Books in the Cambridge Library Collection - African Studies series

George McCall Theal (1837-1919) was a prolific South African historian and civil servant. These volumes, first published in 1907, contain his detailed history of South Africa between 1505-1795 from its Portuguese origin to Dutch administration. These volumes are reissued from the 1910 edition. Volume 1 covers 1505-1667.

George McCall Theal (1837-1919) was a prolific South African historian and civil servant. These volumes, first published in 1908, contain Theal's history of South Africa between 1795-1894, in which he focuses on the political history of the country. Volume 1 covers the history of Cape Colony 1795-1828.

Stationed as consul on the West African outpost of Fernando Po (modern-day Equatorial Guinea), the British adventurer Richard Burton (1821-1890) decided to explore the area, which he wrote about in this two-volume work, published in 1863. In Volume 2 Burton describes his ascent of Mount Cameroon.

Originally published in 1900, this is the first of two volumes by the missionary W. Holman Bentley (1855-1905), documenting the pioneering work of nineteenth-century missionaries in the Congo. It sets the historical background, recounts the missionaries' objectives, and reveals the discovery of a new route to the upper river.

First published in 1830, this two-volume work documents the expedition to Timbuktu of Rene Caillie (1799-1838), the first European explorer to visit the city and return alive. Volume 1 covers his journey to Timbuktu, with detailed accounts of the people, customs and commerce he encountered along the way.

This pioneering account, published in 1857-1858, was a foundational text in the study of African history and ethnography. Barth set out to 'represent the tribes and nations ... in their historical and ethnographical relation to the rest of mankind'. Cited by Darwin, it is still regarded as an important source.

Published 1822-4, this highly influential two-volume account of the interior of southern Africa derives from the journal kept by William John Burchell (1781-1863) during the first year of a 4,500-mile expedition from 1811 to 1815. It describes landscapes, flora and fauna, and the lives of indigenous peoples encountered.

H. A. MacMichael was a member of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan government between 1905 and 1933. First published in 1922, this two-volume work - the result of almost twenty years' ethnological research - provides a comprehensive history of the indigenous groups in Sudan. Volume 1 contains the history, from pre-Islamic times.

Samuel Johnson (1846-1901) was an Anglican minister and historian renowned for his magisterial history of the Yoruba people. This volume, first published in 1921 by his brother, Dr Obadiah Johnson, contains Johnson's pioneering history of the Yoruba people which remains the standard reference for Yoruba history.

Flora Shaw, Lady Lugard, was colonial editor of The Times from 1893 to 1900. This 1905 work examines in detail the pre-colonial history of Nigeria and Sudan, before touching on the current British administration in Nigeria, where her husband was High Commissioner.

This fascinating account by the Portuguese trader Duarte Lopez, transcribed by the Italian mathematician Filippo Pigafetta (1533-1604), demonstrates the extent of Portuguese exploration across West Africa in the sixteenth century, of which later explorers were unaware. First published in Italian in 1591, this English annotated translation appeared in 1881.

The first European to reach the Niger, Mungo Park was a heroic explorer. His fatal second expedition to Timbuktu is related through his journal, letters, the account of the rescue party and a biography. Published posthumously in 1815 by the African Institution; a vital description of the age of exploration.

Published in 1840, this work by James MacQueen (1778-1870) compiled all the then known information to assist explorers, traders and missionaries in opening up Africa to European influence. He believed that many expeditions and attempts at abolishing the slave trade in Africa had been ineffective because of European ignorance.

In this important study, first published in 1821, the geographer James MacQueen documents his discoveries about the River Niger. Drawing on evidence from a range of authorities, he shows that the Niger terminates in the Atlantic Ocean, opening up trading opportunities between Africa and European countries.

In this two-volume work, published in 1860, British explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-90) recounts his journey around the lakes of present-day Tanzania. In Volume 1 Burton begins in Zanzibar before landing up in Unyamwezi, 'the far-famed land over the moon'.

Sent on a diplomatic mission to convince the king of Dahomey (present-day Benin) to put a stop to the slave trade, British explorer Sir Richard Burton (1821-1890) recounts his experience in this two-volume work, published in 1864. Volume 1 covers his journey and introduction to the king.