Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo Volume 1

by Richard Francis Burton

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

164 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS was a British geographer, explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia, Africa and the Americas as well as his extraordinary knowledge of languages and cultures. According to one count, he spoke 29 European, Asian, and African languages.

Burton's best-known achievements include travelling in disguise to Mecca, an unexpurgated translation of One Thousand and One Nights (also commonly called The Arabian Nights in English after Andrew Lang's adaptation), bringing the Kama Sutra to publication in English, and journeying with John Hanning Speke as the first Europeans led by Africa's greatest explorer guide, Sidi Mubarak Bombay, utilizing route information by Indian and Omani merchants who traded in the region, to visit the Great Lakes of Africa in search of the source of the Nile. Burton extensively criticized colonial policies (to the detriment of his career) in his works and letters. He was a prolific and erudite author and wrote numerous books and scholarly articles about subjects including human behaviour, travel, falconry, fencing, sexual practices, and ethnography. A unique feature of his books is the copious footnotes and appendices containing remarkable observations and unexpurgated information.

He was a captain in the army of the East India Company serving in India (and later, briefly, in the Crimean War). Following this he was engaged by the Royal Geographical Society to explore the east coast of Africa and led an expedition guided by the locals and was the first European to see Lake Tanganyika. In later life he served as British consul in Fernando Po, Santos, Damascus and, finally, Trieste. He was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and was awarded a knighthood (KCMG) in 1886.

Reviews

[Andrew]

I have an interest in travel writing on Africa, and have found some of the historical accounts of the travellers and explorers to be enlightening.

I'd heard a bit about Richard Burton and some of the extraordinary things he did, so was interested in his writing.

I think of myself as quite literate but struggled with some of words he used and found the style somewhat convoluted and hard to get into.

His account has a stronger emphasis on people and culture, with many references to other writers.

In the end I didn't enjoy this as much as I hoped, but there is information in the book that is worth discovering. Having said that I've decided not to move onto volume 2.

I'd suggest Mungo Park's Travels in the Interiors of Africa if you're looking for something a bit more accessible set in Western Africa. He's also somewhat less offensive in describing the Africans.

[Hans]

Very interesting read. Sometimes too detailed in descriptions of plants or persons. Not allways clear where the author is.
Deplorable habit of shooting gorillas for showcasing in London or for retrieving young examples to be taken to the zoo.
Many hydrological details.
A lot of history , Latin citations, Portuguese and local African terms.
A very learned scolar. Sometimes leaving the reader far behind.
An adventurous tale following one of europe ‘s first expeditions (before or simultaneously with Stanley) in 1860’s, to Gaboon, Angola and Lower Congo.

[Tim Plett]

Interesting read and look at a very different world when the occupation of adventurer existed.