Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo

Sir Richard Burton (1821-90) is well known for his colourful career, recorded in numerous books and articles, as a diplomat, explorer and ethnographer. In 1861 he was appointed consul to Fernando Po (now Bioko) in Equatorial Guinea, remaining there for four years until he was transferred to Brazil. These volumes collate the expeditions and ethnographic observations made during his time there. In his preface, Burton writes that the 'plain truth' about the African has not been told in Britain, declaring that English occupation of West Africa has proved 'a remarkable failure'. Volume 1 recounts Burton's landing at the Gaboon River and travel to its source, and includes extensive ethnographical and geographical information. In Volume 2 he travels up the Congo River, and expresses ambivalence about the effects of European traders and missionaries in Africa.