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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.

David Livingstone (1813-73) was a nineteenth-century British explorer and missionary. His 1866 search for the source of the Nile forms the core of this two-volume diary, published posthumously in 1874. Volume 1 describes Livingstone's journey from Zanzibar to Ujiji, and his famous meeting with the journalist Henry Morton Stanley.

In this 1877 publication, the widely-travelled Victorian writer Lady Barker describes her experiences in colonial South Africa. Barker moved to Natal in 1875 as the wife of the Colonial Secretary, and recorded her impressions of domestic life and the local landscapes, peoples and customs in the form of vivid letters.

In 1900, the British Governor of the Gold Coast demanded to sit on the symbolically important Golden Stool of the Ashanti people in Ghana, and thereby provoked them to besiege Kumasi. In this 1901 book, the authors, army officers who were part of the British retaliatory force, describe the episode.

This two-volume biography of John William Colenso (1814-83), the controversial first Bishop of Natal, written by his close friend and follower George Cox, was first published in 1888. Volume 1 describes Colenso's youth, his early work in South Africa and the rise of opposition to his theology and opinions.

William Bosman (b. 1672) spent fourteen years from 1688 on the Gold Coast in the service of the Dutch West India Company. This collection of letters written to his uncle from Africa provides a detailed account of the geographical, political and natural history of the coast of Guinea.

Royal Navy officer Edward Bold published this book in 1822 to provide safer, more efficient navigational instructions for ships wanting to go to the west coast of Africa. He also includes explanations of the types of commerce in the region and how to engage in trade.

This two-volume work, published in 1830, recounts the failed mission of Hugh Clapperton (1788-1827) and Richard Lander (1804-1834) to explore the River Niger in West Africa. Volume 2 discusses Clapperton's death and Lander's eventual return to England.

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.

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'.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

First published in 1833, this two-volume account documents the 1821-6 expedition of naval officer William Fitzwilliam Owen (1774-1857) to Africa and its neighbouring lands. In Volume 1, Owen describes the native peoples and wildlife he encountered, and the tragic deaths of many of his crew from tropical diseases.

First published in 1869, this two-volume jointly authored work gives an account of a mission for the National Geographical Society undertaken by John Petherick (1813-82) and his wife Katherine (1827-77). Volume 1 focuses on the first part of the Pethericks' journey to Gondokoro in the Sudan.

English writer and explorer Sir John Barrow (1764-1848) spent 1797-8 exploring the recently acquired Cape Colony. His observations were published in two volumes, with the first appearing in 1801 and the second following in 1804. Volume 1 covers his journey around much of the territory's vast interior.

Written by explorers Richard Burton and Verney Lovett Cameron, this two-volume memoir describes the journey the two men took into West Africa in 1881 to assess the potential of local gold mines. First published in 1883, Volume 1 chronicles Burton's journey from Trieste to Sierra Leone.

The detailed account of a military expedition ordered by Ismail Pasha, Ottoman ruler of Egypt, to suppress the slave trade of Central Africa between 1869 and 1873. The first volume starts with preparations for the voyage and ends with Baker having established stability in Gondokoro and about to march south.