19th century. Furthermore, the majority of books about Africa of this era (mostly by explorers and missionaries; few or none by Africans) are long out of print and can only be accessed in mjor libraries. Given that, Burton's work is a valuable and readable account of a voyage along Africa's West Coast, as far south as Fernando Po (Equatorial Guinea). (We should be thankful for the publisher.) His text is direct and readable. The account is chronological, port by port. Burton describes the the places and people and whatever catches his interest. His opinion is always present. Burton goes into many details--trade, early colonial administration, rulers, languages, etc.--and it is unlikely that any one reader would be interested in all of it, but most students of African history are likely to find something of interest. There is no index. It should be noted that Burton has plenty of scorn and disdain for many of the Africans he encounters (as well as for many Europeans); this is typical for Burton, but may upset a reader who is new to this writer.

Many of the names (of places, tribes, etc.) are antiquated so a good reference book is a help.

Overall this is not Burton's best book, but it does have a place along with his other books on Africa ("First Footsteps in East Africa", "The Lake Regions of Central Africa") and it adds something of value to the reputation of the great writer, explorer, traveler, and translator who produced "Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al Madinah and Mecca" and "The Arabian Nights".

One must come to Burton's "Wanderings in West Africa" with the understanding that there are not a lot of primary (first-hand) sources of information about Atlantic coast Africa in the 19th century. Furthermore, the majority of books about Africa of this era (mostly by explorers and missionaries; few or none by Africans) are long out of print and can only be accessed in mjor libraries. Given that, Burton's work is a valuable and readable account of a voyage along Africa's West Coast, as far south as Fernando Po (Equatorial Guinea). (We should be thankful for the publisher.) His text is direct and readable. The account is chronological, port by port. Burton describes the the places and people and whatever catches his interest. His opinion is always present. Burton goes into many details--trade, early colonial administration, rulers, languages, etc.--and it is unlikely that any one reader would be interested in all of it, but most students of African history are likely to find something of interest. There is no index.

It should be noted that Burton has plenty of scorn and disdain for many of the Africans he encounters (as well as for many Europeans); this is typical for Burton, but may upset a reader who is new to this writer.

Many of the names (of places, tribes, etc.) are antiquated so a good reference book is a help.

Overall this is not Burton's best book, but it does have a place along with his other books on Africa ("First Footsteps in East Africa", "The Lake Regions of Central Africa") and it adds something of value to the reputation of the great writer, explorer, traveler, and translator who produced "Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al Madinah and Mecca" and "The Arabian Nights".

In WANDERINGS IN WEST AFRICA, the future Sir Richard Burton starts out with his departure from Liverpool and his arrival in Madeira, stops briefly in Tenerife (Island of the guanches in the Canary Islands) then heads down the coast (still onboard the A.S.S. Blackland), around Cape Verde and Goree, to Bathurst on St. Mary Island off Cape St. Mary near the mouth of the Gambia, then around the hump of Africa, past Elmina and Cape Coast Castle, and eventually reaches the island then known as Fernando Po (named after a Portuguese officer, Fernao do Po - now Bioko, a part of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea) near the more familiar islands of Principe and Sao Tome. Along the way, there are many vivid descriptions of people and locations.

At Tenerife, Burton provides a short account of the conquest of the guanches and describes them as being dark-complexioned [curiously, Peter Russell, in his excellent biography PRINCE HENRY 'THE NAVIGATOR' which recounts the beginnings of European involvement in West Africa, describes them as "probably fair-haired" based on descriptions in primary Portuguese sources].

At St. Mary's, Bathurst, he impugns Mungo Park, a well-known explorer, disparaging the latter with phrases such as "[s]o Park calls the Bomax," referring to the term "bentang" - even though a "bentenki" tree plays a role in the Lion of Manding in Courlanger's A TREASURY OF AFRICAN FOLKTALES. He also refers to Mumbo Jumbo (also mentioned by Francis Moore), which Park didn't come across until further from the coast, and coffles of slaves as "genius," implying they are fictional - notably, he fails to mention that Park wrote before the British interdiction on slave trading. The entire attack is sadly reminiscent of Burton's actions and statements in relation to J. H. Speke in Alan Moorehead's THE WHITE NILE. Here, we are also introduced to his rather curious views on Africans - (1) the "noble" race which includes Berbers and Mandingos, (2) the "ignoble" race which includes "pure-blood" or typical Africans and (3) Kaffirs or others he thinks may also be biracial. Later, we are treated to something of the history of the establishment of El Mina and Cape Coast Castle as well as the cruel type of slavery practiced by the Efiks of Calabar - a comparison with slavery in the contemporaneous South of the United States being quite to the benefit of the latter!

All in all, the work is highly entertaining if frequently superior and derogatory to any and all with whom Mr. Burton disagrees or whom he dislikes; however, where neither Mr. Burton's desire for glory nor his prejudices come into play, the book appears to be generally accurate and informative.

Richard Burton's world travels are not unique. From the paleolithic onward documentations of man's trekking have been found. Capt. Burton writes much about his travels. Personal commments about the topography and people and their customs reflect the prevailing attitudes of the society from which he comes. Some observations are uncharitable, but others are of interest. Burton's eye for detail makes for fascinating reading. The intelligentsia of that period used foreign, mostly French phrases, i.e., au contraire, en passant, or other languages, Spanish, some Greek and or Latin. Many times the usage is incorrectly used, it illustrates a person of learning. That this work shows the beginning of European colonialism, the true value of this author is fascinating adventure.

"Wanderings in West Africa"where does one begin
Well, for starters, perhaps the book should be more aptly titled Wonderings about West Africa.
Perhaps ones impression of the book depends on what one expects. I expected a traditional travel/adventure narrative, not a commentary about Euro-African politics, African culture, ethnography (incredibly racist by the way), geography, etc., that could have easily been written from Sir Richard Burtons study, with access to a moderately well-stocked library. Indeed, there is very little evidence from the book itself that Sir Richard ever even visited the West African coast  that is how detached the actual words are from what he must have actually encountered.
According to his own narrative, Sir Richard never stayed in any one place more than 24 hours, yet in his writings he expands his writings on each of those locales to 50+ pages! While the book is titled Wanderings in Africa, nearly half of the entire first volume is about his preparation for the trip and getting to Africa  making the reader wonder if he will ever read about Sir Richards magnificent wanderings in Africa at all.
Besides all that, Sir Richards arrogance, nationalism, and outright racism is painfully evident throughout (e.g. I believe the European to be the brains, the Asiatic the heart, the American and African the arms, and the Australian to the feet of the man-figure. in the various degrees of intellectuality, the Negro ranks between the Australian and the Indian).
Annoyingly enough though, while considering the French manifestly the inferiors of Englishmen, he nevertheless feels it necessary to pepper his narrative with numerous French quotes to demonstrate his sophistication (which the editors have very helpfully refrained from translating)  he did after all consider himself a man of the world. The book is also filled with numerous and very long footnotes, sometimes right in the middle of a sentence or a thought, making the reading very choppy and difficult.
From the perspective of the entertainment, as well as the intellectual value of this book, I give it one star out of fivea waste of intellect, time, paper, and ink