the history of africa

7/25/2019 The History of Africa

1/338

This is a reproduction of a library book that was digitized

by Google as part of an ongoing effort to preserve the

information in books and make it universally accessible.

http://books.google.com
https://books.google.com/books?id=UShOAAAAcAAJhttps://books.google.com/books?id=UShOAAAAcAAJ


2/338


3/338

/M

/5./0

// //L . / % m z / v i / _ g _ z .


4/338

I7u--l/. /Pw


5/338


6/338


7/338

O

O D E R NEY P T ' .

N A T I V E S

L ua l

vJ a fl u r v n . 1t u z b a u i fi a i d n n6 ' ] / Y


8/338

' l I l F .

HISTORY

OF

AFRICA.

BYTHEAUTHOR0

CONVERSATIONS

ON

CHRONOLOGY.

HENRY

COLBURN

AND

RIC .IARD_BENTLEY,

NEWBURLINGTON STREET.

KT.


9/338

C.

Whiting,

Beaufort

House, Strand.


10/338

CONTENTS.

Page

CHAPTERI .

Introduction .

,

, _ .

. . 1

CHAPTER.

r r .

Description of Northern Africa.-States of Barbary 11

CHAPTER III.

Description of Northern Africa.Countries

border

ing on the Nile.Lower and Middle Egypt; the

Libyan Deserts

and their Oases . . 35

CIIAPTI-LR

IV

Countries bordering on

the

Nile.Upper Egypt,

Nubia,

and

Abyssinia . . . . . 55

CHAPTERV.

Description of Central Africa. Senegambia.= ' East-.

ern and Western Nigritia . - . . . . . 67

CHAPTER.

VI.

Sierra Leone.-Country of the Ashantees, and Up

per

Guinea . . . . . . . . 84

CHAPTER VII

Wangara. and Congo

.

. . . ~ . .

94

CHAPTERVIII.

Description of Southern Africa.--The

Cape

of Good

Hope.Caflraria.The

Southern Desert.-Mo

zambique.The Eastern

Coast . . .

102

CHAPTER. IX.

Manners, Customs,

Religions,

and Languages of

Northern Africa.--Countries bordering on the Nile 117


11/338

iv

corrrrurs.

CHAPTER

X.

Manners, Customs, Religions, and Forms of G0

vernment of the Inhabitants of

Northern

Africa.-

The

States of Barbary

. . . . .

CIIAPTER

XI.

Manners, Customs, Religions,

and

Forms

of

Go

vernment of the Inhabitants of Central Africa

CHAPTER XII.

Manners, Customs, Religion, and Commerce of the

Inhabitants of Southern Africa.

. .

CHAPTER XIII

Natural History of Africa . . . . .

CHAPTER

XIV.

Civil

History

of

Northern

Africa.Egypt,

to

the

Era

of

the Ptolemies . . . . . .

CHAPTER

Xv.

Egypt, from the

Era

of the

P t o l e i n i e s ,

to i t s becom

ing a Roman Province . . . .

CHAPTER

XVI.

Egypt,

from

i t s

Conquest

by

Rome

to

the

present

Time.Abyssinia . . . . . .

CHAPTER. XVII.

States of Barbary . . . . . .

CHAPTER

XVIII.

Inland and Maritime Discoveries in Africa. . .

CHAPTER

XIX.

European Settlements in

Africa

. . . .

Page

139

161

175

185

216

226

238

258

277

286


12/338

PREFACE.

.____?

Ir i s the design of t h i s small volume to com

municate to i t s readers a general outline of the

h i s t o r y , geography, and p r i n c i p a l f e a t u r e s , whe

ther moral, natural, or

physical,

of an

entire

Quarter of t h e Earth. To

compress the informa

t i o n contained i n a multitude of standard pub

l i c a t i o n s , of ancient and

modern

authors, within

so limited

a

compass, was

no easy

task; and while

we

r e f e r t o t h i s d i f f i c u l t y a s our

excuse

f o r

any

omissions,

we,

at

the

same

time,

confidently

claim the credit

of

laying before

the

youth

of

both sexes so valuable an Epitome of the annals

of

Africa,

from the e a r l i e s t known

records

to the

present p e r i o d , a s w i l l a f f o r d them a c l e a r and

comprehensive view of a l l i t s past

r e v o l u t i o n s ,

a s

w e l l a s of i t s a c t u a l condition.

As t h i s , the

Third

Volume

o f

the JUVENILE

LIBRARY, has been somewhat retarded

i n i t s ap

pearance, we

take

the

occasion to s t a t e , that the


13/338

vi

PREFACE.

delayhas arisen

from two

causes; first,

the

desire

to

improve the

text;

and secondly the impossi

b i l i t y of finishing

the embellishments,

which,

i t

may

r e a d i l y be perceived, a r e above the ordinary

character

aimed a t by

the

most l i b e r a l l y i l l u s

t r a t e d works of t h i s c l as s .

In

the

former

of

these

objects,

we

trust,

we

have

succeeded;

not only

f o r the

sake of t h a t

portion of the

public

t o whom our page

i s

ad

dressed,

but because i t

was due

to

our

under

taking

to avoid even the

t r i v i a l errors

which, per

haps,

too

much

haste

admitted

to

enter

into

the

first editions of the preceding volumes; errors

w h i c h ,

though c o r r e c t e d i n subsequent i m p r e s

sions, have not failed

to

provoke the scurrility

of hostile c r i t i c i s m . Our best answer to such

censure

( i f notice i t deserve) w i l l be to render

our

future volumes

yet more worthy

of approbation;

and

we can assure the candid and i m p a r t i a l , t h a t

w r i t e r s

of

great

and acknowledged a b i l i t i e s

are

employed upon them, and

that

no pains

will be

spared in

making them

as correct in their slightest

p o i n t s ,

a s i n t e r e s t i n g

and

i n s t r u c t i v e

i n

t h e i r

whole

tenour

and

b e a r i n g s .

With regard t o the engravings, considering

Egypt

the

cradle of the

human

r a c e , and her


14/338

rnnracn. ' v i i

monuments

a t t h i s moment t h e

c h i e f h i s t o r i c a l

and antiquarian attraction to the learned of Eu

rope, we

have selected

our i l l u s t r a t i o n s from the

striking

and

picturesque remains

of that ex

traordinary country. They

are p e r f e c t l y

o r i g i n a l ,

and

would,

we

are

free

to

assert,

do

credit

to

an

expensive quarto. In one, we present a view of

the palm-covered village

of

Mit-rahynh, a l l

that

now remains of the once-glorious city of Memphis ;

in another,

Messaborah,

i s seen

the Necropolis

of the

Ammonians, the

mighty

b u r i a l - p l a c e

of the

powerful

descendants

of

Ham.

A

third

affords

a

perfect idea of

the

interior

of

one of these cele

brated

catacombs which are

found among the

tombs of Memphis, with i t s

painted figures and

memorable r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s of

o b j e c t s

f a m i l i a r to

the

ancient

world:

and

the

fourth

i s

a

f a i t h f u l

specimen of

the costume, &c.

of

the modern

in

habitants

of

Egypt.

The woodcuts, a l s o , deserve notice. No. 1 i s

the signet-ring of one of the greatest of the Pha

raohs

;

for

we

gather

from

i t s

prefix

and

inscrip

tion, that i t i s the seal of Thothmosis Moeris, the

twelfth Pharaoh;

with

whose reign commences

a l l the most splendid monuments, the ruins of

which yet t e l l of the prodigious power and gran


15/338

v i i i

PREFACE.

deur

of

these

deified

kings.

We

regret

that

our

acquaintance

with

hieroglyphical

lore does not

enable

us to

explain the other curious

s e a l ,

No.

3;

No.

2 i s the form of a harp,

from a painting

in

the

g r o t t o

of Beni-Hassan, t h e most a n c i e n t , we

believe, that

has

ever been

engraved.

In the

group

to

which

i t

belongs,

i t i s

played

upon

by

a

female; before her

i s

another female listening,

and

behind her a

third suckling

a

child. Such

were the habits of

the

people of

a

country highly

c i v i l i z e d and

cultivated about

four

thousand

years

ago


16/338

Q4


17/338


18/338


19/338

_

. _ . v . r w a r _ w _ - _ ? _ _ - .

{ 9 ? 7 Q . [

2 w 7

. . .

_

.

.

S N V l b I O W N VI H J .. I OI T O J O H O H NH 1 V O V S S Q I R

.*

* 2 ;

r m l l g _ (


20/338

Z0/24 /1,. 1?1.bl1's/zed by

He/zly Kolbzand: Rid1ard.Bend1_'v.

18.30.

Jun. ID.


21/338


22/338

HISTORY

OF _AFRICA.

CHAP.

I .

INTRODUCTION.

Arman,

though i n f e r i o r i n

moral

and p o l i

t i c a l importance to

the other

quarters of

the

globe, has yet much to interest the philosopher,

and to supply

materials

for the pen of the histo

r i a n .

Except in

i t s northern provinces i t was

but l i t t l e known to the ancients; and

the

striking

changes those countries have experi

enced aflb rd

an

impressive lesson of the

insta

b i l i t y of earthly

greatness.

In the e a r l i e s t times

(since the deluge,) of which

we have

any record,

Egyptwas the chosen

seat of

the

arts and

sciences,

and the

learning of

i t s

wise

men had become pro

verbial

amongst nations. I t was the theatre of

many remarkable events, both i n sacred and

profane

history;

and

when

we

contemplate i t s

present staterecollections of i t s ancient

power,

and the magnificence of i t s c i t i e s ; of i t s st

pendous monuments, and the astonishing f e r t i l i t y

of i t s soil; of i t s immense

population,

and the

/3 B


23/338

2 mrnonucrxon.

equity of t h e laws by which that mass of human

beings

was

governed,

crowd

upon

the

mind,

and

each,

in

turn,

excites

admiration

of i t s

former

greatness,

and

regret

at

i t s

present humiliation.

That

humiliation

i s indeed most

complete:

a

few

ignorant

and

semibarbarous

Arabs, with their

Turkish masters, occupy the place

of

the numer

ous and polished inhabitants of Mizraim. Thebes

i s

become

a

mere heap

of

r u i n s ,

the

s i t e

of

He

l i o p o l i s i s marked only by a s i n g l e o b e l i s k , and

a p a l t r y v i l l a g e i s a l l that

now

remains of the

ancient Memphis. The glory of Egypt has de

parted:

i t s

statues l i e mutilated

i n

the dust,

the

sand of

the

desert fi l l s i t s spacious

temples, and

their solemn silence i s only broken by the echoing

tread

of

the

i n q u i s i t i v e

s o j o u r n e r ,

whocomes

t o

speculate upon t h e i r r u i n s

.

Amidst this scene of

desolation,

however, the

great

pyramids stand

nearly i n their original s t a t e ,

as i f spared t o mock

the

c u r i o s i t y of man; f o r

though innumerable travellers

have

v i s i t e d them,

and

explored

many

of their

passages, we

do

not

even

know

with

c e r t a i n t y

e i t h e r

the

uses

f o r

which they were designed, o r the era when they

were built;

each

hypothesis that has been

started

respecting them, seeming

to hold good only t i l l

supplanted

by another, and

a l l in turn being

liable to insurmountable objections. But these

stupendous monuments themselves, whilst learned

men

are

yet

perplexing themselves

with

fresh

con

jectures as to

their origin, are

gradually

crumbling

. t o decay ; the encroaching

sands

are

slowly

rising

round

their

base; and the

years may come

in

which

they shall be heaps of ruin.


24/338

m.rnomrcrron, 3

From the

f a t e

of

Egypt,

the

other

p o r t i o n s

of

ancient

Africa

have not escaped:

Mauritania,

Numidia Cyrene, and Libya,

names endeared

by

a

thousand classical associations,have now

merged

into . t h e states of

Barbary; and the splendours

of

Carthage and Utica

are l o s t in

the .barbarism

of

modern Tunis.

The

interior

of

Africa

was

almost

unknown

to

the ancients; the great deserts formed

a

barrier

which was rarely passed, and the

extensive

re

gions lying

beyond were

considered by the

Greeks and Romans

as a

species

of

fairy-land,

of

which the wildest s t o r i e s might

be told with

out any danger

of

their exceeding the bounds

of

b e l i e f .

Extraordinary

animals,

enormous

birds,

and beings more resembling demons

than

men,

were

said to inhabit t h i s

vast

t e r r i t o r , which was

also supposed to contain the magical gardens of

the Hesperides, and the

happy

Islands of the Blest.

The

obscurity

which

has hung

over

the interior

of

Africa for

so

many ages, appears remarkable,

when

we

remember

that

the

s p i r i t

of

discovery

has now been directed towards i t f o r nearly four

thousand years

( v i z . ,

from the reign of Necho to

the

present time), without producing any

s a t i s

factory

results; and that,

notwithstanding

the

attention i t

has

so long

excited amongst men

of

learning and talent, and the many

valuable l i v e s

which

have

been

l o s t

in

attempting

to

explore

i t s

mysteries,

we

are

s t i l l

ignorant of

many

of

i t s

kingdoms,

the

sources of several of i t s

rivers

continue

uncertain, and the very existence

of one

of

i t s

principal

c i t i e s

i s to t h i s

day

a

subject

of

d i s p u t e .

But

t h i s

mystery,

strange a s i t

seems

B 2


25/338

4 Inrnobucrrofi.

a t

fi r s t ,

may be e a s i l y accounted f o r , when

we

recollect

that

the

coast

of

Africa,

notwith

standing i t s immense extent, presents many

obstacles to the progress of discovery; i t s har

bours and roadsteads being unsafe, the navi

gation of i t s rivers

interrupted by

sandbanks

and cataracts, and i t s gulfs dreaded even

by

experienced

mariners.

The i n t e r i o r of

the

coun

t r y ,

comprising

an

area

of

more

than

thirteen

millions of

square miles,

though occasionally

of

extraordinary

f e r t i l i t y , i s

generally

either

marshy

or

composed

of dry

shifting

sands, which

i t

i s

impossible to cultivate; and i t s inhabitants

are

chiefly ferocious and uncivilized.

Under such circumstances, i t i s not surprising

that

our

knowledge

of

t h i s

vast

continent

should

be limited, or that the accounts of travellers

respecting

i t should often appear greatly exag

gerated. The minds

of men are

naturally prone

to the

marvellous;

and

every

one i s so desirous

to

heighten the

dangers he

has

himself

under

gone,

or

magnify the wonders

he alone

has seen,

that

very

few

writers,

on

a country

so

l i t t l e

known

as Africa, have sufiicient self-command to con

fine themselves

to a plain,

unvarnished

tale;

and their

s t o r i e s

being adopted without

sufficient

examination

by

others,

truth

soon becomes so

entangled

with

fiction,

that

i t

i s difficult to se

parate

them. In a l l

things depending

on oral

testimony,

a

multitude

of

witnesses

i s

consi

dered

to

prove the

matter

under discussion

be

yond the possibility

of

doubt; but this i s

not the

case

with

books: writers often

copy from each

other, without giving themselves the trouble to


26/338

mrnonucrron. 5

examine

the

p r o b a b i l i t y

of

what

they

write;

and

errors (sometimes

even of the press)

are

thus

transmitted from generation to

generation.

The

present

age,

however,

i s

too

well educated to

submit

any longer

to be

led blindfold; people

w i l l now see and judge for themselves; the spi

r i t of Inquiry i s

roused,

and

stalks

forth with

prying

eyes

from

land

t o

land,

determined

that

nothing shall

escape

her investigation: yet, as i t

i s the

common fault

of

human nature

to

run

always

into extremes,

i t i s

necessary, in avoiding an ex

cess

of

credulity, to guard against the

danger of

falling into

scepticism. Many

things may seem

fictitious, solely because they happen to be quite

new t o us, and contrary to our preconceived no

tions; whilst

we

may believe others, though

f a l s e ,

from their accordance

with

our

previous

opinions.

In

Africa especially, a l l

nature ap

pears

under an

aspect

so different

from

that

which

she wears i n

Europe,

that

we shall

be

unable

to

reconcile ourselves

to the

wonders which

are every where presented

to

view, unless

we

con

stantly

keep

in

mind

the

various

peculiarities

of

the country.

One of the most striking characteristics of

Africa

i s

the

deserts,

and nothing can

be

more

desolate than

the

appearance presented

by

them.

They

have

generally

a

flat and

uniform surface,

only

chequered by moving h i l l s

of sand,

which,

l i k e

the

b i l l o w s

of

the

mighty

ocean,

a r e r a i s e d

one instant and levelled again the next, by sud

den

bursts

of wind.

Few

trees diversify the

scene, save here and there a miserable and stunted

thorn, withering under a scorching sun and un


27/338

6 INTRODUCTION.

clouded sky of intense and dazzling b l u e . No

cooling breezes

can

ever

v i s i t

i t ; for

the

earth

resembles

a vast

sheet

of

heated

metal; and the

winds which sweep over

i t

are like blasts from

a

burning furnace.

The

effect

of these

winds

can

scarcely be

conceived

by

the inhabitants

of

a temperate

c l i m e . They come

i n v i o l e n t gusts

from

the

mountains; p i e r c i n g , though h o t , and

loaded

with

sand

s o

fine

a s

t o

be

almost

imper

ceptible,

but which

penetrates

into every cre

vice.

Sometimes they rage with

the

fury of a

tornado; bending the

l o f t i e s t

palms

like

reeds,

and rolling the

sand

before them

i n mighty co

lumns, overwhelming the whole country through

which

they

pass.

The

f r u i t f u l d i s t r i c t s

of

Africa

are

much

l e s s i n

extent

than the uncultivated regions;

which has

l e d

some w r i t e r s

t o conclude

that they were once

actually

islands, and

that

the great desert was

oc

casionally covered

by

the s e a . The supporters

of t h i s opinion assert that the sand i s s t i l l

s a l t ,

and

that

marine productions

are

foundvin the few cal

careous

elevations

which

are scattered

over

i t s

surface. Their fecundity i s beyond

descrip

tion: many portions of the s o i l bear three har

vests

in

the year;

and, in

the neighbourhood of the

Cape of Good

Hope,

several hundreds of

different

kinds

of

plants,

unknown elsewhere, spring spon

taneously

i n an

incredibly small

space.

Amongst

the

r e s t ,

are

above

three

hundred

different

spe

cies of

erica, including

at

least three-fourths

of

a l l

the

heaths with which

botanists

are

yet

ac

quainted.

The boabab, doum palm, and va

rious species of c a c t i , acacias, and mimosas,


28/338

mrnonucrion. 7

are found i n great abundance i n

Senegambia

and

on

the

borders

of

the

deserts;

particularly

in

the

oases,

the astonishing

f e r t i l i t y of

which

i s ,

by some,

supposed to have induced

the

ancients to call

them the Islands of the Blest;

though

they add, t h a t t h i s hypothesis

explains

s a t i s f a c t o r i l y the Atlantic Island of

Plato,

since

the

countries round Mount Atlas thus

formed

one

r e a l

island

;

'whilst

others

fancy

t h i s

desert

to

have

been the great inland sea mentioned by

Diodorus and Leo Africanus, and

said to

have

been dried up by an earthquake.

Without, how

ever, resorting

to either of

these hypotheses, which

appear

much more fanciful

than correct,

the

comparison

of

the oases

of

the great

desert to

islands,

seems

sufiiciently

obvious

to

strike

every one, even i n t h e i r present s t a t e : the

exaggerated

descriptions which the

ancients

give

of t h e i r beauty, i s a l s o e a s i l y accounted f o r ,

when we recollect,

that

the

only

travellers who

visited them i n the early ages were hunters,

l e d by the pursuit of t h e i r game i n t o . the

deserts,

to

whose

casual observation

and

excited

f e e l i n g s ,

almost any place where they

could

ob

tain rest

and

refreshment

would naturally

seem an

enchanted region.

The

notions of ancient authors

respecting the oases generally,

however, are very

incorrect; and seem evidently

to apply only to

those of the

Great

Desert; for Strabo describes

them

as

resembling

the

spots

upon

a

leopard;

an

expression which conveys

an idea that they

are separate and

scattered

over the whole face

of the country, instead of being gathered to

gether

i n c l u s t e r s of many miles i n circum


29/338

8 mrnonucrron.

ference,

as

i s the

case

at least

with

the oases

of

the

deserts

of

Libya.

T he other p e c u l i a r i t i e s r e l a t i n g t o the s u r f a c e of

the country

in

continental

Africa, are,

the periodi

cal inundations of

the

rivers; the

curious forma

tion of the

mountains,

which r i s e to a

stupendous

height

i n terraces, with large tracts of table-land

on each ledge; the floating

islands;

the

natron

and

salt-water

lakes;

and

the

extraordinary

na

tureof the sand,which sometimes r i s e s incolumns

into

the

a i r ,

and bursts

with

the

fury of a water

spout, overwhelming

a l l

beneath, and filling up

the

courses

of

r i v e r s , and the

beds of

lakes, instead

of water.

The v a r i e t i e s of

thehuman

race i n Africa are

not

l e s s

surprising

than

the

wonders

of

inanimate

nature. The Negroes, the

Hottentots,

and the

Bushmen, are

each

different from a l l other

races

of human beings with which we are acquainted,

not only i n their colour and outward

appearance,

but i n many respects i n their physical organiza

tion.

The

accounts of

travellers

also give us

reason

to

suppose

that

other

t r i b e s ,

equally

strange

i n

their

persons and habits, reside both in

the

i n t e r i o r

of the country

and

upon the c o a s t .

Herodotus relates

wonderful

s t o r i e s

of

the

Ich

thyophagi, or fish-eaters;

and the Troglodytae,

or

the

l i v e r s i n

caves, who resided towards the

east; and other ancient writers

mention

tribes

of

locust-eaters,

&c.,

several

of

whom

may

be

traced

in the African nations of the

present

day. Birds,

beasts, and insects of

kinds

unknown i n any other

country, are also found i n Africa:

the

b r i l l i a n t

flamingo,

the egret, and

infinite

varieties of


30/338

mrnonocrron. 9

c r a n e s ,

'

the

most

b e a u t i f u l of

the

paroquets,

the

i b i s ,

the

pelican,

and the

stupendous

ostrich,

are the principal v a r i e t i e s of the feathered tribes;

whilst the rhinoceros, hippopotamus, zebra, and

g i r a f f e , mark the

same

difference i n quadrupeds.

The camels

are

the ships of

the

desert ; and

the

gnou, and a variety of antelopes, are remarkable

for

their swiftness.

The African

l i o n s , t i g e r s , and

hyenas,

are

larger

and more

ferocious

than

those

found in other climates. The elephant

i s

smaller,

but

more

active and intelligent; the leopards and

panthers

are

remarkably beautiful; and

the

Bar

bary horse, the Cape

buffalo, the

Senegal

mule,

and the African gazelle, are each peculiarly fine

specimens of their

respective

species.

The flying

galley,

and

gold

fish,

inhabit

the

seas;

and

the

serpents i n

partiuisr,

are so

large and numerous

in the i n t e r i o r ,

that

the ancients

called

the

de

serts of Africa, the Region of Serpents. The i n

sect tribes are also both numerous and exces

sively

venomous.

The

termites,

or white ants,

are

of enormous s i z e and r a p a c i t y ;

and

some

kinds

of

locusts

and

scarabaei

are

peculiar

to

the

country;

while

ichneumons, crocodiles,

and

va

rious

different kinds

of l i z a r d s , are found in

a l l

the

r i v e r s

and

marshes.

In the following pages, i t w i l l be attempted t o

present a s h o r t summary of a l l t h a t i s known r e

specting

A f r i c a , from the

e a r l i e s t

ages t o the pre

sent

time.

I t

must

necessarily

be

b r i e f ,

and may,

in

some

instances, be imperfect; but

every

en

deavour has been

made to avoid the omission of

any

f a c t of importance. I t

i s

intended,

fi r s t ,

t o g i v e a

sketch

of

the

topographical

d e t a i l s

of the


31/338

10

mrnonucrrox .

whole

peninsula,

and

of

the islands;

to

trace the

courses of the

r i v e r s

as

f a r

as

they

are

known; to

enumerate

the mountains and

lakes;

and shortly

to

describe

those

countries

with which we

are

ac

quainted. The

remainder

of the

volume

w i l l

consist

of

the natural history, progress

of

the

a r t s

and sciences, languages,

inhabitants,

manners

and

customs, European settlements

and

commerce,

with

a

compend

of the

historical

events

of

which

Africa has been the theatre, and

an

analysis

of

the voyages and travels

undertaken to

explore

i t s

mysteries.


32/338

CHAPTER

I I .

DESCRIPTION OF

NORTHERN

AFRICA.STATES

OF

BARBARY

Armcx i s an immense peninsula, five thousand '

miles

i n length from

north

t o s o u t h , and about

four thousand s i x

hundred

from e a s t t o west i n

i t s broadest part, though i t tapers nearly to a

point a t the

southern

extremity. As i t extends

from

the

thirty-seventh

degree of

north

t o

the

thirty-fourth

degree of

south

latitude, and from

the seventeenth degree of west to

the

fifty-first

degree of e a s t longitude, i t includes the

whole

of

the

t o r r i d zone,

f o r

a

space equal t o

about seventy

degrees

from east to

west, and

a

great

part of

i t s

i n t e r i o r i s thus exposed t o the rays of a v e r t i c a l

sun;

the

heat

of

which

i s

rendered

more

i n t e n s e

from the country being totally without the shelter

of f o r e s t s , or the aid of any large

body

of water,

to a s s i s t i n

cooling the a i r

;-the

lakes

and r i v e r s

h i t h e r t o discovered bearing but a very

small pro

portion t o the

immense

extent of l a n d .

The natural

boundaries of Africa

are,

the Me

diterranean

on

the

north,

the

Atlantic

Ocean

on

the south and

west,

and the Red Sea

on the east~

the peninsula being joined to the mainland

of

Asia (b etween the Mediterranean and Red Seas),

by the isthmus of Suez. A long chain of moun


33/338

12 mzscnrrrron or

t a i n s ,

though

occasionally

broken,

t r a v e r s e s the

country

nearly

from

e a s t

t o

west,

and

only

the

north of t h i s line was known to the ancients.

Herodotus makes Africa to consist of three parts:

the

inhabited

districts,

which

include Cyrene, Li

bya, and the parts

surrounding Carthage

;the

region of wild beasts, now called Bilud-el-Jerid;

--and Africa Deserta, or the region of sand,which

comprises

a l l

the

country

lying

beyond.

He

indeed speaks of

the

whole world as being d i v i

ded into Europe, Libya, and Asia; and only he

s i t a t e s

as to which of the two l a t t e r ought properly

to include Egypt.

The

provinces

south

of

the

equator

are

never

mentioned

either by him

or

by

any

other

ancient

writer; and

there can be but

l i t t l e

doubt

t h a t ,

f o r

many

ages

a f t e r h i s

time,

the continent

of

Africa was supposed not

to ex

tend

beyond the Mountains

of

the Moon. I t i s

true that the Phoenicians, sent by Necho, and

some other adventurers (of whom we shall speak

more at length hereafter), appear to have reached

the Cape

of

Good Hope, and

perhaps doubled

i t :

but

t h e i r

accounts

obtained very

l i t t l e

c r e d i t

from

the

philosophers

of the day; for the circum

stance, which they related, of the stars ap

pearing

changed when

they had

passed the

l i n e ,

was

a

wonder

too

great

for

even the

marvel

loving Herodotus to swallow; and the

same

people who

believed

the

most ridiculous

s t o r i e s

without

the

slightest

hesitation,

shook

their

heads

incredulously

at a

statement which was

s t r i c t l y

true,

merely because i t

did

not

accord

with their

previous

information.

T he present d i v i s i o n of Africa i s a l s o i n t o


34/338

iwonrnzniv AFRICA.

13

three

portions;

and, though they

comprise

a

much

g r e a t e r

extent of

country

than

those

of

Herodotus, are scarcely l e s s vague. They are,

Northern or

Moorish Africa,

Central Africa,

or the

country

of

the

Negroes, and Southern

Africa, including

the

kingdoms

of

the Caffres

and Hottentots, and the

European

settlements

at

the Cape of Good Hope.

Northern Africa

i s

subdivided

i n t o

the

States

of

Barbary,

and

the

countries

bordering on the

Nile;Central

Africa

consists of Eastern and

Western

Nigritia, Sene

gambia,

and Upper and

Lower

Guinea ;and

Southern Africa,

of

the European settlements at

the

Cape, the nations

of

the

Cafiires,

the Bush

men, and the Hottentots, and those towards the

s t r a i t s

of

Mozambique.

The States of

Barbary

are, Morocco,

the

an

cient Mauritania; Algiers, formerly Numidia;

Tunis and Tripoli, once Africa Proper, or the ter

ritory of Carthage; Fezzan and Barca, the an

cient

Cyrene;

and

Zahara, or the Great

Desert.

The

inhabited States of Barbary,

which

include

the

ancient

Numidia,

Carthage,

Mauritania,

and

Cyrene, are shut out from

the

rest of

Africa by

a

kind of

natural

barrier, consisting of the

moun

tains

of Atlas, and

Bilud-el-Jerid,

or the Region of

Dates.

This country, though covered with palm

t r e e s , as i t s name imports, has nevertheless

such

an

arid s o i l , and i s so much exposed to the scorch

ing

winds

of

the

desert,

that

i t i s

almost

impass

able:

with the Atlas mountains, i t forms

a

double b e l t , as though to separate the inhabited

country from the burning sands which l i e beyond.

I t i s a

mighty

bar placed by the hand of nature,


35/338

I4 DESCRIPTION or

which seems

to say,

Thus

far shall man

go, but

no

farther:

a l l

beyond

i s

destined

never

to

sub

mit to his sway; and when he ventures to penetrate

into i t s mysteries, his l i f e

must

pay the f o r f e i t of

his temerity.

Mount Atlas was called by Homer and

He

rodotus one of the pillars of heaven; and Virgil

describes

i t as

a

hero changed into

a _rock,

who

bears

the

whole

weight

of

the

heavens

upon h i s shoulders: he s a y s ,

the

head of Atlas

i s

crowned with p i n e s ,

and

g i r t with storms;

a mantle of

snow

i s

thrown

over

his ample

shoulders,

and

torrents stream

down

his hoary

head.

The descriptions of the poets, however,

convey but an inadequate idea of the

range

of

lofty

h i l l s

to

which

they

allude.

There

are

two

distinct

chains, each

extending many miles : that

adjoining the desert i s called the Great Atlas;

and

the

other l ing

towards

the Mediterranean

i s

named the

L i t t e

Chain.

Both run east and

west,

and

are

connected by

smaller

mountains

leading

north and south. The Great and L i t t l e Atlas

are

mentioned

by

Ptolemy;

but

the

account

he

gives

of them i s so

much

at variance with that of

mo

dern

t r a v e l l e r s ,

as to create a

doubt whether the

mountains

of

Barbary

are

the same

Atlas

as

that

of which he

speaks. Ideler,

a learned

German,

asserts, that

the

ancients alluded to the Peak of

Teneriffe; and has

written

a

long

dissertation

to

prove

that

the

Gardens

of

the

Hesperides,

and the Fortunate Islands, were the Canaries:

but

his arguments

have very

l i t t l e

probability

to support them. With regard to the mountains

l A t 1 a s

being always spoken of by the

ancients


36/338

nonrnrnn AFRICA. 15

i n

the singular number, Malte-Brun

supposes

the

reason

to be,

the

optical

i l l u s i o n ,

noticed

by

Humboldt, which gives

to a chain of

h i l l s

seen

in

profile, the appearance

of a narrow

peak.

These mountains are composed generally

of

a

stratum of calcarious

earth,

mingled with s h e l l s ,

above which are

beds of

soft

carbonate of lime,

resembling

whitening: i t

i s

f u s i b l e ,

and i n i t

i s

imbedded

a

quantity

of

lamellar calcarious

spar.

Above,

and apparently extending

to

the

summit,

i s

fine marble. This formation varies of

course i n different parts of so long a range. Jas

per

and

porphyry a r e frequently

found;

and the

mountains near Algiers and

Tunis are

said to

contain mines of gold and

s i l v e r ,

as well as of iron

and

lead,

the

l a t t e r

of

which

have

been worked.

T he b e a u t i f u l yellow marble of Numidia, t o

which

the Romans were

so p a r t i a l ,

was brought from

Mount Atlas. The western

part

of the

range

i s

s t i l l imperfectly known; no European having as

yet

succeeded i n reaching

the

top, and a l l a t

tempts

at geological

investigation

being construed,

by

the

jealousy

and

ignorance of

the

Moors,

into

researches

after

hidden treasures, and of

course

prevented.

The

height of

the

Atlas mountains, i n their

l o f t i e s t part,

has

been

calculated

to be twelve

thousand

feet

above the level

of

the

sea;

but

i t i s

very

d i fi i c u l t

t o a s c e r t a i n t h e i r r e a l e l e v a t i o n , a s ,

l i k e

most

of

the

mountains

of

Africa,

they

r i s e

i n

a

succession

of

terraces, one above another, inter

spersed

with table-lands of considerable extent.

The

peaks

are covered

with

snow;

and

t h e i r being

often hidden

by clouds,

probably

gave r i s e to

the


37/338

16

nnscnrrrtoiv

or

fictions of the

ancients

respecting Atlas s u p p o r t

ing

the

heavens.

The accounts of Pliny, Solinus, and other

ancient writers,

respecting Mount

Atlas,

which

stated that

streams

of liquid fire appeared occa

sionally to pour down i t s

sides,

have been par

t i a l l y confirmed by modern travellers; and may

probably be

attributed to the e f f e c t

produced

by

the

refraction

of

the rays

of

light

on

the

com

pact and polished snow. T he f e r t i l i t y of the

v a l l e y s lying between the mountains

has

been

celebrated by Strabo and Pliny, who affirm that

not

only figs,

o l i v e s , and corn, grew there abund

antly, and

to

immense size, but also,

that

the

trunk of

the

vine

was sometimes

so

thick

that

two

men

could

scarcely clasp

i t

round. This

astonish

ing luxuriance, however, has nowvanished,though

a

variety

of rare plants s t i l l

grow

in the marshes,

and

numerous

saline and succulent ones i n the

more

arid

soil; whilst the

table-lands

of the

mountains are

covered

with

cork-trees and

ever

green oaks, under whose

shade aromatic shrubs

spring

up

i n

abundance,

and

above

whose

heads

the

l o f t y

cypress

s t r e t c h e s i t s majestic branches,

tapering

towards the sky l i k e a

verdant pyramid.

The empire of Morocco i s of considerable im

portance. Malte-Brun says that i t s

territory

i s

equal

in extent to that of Spain; but (though

the estimates of i t s population d i f f e r exceedingly)

i t

i s

very

thinly

inhabited. The

ravages

of

the plague,

and the

uncertainty of

the

produce

of

the earth,

no

doubt

both contribute to t h i s

e f f e c t ; which would otherwise

appear extraordi

nary, considering the uncommon

r i c h n e s s

ofthe

s o i l .


38/338

NORTHERN

AFRICA.

17

Morocco, however,

l i k e most

countries

bordering

on

the

tropics,

i s

v i s i t e d by

periodical rains;

and

when these

are not

suflicient thoroughly

to mois

ten the earth, the

crops f a i l .

The

deficiency of

moisture might

e a s i l y

be made

up

by i r r i g a t i o n ,

as

the

r i v e r s are

numerous and abundantly sup

plied

with

water; but the

indolence of

the Moors

i s too great to suffer them to

take

the slightest

trouble,

and

they

expose

themselves

t o

a l l

the

miseries of famine, while the means of

remedying

the

e v i l

are

at their very

doors.

The climate i s

agreeable; as

the

winds,

cooled by the

snows

of

Mount Atlas, are generally not only

refreshing,

but

impregnated

with a balmy softness peculiar

to themselves.

Morocco, on

the

otherhand,

i s

not

entirely

exempt

from

that

curse

of

Africa,

the

simoom,

which,

about the time of

the

vernal

equinox, sweeps over her vast p l a i n s l i k e a

destroying a n g e l , leaving death and d e s o l a t i o n i n

i t s t r a i n .

T he

p r i n c i p a l

r i v e r s

of

Morocco a r e

the

Wad

el-Kose,

the Seboo, the Morabeya, the

Tenrift,

the

Suse,

which

empty

themselves

into

the

At

lantic; the

Mulluwia,

which falls into the

Mediterranean; and

near

a coast a lake called

El Murja. In addition to these, which are con

siderable, there

are

several minor streams; so

that

the

country may be considered a s remarkably

well watered.

There

are also

some

other h i l l s

besides

the Atlas

chains;

and

the

scenery

pre

s e n t s an agreeable

d i v e r s i t y

of h i l l

and d a l e ,

wood and

water.

The empire

of Morocco consists of four separate

p r o v i n c e s ,

o r

r a t h e r kingdomsFez,

Morocco

c


39/338

18

DESCRIPTION or

Suse, and Tafilet; the p r i n c i p a l places a r e , the

cities

of

Morocco, Mequinez,

and

Fez;

and

the

ports, those of Tangiers Tetuan, Ceuta, Sallee,

Mogador,

and Santa Cruz.

The

latter

i s in

the

kingdom of S use, and i s built

on

the summit of

abranch

of

the

Atlas mountains. Jackson d e - .

scribes

i t as being surrounded

by

a strong

wall,

and fortified with

cannon

and bastions. The

town

i s

supplied

with

r a i n - w a t e r ,

preserved

i n

large tanks under the

houses:

these subterra

neous reservoirs tend also to cool them, and

render

them agreeable residences

even

under

the sun

of

Barbary. A desert

of

sand-hills

separates the

c u l t i v a t e d

land from the rocky

peninsula

on which the f o r t of

Mogador

i s s i

tuated;

and

i t i s

so

fatiguing

for

horses

to

cross

the moving sand, that i t takes an hour and a half

to travel three miles. This i s the only port i n the

empire which maintains

a

regular intercourse

with Europe. S a l l e e i s

divided

from Rabat by

the r i v e r

Burregreg: i t

was noted

i n the

mid

dle ages for i t s pirates, who, under the name

of

the

Rovers

of

Sallee,

were

the

terror

of

all

Christendom. I t i s now, however, of l i t t l e im

portance,

as

i t s

port

i s nearly choked up by an

accumulation

of

sand. Ceuta,

a

fortress

of

con-_

siderable strength, i s

a

possession of the crown

of Spain, s i t u a t e on that part of the coast of

Africa which.is opposite

t o the rock of Gibraltar

in

Europe, and contributing,

with

the former,

to

guard the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea. I t

i s a l s o celebrated a s being

one

of the

P i l l a r s

of

Hercules, which

the

ancients supposed t o be

the

boundaries of

the

world.


40/338

NORTHERN AFRICA. 19

T he c i t y of Morocco i s b e a u t i f u l l y s i t u a t e d i n

a fine plain, nearly covered with palm-trees, hav

ing Mount Atlas i n the background.

I t s

ap

pearance i s very

striking,

from i t s noble mosques,

and a

curious

tower with three large gold b a l l s ,

which

the inhabitants believe

to have been

fixed

there

by magic. The

walls embrace

an extent of

about seven

miles,

great

part of

which i s ,

however,

covered

with

ruins.

The

population

i s said

to

have

once

exceeded seventy thousand

persons,

but

i t i s

now thought

t o be

under

t h i r t y thou

sand. There are

several

squares, and

some

fine

mosques and public buildings;

but the general

aspect of the place i s unfavourable, The

c i t i e s

of

Northern Africa

a r e , indeed, seldom

remark

able

f o r

t h e i r

beauty:

they

have

a l l

narrow

s t r e e t s , and

lofty houses, projecting

at every

story,

t i l l at l a s t they

almost meet.

The

build

ings are generally. of a

quadrangular

shape, with

windows overlooking

a

species

of

court-yard,

which

i s

ornamented

with a

fountain

i n the cen

tre,

and paved

withcoloured

tiles;

into this

court

the

principal

apartments

open

with

large folding

doors,

that serve at once to admit a i r and

l i g h t .

The houses are usually flat-roofed, having gar

dens on

the

top; which,

though i t presents

a

most singular

appearance,

and almost looks l i k e

a new world

growing

above

the old

one,

yet

adds

much

to the

beauty

of

the

c i t y , and, combined

with

the

r i c h

verdure

of

the

groves

of

palm,

myrtle,

and sycamore, with which i t i s

sur

rounded,

forms

a

striking contrast

to

the

white

ness of the

walls

and of

the

s o i l .

Jackson

says, that a stranger passing through

c 2


41/338

20 nnscnrrrron

or

Morocco

would

think i t an i l l - b u i l t

and

mise

rable

town; for

the despotic

nature of

the

go

vernment

induces every

individual

to conceal

h i s

wealth,

rather than display i t in outward

mag

nificence; s o that

the

houses of r i c h persons

a r e

frequently

surrounded by

a

shabby wall, broken

and

out

of

repair, at a considerable distance from

the

house, which i s q u i t e concealed by i t . T he

i n t e r i o r s ,

however,

are

very

handsome,

and

fur

nished i n

a

s t y l e of

Eastern luxury.

T he

s t r e e t s

a r e mostly unpaved, and consequently

a r e

dusty

in dry weather,

and

very

dirty when i t r a i n s .

Though

Morocco i s considered the metropolis

of

the south, Fez i s the capital

of

the north. It

i s

a fine city, and the modern town stands on a

bold

eminence, having

many

noble

pub lic b uild

ings,

and

above a

hundred

thousand inhabitants.

I t i s said

t o . possess

a

hundred

inns or cara

vanserais, and

was

once celebrated for a mag

nificent library, which contained

several

thousand

volumes of Arabian MSS. On the accession of

Muley Soliman,

however, a l l

the books not r e l a t

ing

t o

the

.Koran

were

e i t h e r

dispersed

o r

de

stroyed. The old town

of

Fez

l i e s in a

hollow,

surrounded

by steep h i l l s . Mequinez

i s a royal

residence,

and has

a

magnificent

palace, covering

two

square

miles. A

negro tow n,

situated

at a

short

distance

from

the

c i t y ,

furnishes recruits f o r

the

king's

body-guard. Tangiers,

when i n

pos

session

of

the

English,

was

a

place

of consider

able strength; but,

on i t s evacuation

in

1684,

the fortifications were demolished, and i t has now

only an

insignificant

battery,

fronting the

bay.

The town i s small, and

the

streets

narrow and


42/338

NORTHERN urnrcs. 21

crooked.

Tetuan,

which

i s

only

t h i r t y

miles

from

Tangiers, Dr.

Lemprier states to be plea

santly situated, near the

opening.

of

the

Straits

into the

Mediterranean.

I t i s built on a

rising

ground,

between two ranges

of high h i l l s ,

and

i s

of

considerable extent. A

beautiful

river winds

through the valley,

which l i e s

below the town;

but

i t i s

of

l i t t l e

use

i n

navigation,

i t s

mouth

being s o choked up with sand, a s t o admit only

vessels of very small burden.

The general

abundance

of water in Morocco

permits the inhabitants to indulge largely i n the

African

luxury

of fountains; and

the delicious

coolness imaged t o the senses by the

falling

of

t h e i r

s i l v e r y

s p r a y ,

i n

such a

climate

a s

that

of

Barbary,

must far surpass

a l l description.

The kingdom of

A l g i e r s

i s s a i d by Shaw t o

extend

from

the river

Tusca

t o Cape Bona, having

the Mediterranean on the north, and the

Desert

of Z ahara on

the

south. He states i t s length

to be

about

four

hundred and eighty miles,

and i t s breadth

to vary from

forty miles

to a

hundred; but Blaquiere, in his notes to Pananti,

estimates i t s length at

six

hundred and

forty-nine

miles, and i t s breadth

at

one

hundred

and eighty.

The

whole

country, however, i s not

under

the do

minion of the dey, whose power

extends

only four

days

journey

from the

c i t y . T he population

i s

supposed

to be about

five millions;

the climate i s

tolerably

good,

and

the

s o i l ,

excepting

where

i t

adjoins the desert, i s f e r t i l e . The kingdom i s

divided

into four

provinces;

Tlemsan, Algiers,

T i t e r i ,

and Constantina. Algiers, the ancient Nu

midia,

i s a country well

known

to

the

classical


43/338

22 DESCRIPTION or

reader, as including what was once the do

.minions

of

Syphax and Masinissa. Amongst i t s

natural curiosities,

Shaw describes

an extraor

dinary v a l l e y , continued

f o r above half a mile

under

two opposite

ranges

of

the

Atlas

moun

tains, and which i s

so

remarkable,

that

his

account

of

i t seem s w orth extracting: At

every wind

ing the rocky stratum that

separated one

part of

the

valley from

another,

was

hewn

down

like a

door-case, which occasions both the Arabs

and

. T u r k s

t o c a l l them

gates:

the Arab name i s

Beban. Few persons can pass

them

without hor

r o r , and a handful of men might there dispute the

passage of a whole army. Two

leagues

to the

south-east of the Beban i s the Accaba, or Ascent,

another

dangerous

pass.

Here

the

road

l i e s

over

the narrow r i d g e

of a mountain, with deep

valleys and

precipices on each

s i d e , where

the

least

deviation

from the

beaten path

would

en

danger

the

t r a v e l l e r ' s

l i f e . Yet

t h i s

i s the com

mon

road

from Algiers

to

Constantina.

The coast

of Algiers i s so tortuous as to

embrace

an

extent of

nearly

s i x

hundred

m i l e s .

The first

place deserving

notice on

the

east i s

Bona,

the Hippo Regius

of

the

ancients. I t i s built

in a low

marshy plain, and

i s an insignificant

town,

only

celebrated

in

history for

having

sus

tained a siege

from

the

Vandals

of fourteen

months duration, and f o r having been

the

e p i s

acopal see

of

the

celebrated

S t .

Augustin;

i n

commerce, for producing remarkably fine figs. I t

was aroyal

c i t y i n the time of the Numidian

kings. Constantine, the ancient Ciita, i s built

on a deep and r a p i d r i v e r , and

was

f o r m e r l y


44/338

NORTHERN AFRICA. 23

one

of

the finest and

strongest c i t i e s

i n

Numidia.

It s t i l l retains

many

Roman monuments, which

are sufiicient t o v e r i f y

the

t a l e s r e l a t e d of

i t s

ancient

splendour.

The entrance

to

the

town

i s

over a stupendous

bridge, and i t can

also boast

of t h e

r u i n s

of a sumptuous

aqueduct. T he

province

of T i t e r i

contains

very

few places of

im

portance, excepting the

city of

Shershell,

which

i s

said to

be

the

Julia Caesaria

of

the

Romans.

The

Shelitf

i s

the largest r i v e r

of t h i s province,

which i s watered a l s o by

s e v e r a l smaller s t r e a m s .

The whole

territory of

Algiers i s , indeed,

well

supplied

with

r i v e r s , the

waters of

some

of which

a r e

quite s o f t .

Tlemsan i s only remarkable f o r

i t s

w a l l s ,

which appear t o have been formed i n

the

manner

described

by

Pliny

a s

common

i n

the

African

c i t i e s , called tabia.

This

was done by

casting a thick mud i n l a r g e frames, and

per

mitting i t t o dry i n the sun, when i t resembled a

wall formed of one immense brick, and became

as hard as stone.

The city of

Algiers,

to

which the recent

expe

dition

of

the

French

has

lately

given

so

much

i n t e r e s t , i s situated almost opposite Minorca, and

i s nearly t h r e e hundred and eighty

miles

west of

Tunis.

It i s built

on the

side

of a h i l l , which

r i s e s abruptly from the

sea-shore,

i n the form of

an amphitheatre. I t s appearance from

the

sea i s

extremely

singular:

the white

buildings

ascending

i n

terraces,

one

above

another,

i n

a

triangular

figure, a r e compared by Conder t o the t o p s a i l

of a ship; and Malte-Brun tells us, that the

numerous country mansions scattered over an

amphitheatre of h i l l s , a r e half-buried i n groves of


45/338

24

nnscnrrvrrorr

or

o l i v e , citron, and banana t r e e s . Pananti states

that the

population

consists

of

about

a

hundred

and twenty thousand p e r s o n s . T he modern name

of Algiers i s derived from the Arabic words El

Jesireh, or the island ; meaning the fortified

i s l e t

i n

front

of the c i t y .

The s t r e e t s

of Algiers

are

very narrow, and so

concave as to be exceedingly dangerous for foot

passengers

when

any

one

i s

passing

on

horseback.

The town

contains sixty mosques, and several

bazars and other

public

b u i l d i n g s . There are

abundance_of taverns; but they have no s l e e p i n g - .

rooms f o r strangers, who are obliged to hire p r i

vate lodgings even f o r a single night. A level

country

extends f o r

some

miles beyond the c i t y ,

covered

with

vineyards.

T r i p o l i i s

the

most unhealthy of

a l l

the

s t a t e s

of

Barbary: i t i s barren and depopulated, and

the climate bad from the excessive heat of the

day and coldness of the n i g h t . T he town i s

small, and half-full of rubbish; i t has, however,

a

Roman

arch of

the

time of Marcus

Aurelius,

which

i s

very

beautiful.

The

harbour

i s

s a f e ,

but not

l a r g e ;

and though t h e r e i s no r i v e r , t h e r e

are abundance of wells and large tanks to pre

serve the water which

f a l l s

in the

rainy

season.

The desert approaches to within five miles of the

town. Lebida, the Leptis Magna of the

ancients,

i s i n the

t e r r i t o r y

of T r i p o l i ; a s

i s Mesurata,

a

city

on

the

borders

of

the

Greater

Syrtis.

The

houses

of

the l a t t e r

are

built

only of

mud and

stone;

but

i t s gardens are

very extensive,

and .

* See a paper in the

New

Monthly

Magazine,

for 1826.


46/338

NORTHERN AFRICA. 25

many of them r a i s e d a l i t t l e above the road, and

enclosed

by

fences

of

the

prickly

pear

and

wild

aloe. Beyond

the

town i s

the

desert of

the

Great

Syrtis,

which reaches from

Tripoli to Fez

zan.

The aspect

of t h i s desert i s

that

of a

dreary

level

moor,

without'any

thing to

distin

guish one part from another, but the windings of

a marsh. A

basaltic chain of

black mountains

lies

at

i t s

farthest

extremity;

the

appearance

of

which

i s

described by

travellers as

the

most

gloomy conceivable; there

being seldom

a tree

or a

blade

of

grass

to be seen i n t h i s dreary range,

which spreads

over an extent of

thirty-five miles

of

country.

T he kingdom

of

Fezzan i s

the most

southern

of the

states

of

Barbary;

. i t

l i e s

to

the

east

of

Tripoli,

and

i s so surounded

by the desert

as to

be

by some

considered an

o a s i s . I t s towns, and

the

face of the

country generally, have

an

a i r

of

desolation; the houses are

built

mostly

of

mud and

stonessome of a rude

imitation

of

unburnt bricks. Neither rain nor dew f a l l s upon

the

fields,

and

the

only

moisture

they

receive

i s

by the

p a i n f u l

labour of the i n h a b i t a n t s ,

who

draw up the

water necessary

for

irrigation

from

deep w e l l s . Large t r a c t s of land

are

covered

with sand,

mixed

with crystallizations of

s a l t ,

which

shine brilliantly

in the sun.

The

water

of

many

of

the

w e l l s i s

brackisha circum

stance

common

to

nearly

a l l

the

deserts

of

Africa.

The winds are very powerful, and the

_sound of t h e i r rushing a c r o s s the waste

has

an

e fl ' e c t which,

in the s t i l l n e s s of night, i s

truly

awful.

They come sweeping over the immense


47/338

26 DESCRIPTION

or

space

with

i n d e s c r i b a b l e

f u r y ,

and

mingle t h e i r

roar with that of the

wild

beasts, who are the

native denizens of those arid plains.

They

are

loaded

with a

fine

sand,

and

t h e i r extreme

dry

ness occasions any thing

made

of

wood

to

crack

with a loud

noise whenever

they blow.

T he p r i n c i p a l towns of Fezzan a r e Sockna and

Mourzuk.

Tunis,

the

etymology

of

whose

name

i s

s a i d

t o

be

derived

from a

word signifying mud, includes

the

greater part

of the ancientdomain

of

Car

thage,

which

was

originally

called

Africa

Proper

by the ancients.

The

remains

of

the c i t i e s

of

Carthage and Utica, both so celebrated i n Roman

history, give t h i s t e r r i t o r y an interest which i t

would

not

otherwise

possess.

The

principal

r i v e r s

a r e

the

Mejerdale

and the

Wad-el-Quiber.

T he

source of

the

first i s

unknown, though i t

i s of

considerable width and depth, and runs

for

several hundred

miles

through a very

f e r t i l e

country.

In the mountains are

mines

of

silver,

copper,

and lead; there i s also one of

quick

s i l v e r

near Porto

Farino.

The

Gulf

of

Tunis

i s

about a hundred and

twenty

miles i n circum

f e r e n c e . A l a r g e

l a k e ,

which

washes the

walls

of

the

town,

formerly served

a s an

extensive port;

but

i s now nearly choked up. There i s

a

great

deal of

marshy ground

near the

c i t y , notwith

standing which the

s o i l

produces

mastic, myrtle,

rosemary,

and

other

aromatic

p l a n t s ,

i n

such

.abundance,

that

the inhabitants

use

them for fuel;

and make the whole place

so

fragrant,

that i t

might be fancied to be one enormous incense

burner. Tunis i s n e i t h e r handsome nor w e l l


48/338

NORTHERN srnrca. 27

situated;

yet

i t

i s

said

to

contain

a

hundred

and fifty

thousand

inhabitants: i n nearly a l l

r e s p e c t s i t c l o s e l y resembles

the

g e n e r a l i t y of

African c i t i e s .

The r u i n s of Carthage l i e t o the south-east of

Tunis; they

are

finely placed, on a bold pro

montory, at

the western extremity of Tunis

bay,

now

called

Cape

Carthage.

The

plain

of

Zama

stretches below, and i s covered

with date

and olive

t r e e s .

There

a r e few remains of a n t i q u i t y ; and

those of

the

celebrated aqueduct are the only

ones that

p o s s e s s

any i n t e r e s t .

The country of Barca, which, with the name

of

Cyrene,

long existed as an independent king

dom

under

the Ptolemies,

i s

now

nearly

a

de

s e r t . I t s s o i l was

once so

f e r t i l e ,

as to

produce

three

crops yearly ; and i t s f r u i t - t r e e s and flowers

were thought the finest i n the world. The roses

of

Cyrene

were celebrated f o r t h e i r fragrance,

and the whole

country

was so completely covered

with beautiful

shrubs,

as to resemble an immense

garden. The

city of

Cyrene (which

was one of

the

ancient

Pentapolis),

was built

on a com

manding

situation, upon

the edge of a range of

hills;

and

we

may judge,

from the ruins which

% y e t remain, that

i t

must have been

magnificent

and beautiful

i n

the extreme. Nothing can

ex

_ceed the

elegance of the

monuments, and the

ex

quisite workmanship of the figures and wreaths

of

flowers

which

ornament

the

sarcophagi

they

.contain. Many paintings are also found; and

some of the

walls are

covered with designs similar

to those

discovered

i n the tombs of Egypt, except

t h a t the o u t l i n e of the figures i s drawn with a


49/338

28 nrscnrrrron

or

bolder p e n c i l , and with a b e t t e r knowledge of

the

principles

of design

than

the

Egyptians

dis

played.

Some of these

sepulchres

are excavated,

'

and o t h e r s b u i l t of fine marble; they evidently

belong to different periods; and the progress

and decay of

the

arts i n

Greece

and Rome may

be seen i n the examples they present. A large

fountain,

supposed

to be that which Herodotus

mentions

as

sacred

to

Apollo,

s t i l l

exists:

i t

issues from an excavated chamber at the foot of

a

c l i f f , which

has been

ornamented

with a

portico

l i k e a

temple,

and a

channel

cut o u t , through

which

the water

flows rapidly from

the

interior

of

the rock,

precipitating

i t s e l f

into a basin

formed

to

receive

i t ,

whence

i t afterwards issues in abroad

stream. M.

Pacho

explored

t h i s

passage,

i n

February 1825, i n his travels in the Cyrenaica,

and traced the spring to a grotto, covered with

s t a l a c t i t e s , from the interstices of which the water

sprung up at

once

i n every possible direction.

T he r u i n s of Cyrene include temples and the

a t r e s , embellished with beautiful p i l l a r s and sta

tues;

and

at

a

l i t t l e

distance

from

the

city,

M.

Pacho discovered some curious excavations,which

he

conceives to have

been anciently magazines

for

goods, or baz ars, but which now serve as

habitations

for

the

Arab

banditti of Barca.

He

also supposes

one

of

the

tombs to be a

Jewish

structure, as

i t has

a sepulchral well i n

the

centre,

instead

of

a

sarcophagus;

and

the paint

ings round the

walls display

a

curious

mixture of

the Hebrew with the Roman and Egyptian t a s t e .

He l i k e w i s e

describes

two

small excavated temples

with

Christian

emblems.


50/338

NORTHERN

AFRICA.

29

T he

appearance

of

these

r u i n s

must

be

most

imposing, and cannot f a i l to

have a powerful

e fl e c t upon the

mind.

The remains

of

Carthage

are

too trifling, and the impression

they

might '

produce i s destroyed by

the r e c o l l e c t i o n

of

the

many

changes

the

city

had undergone previous

to

i t s

final

destruction,

or

rather,

of

the many c i t i e s

that

had

been s u c c e s s i v e l y erected on the same

s i t e .

The

imagination has thus

nothing

l e f t

which

i t

can

identify with

the

times of Dido, or

the con

quests

of Scipio; and the

fragments are

merely

those

of an

African c i t y ,

unendeared

by any

recollections

of the

past.

The

ruins

of

Cyrene

bear quite a

different character; and as

they

now

stand, we can clearly

trace the

wonders

of their

former

g r e a t n e s s .

T he

f a l l e n

p i l l a r s

and

broken

statues

t e l l ,

indeed,

a melancholy tale of vanished

power;

but

they are

mixed

with such

strong

reminiscences of their ancient masters, that

we

are

almost transported back to the period when

the

Ptolemies filled the

throne

of

Cyrene,

and at

l a s t bent

before the overwhelming

influence of

the

Roman

emperors.

The

succession of

Egyp

tian, Grecian,

and Roman

monuments, evidently

belonging to

different epochs, forms

also an

inter

e s t i n g f e a t u r e i n

the

remains of Cyrene ; . f o r age

after

age

appears thus to r i s e in a l l i t s glory

before us, and then i n turn to fade

from

our

sight, like the ghosts of the race of Banquo, t i l l at

last

all

have

perished,

and

a

race

of

jimcivilized

Arabs, whose very dwellings

are tents, have sprung

up i n their place.

Near Cyrene are some curious caverns, filled

with

s t a l a c t i t e s ,

which,

i t

i s

supposed,

have given


51/338

30

DESCRIPTION or

r i s e to

the rumour

of a petrified c i t y , alluded to

by

Bruce

and

Shaw;

though

o t h e r s

fancy

t h i s

extraordinary city to be no other than Cyrene

i t s e l f ,

as the

desolate

grandeur of the

uninhabited

ruins agrees

exactly

with the description given by

the Arabs.

The

remains of

the

ancient city of Barca,

which l i e i n what i s

now

c a l l e d

the

d e s e r t of

B a r -

ca,

have

l i t t l e

to

distinguish

them;

though

some

suppose that the

town

i t s e l f once ranked among

the c i t i e s of the Pentapolis. .Calmet, however,

does

not

mention i t i n h i s enumeration of those

c i t i e s , which, he says, were

Cyrene, Apollonia,

Arsino, Berenice, and Ptolemais. Apollonia was

a

s t a t i o n

of the

e a r l y

C h r i s t i a n s ,

and

ha the

ruins

of

two

Christian

churches

and

a

noble

b a s i l i c a . The magnificence of these buildings,

and the beauty of the marble p i l l a r s with which

they are adorned, prove that the Christians of

Apollonia

must

have been both

numerous

and

wealthy i n the time of

J u s t i n i a n ,

t o which period

these buildings are thought to belong.

The

ancient

Tanehira

took

the

name

of

Arsinoe

under the Ptolemies, and t h i s appellation was

afterwards

changed to that of Cleopatris

by

Marc

Antony. I t has

now however,

returned

very

nearly to i t s original designation, being called

Taucra

by

the Arabs. The walls, which are of

uncommon strength

and thickness,

are alone l e f t

standing;

and

the destruction

of

the

city

i s

so

complete, that

i t

seems evidently t o have been

done by design.

Ptolemais i s

p r i n c i p a l l y

celebrated

f o r a

l a r g e and curious

mausoleum.

I t

has

a l s o the


52/338

nonruann

arnrcn.

31

r u i n s of an

amphitheatre, temple, and

aque

duct;

and

the

country

around,

a s

described

b y .

Beechey,

i s

exceedingly

b e a u t i f u l .

He p r e f e r s

i t to Switzerland; and,

speaking

of the eastern

valley,

says, I t r i s e s graduallyfrom the sea,

winding

through

forests

of

pines

and

flower

ing shrubs,

which

thicken as

the

sides of the

mountain become higher and

more abrupt,

t i l l the

valley

at

length

loses

i t s e l f

i n

a

precipitous

range

which bounds

i t

to the southward, and which

presents a dark barrier of thickly-planted pines,

shooting up i n t o

the

blue sky.

Bengazi occupies the s i t e of the ancient

Bere

nice.

I t i s

now one

of

the poorest and

most

unhealthy of

the

Arab towns :--filthy and dusty,

having

stagnant

pools

i n

the

centre

of

the

p r i n c i p a l

squares, and swarming with flies and every other

description

of i n s e c t ,

i t

i s scarcely possible to

fancy that Bengazi h a s , i n i t s immediate neigh

bourhood, gardens of a most singular character,

s i t u a t e d a t the bottom of deep p i t s

and

chasms.

i n the

r o c k .

They

c o n s i s t

of

l e v e l spots

of r i c h .

s o i l ,

sometimes

several

thousand

feet

in

circum

ference,

enclosed

by

steep

perpendicular rocks,

which r i s e a l l round them, l i k e the

s i d e s

of a deep

w e l l . I t

i s

conjectured that the s o i l has been

washed down by heavy r a i n s from

the

p l a i n s

above; and

as

the position

of

these strange

gar

dens

enables them always

to

retain

a degree of

moisture,

their

f e r t i l i t y

i s

beyond

a l l

description.

Captain Beechey imagines

them

to be the Gardens

of the Hesperides; which, i n that case, appear

t o have been r e a l l y such a s the

poets

have r e - .

presented them,

and not

the

oases

of the

d e s e r t .


53/338

32

nnscnrrrron or

He

a l s o mentions a remarkable subterraneous

r i v e r , which

he

thinks

i s

the

Lethe

of

Strabo.

The monuments

of

the

ancient Marmarica are

by

no

means interesting,

and

are generally

i n

the

Egyptian s t y l e . T he country, which

reaches from

Cyrene

t o the borders of Egypt, was explored

by M.

Pacho i n 1825.

He

d e s c r i b e s the s o i l

as f e r t i l e ,

but not

so

picturesquely beautiful

a s

the

Cyrenaica.

T he

i n h a b i t a n t s

are

Bedouin

Arabs.

Before

q u i t t i n g _ t h e S t a t e s of

Barbary,

of the

peopled

parts of

which the preceding

pages

have

given a

cursory view, we must

not

for

get

to describe

the Desert

of Zahara,

though the

very

limited space

to which

we

are confined w i l l

prevent us

from

entering

into

a l l

i t s

d e t a i l s .

The Great Desert i s named Zahara in Arabic;

and i s considered to extend

from

Egypt and

Nubia to the Atlantic Ocean, and from the foot

of

Mount

Atlas to the banks of the Niger. I t s

surface generally i s flat, and covered with moving

sand, which

undulates

i n

the

wind, like the b i l

lows

of

the

ocean,

producing

neither

the history of africa

Documents