INTRODUCTION.
The travels of Dr. Barth in Northern and Central Africa rank among the foremost of the enterprises which have illuminated our ignorance about Central Africa. They have an especial value, too, as being almost the sole record of a state of things which has considerably changed since his time, and will no doubt rapidly change still further.
Henry Barth was born in Hamburg on February 16th, 1821. During his education at the Johanneum he showed a special taste for languages and history. In the autumn of 1839 he entered at the University of Berlin, studying philology under Böckh. While attending Carl Ritter’s geographical lectures, he displayed a predilection for the countries surrounding the Mediterranean, which he continued to manifest throughout his whole life. In August 1840 he went to Italy, travelling from Venice as far as Sicily. In 1841, after many fluctuations of mind, he fixed his attention definitely on the classical Mediterranean basin, and especially the history and influence of the Greek colonies. He took his degree in the summer of 1844 with an essay on the commercial history of the Corinthians, and in January 1845 started for three years’ travels in the Mediterranean. He traversed France, Spain, the northern coast of Africa, the peninsula of Sinai, Palestine, Syria, Cyprus, Asia Minor, and thence returned through Greece to Berlin just before the events of March 1848. Notwithstanding the political troubles, he gained the right of giving public lectures; and in the summer of 1849 he gave a course “On the Topography of Some of the Most Renowned Nations of Antiquity.” Then followed the message from Baron Bunsen which is detailed in the author’s preface, and the great journey which is here described. In it he travelled from Tripoli to Bórnu, then through Ádamáwa, Baghirmi, Sókoto, etc., to Timbúktu, finally returning to Tripoli in August 1855, after nearly six years’ absence. His great book, published in 1857 in German and English in five volumes, is the most important work ever written on the districts of which it treats. We here present the first half, with the original wood engravings and reproductions of some of the lithographic plates. Barth not being a naturalist, his work differs considerably from those of Darwin and Wallace; but to make up for this he is extremely rich in topographical, historical, and anthropological details.
On his return Barth found plenty of work to do. From 1863 he was Professor of Geography in the University. He founded the Carl Ritter Institute, and was President of the Geographical Society. On completing his book on Africa, he carried his researches farther among the Mediterranean lands. In the autumn of 1858 he travelled over the northern half of Asia Minor, from Trebizond through Cæsarea to Scutari. In 1861 he visited Spain; in 1862, the interior of Turkey in Europe; 1863, the Alps; 1864, Italy; 1865, Turkey again. In that year he died (November 25) after two days’ illness, in the midst of most zealous work. He wrote, beside the present work, “Travels, in the Coasts Bordering the Mediterranean,” vol. i., 1849; “Journey from Trebizond to Scutari,” 1860; “Journey through the Interior of Turkey in Europe,” 1864. His great philological work on the vocabularies of Central Africa was left incomplete, only two parts having been published, 1862-63.
G. T. B.