A Historical and Philosophical Sketch of the Discoveries and Settlements of the Europeans in Northern and Western Africa at the Close of the Eighteenth Century

by John Leyden

Although he had never set foot in Africa, Scottish poet and linguist John Leyden (1775–1811) decided to publish in 1799 this compilation on 'discoveries and settlements' there, drawing from the published works of explorers. His aim was 'to exhibit the progress of discoveries at this period in North and West Africa', giving descriptions of places such as Guinea, the Gold Coast, and Sierra Leone, as well as accounts of their people. He begins the work by discussing a meeting of the African Association on 9 June 1788, where a map depicted the interior of the continent as 'an extended blank'. Leyden attempts to provide information on those unknown areas by using the travel accounts of writers – including the Scots explorer Mungo Park – who had ventured into the African interior, to put together a narrative which makes this work a valuable collection of eighteenth-century accounts by European explorers in Africa.

434 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1799

About the author

Dr. John Leyden was a Scottish indologist, folklorist and poet.

Leyden studied divinity at the University of Edinburgh and in 1798 was licensed to preach by the presbytery of St Andrews, but it soon became clear that the pulpit was not his vocation. An introduction to Dr. Alexander Murray led him to the study of Eastern languages. He also assisted Walter Scott with collecting materials for his Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border (1802).