Proceedings of the Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa [1790]

In Short

This collection documents the initial efforts of a London-based association formed in 1788 to chart the African interior. Rather than a singular narrative, it compiles the experiences of explorers like John Ledyard and Simon Lucas, alongside oral testimonies from North African merchants regarding the empires of Bornou and Cashna. By documenting trade routes, climate, and government structures, the book serves as both a historical record of late-18th-century geographical ambition and a primary source on the complex, pre-colonial commercial networks that connected the Mediterranean coast to the Niger River.

The Story

The story begins with the formation of a scholarly association in London, driven by the desire to solve the "blank spaces" on the map of Africa. The society’s early attempts are marked by both profound ambition and severe hardship. John Ledyard, a seasoned adventurer chosen for the first expedition, embodies the period's restless spirit. His narrative is one of physical endurance; having survived Siberian exile and Russian prisons, he arrives in London only to be sent immediately toward Cairo. However, Ledyard’s story ends prematurely with his death in Egypt, leaving the association to pivot toward different methods of inquiry.

The focus shifts to Simon Lucas, who travels to Tripoli with the intention of crossing the desert to Fezzan. Upon arrival, he encounters the volatile realities of regional politics. War and local unrest render his planned route impassable, forcing him to abandon his physical trek. This failure, however, becomes the catalyst for the project’s most significant discovery: the realization that the "interior" was not an empty void, but a region of settled, organized, and sophisticated commercial empires. Lucas turns his attention to the Shereefs and merchants he encounters in Mesurata. By cultivating relationships with these men, particularly the Shereef Imhammed, Lucas collects detailed oral histories. These accounts provide the substance of the book: descriptions of the kingdom of Fezzan, the vast empire of Bornou, and the bustling trade hub of Cashna.

The narrative progresses from these individual accounts to a systematic cataloging of the continent’s interior features. The text details the climate, the agricultural techniques of the local populations, the intricacies of the slave trade, and the complex currency systems relying on gold dust. Through these reports, the reader is introduced to the "Soudan" as a land of cities, markets, and powerful monarchs like Sultan Alli of Bornou. The work culminates in the scientific synthesis of this information by Major Rennell, who utilizes these gathered facts to construct a map. The ending is not a final discovery, but an intellectual synthesis—a moment where the association believes it has successfully brought the "interior" within the reach of human knowledge. The book concludes with a scholarly look at the history of the region and the enduring allure of its ancient sites, positioning the African interior as a new frontier for both philosophy and global commerce.

How It Unfolds

The mandate of discovery The association establishes its mission to send agents into the unknown, choosing men of high temperament to endure extreme climates and political instability. The early text emphasizes the necessity of resilience, noting that personal suffering is considered a prerequisite for the success of such vast geographical ventures.

The death of the pioneer Ledyard’s arrival in Cairo marks the first major beat, characterized by his keen eye for cultural comparison, such as comparing local musical instruments to those found in the South Seas. His sudden death, however, forces the association to rethink its strategy, shifting from solo exploration to the collection of existing knowledge from regional traders.

The stalled journey Simon Lucas arrives in Tripoli only to find his path blocked by regional conflict and the breakdown of caravans. This forced delay serves as the turning point of the book, as he pivots from traveler to ethnographer, recording the detailed testimonies of the Shereefs who frequent the interior routes.

The synthesis of geography The final chapters transition from travelogues to technical reports, where the collected testimonies are cross-referenced and analyzed. The work concludes with the construction of a new map, which attempts to reconcile ancient accounts of the Niger with modern eyewitness reports provided by merchants like Ben Alli.

The People

John Ledyard stands as the quintessential tragic explorer. Driven by an "invincible attachment to Liberty," he survives imprisonment in Siberia only to be sent into the heat of Africa, where he is undone by the very hardships he claims to be accustomed to. He represents the era’s romanticized view of the lone, suffering adventurer.

Simon Lucas acts as the bridge between the European committee and the African reality. He is a pragmatic observer who, when barred from the desert by war, displays the patience required to "cultivate" the friendship of local merchants. His success lies in his ability to trade maps and curiosity for the insider knowledge of the Shereefs.

The Shereef Imhammed is the most vital, if indirect, voice in the book. As a factor in the slave trade and a seasoned traveler of Nigritia, he is the primary source of the empirical data presented. He is portrayed as a sophisticated man of commerce, eager to discuss the geography of his trade routes, and he serves as the primary lens through which the European audience views the empires of the South.

In Its Own Voice

“I have known what it is to have food given me as charity to a madman; and I have at times been obliged to shelter myself under the miseries of that character to avoid a heavier calamity.”

Ledyard describes the extreme personal sacrifices and social precarity he endured during his travels.

“The Desart (a term of the same meaning with its Arabic name of Zahara) may be said, like the ocean, to connect the very nations which it seems to separate; for, in comparison with the woods and morasses of America, it furnishes the Merchant with an easy and convenient road.”

This observation by Ben Alli challenges the European perception of the desert as an impassable barrier rather than a central corridor of trade.

What It's Really About

At its heart, the book is a study of the "interior" as both a physical and a conceptual space. It grapples with the transition from the unknown to the known, documenting how knowledge is constructed through the synthesis of disparate, often oral, sources. There is a persistent tension between the "civilized" perspective of the association and the reality of the African empires they describe, which are shown to be highly organized, wealthy, and deeply connected to global trade. The work also explores the morality of observation, debating the benefits of scientific advancement against the stark, matter-of-fact reality of the slave trade that fueled the very commercial networks the association hoped to map.

Why Read It Today

Readers with an interest in the history of cartography and the development of the Enlightenment mindset will find this book an essential, if challenging, artifact. It provides a rare, unfiltered look at how Europeans first attempted to wrap their heads around the geography and governance of pre-colonial Africa. The experience of reading it is akin to peering into an archive; the prose is formal, dense, and often preoccupied with the minutiae of trade, such as the prices of goods and the weights of gold dust.

The primary difficulty for a modern reader lies in the book's period attitudes. The casual, clinical treatment of the slave trade as a primary commercial factor is jarring and reflects the era’s colonial assumptions. However, there is a warmth and humanity in the descriptions of individuals—the Shereefs sitting in the sand to trace maps, or the descriptions of daily life in Bornou—that cuts through the drier statistical reporting. It is a work of transition, documenting a moment when the world was becoming smaller, and the "unknown" was being brought into the light of the modern age, with all the accompanying complexities and ethical blind spots that realization entailed.