A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Xviii Part 46

648. Adam's Narrative of a Residence in Tombuctoo. 4to. If these Narratives can be perfectly depended upon, they add considerably to our information respecting the Great Desert and the interior of Africa.

649. Sammlung Merkwurdiger Reisen in das innere von Africa, heraus gegeben.

Von E.W. Kuher. Leips. 1790. 8vo.

650. Descrizione dell' Isola della Madera, scritta nella Lingua Latina dal Conte Julio Laedi, tradotta in volgare da Alemano Fini. Plaisance, 1574.

4to.

651. Histoire de la premiere Decouverte et Conquete des Canaries, 1412. Par J. Bethancourt: ecrite du temps meme. Par P. Bouthier, et J. Leverier.

Paris, 1630. 12mo.--This curious and rare work, depicts with great fidelity and navete, the manners, opinions, government, religion, &c. that prevailed in the Canaries, when they were first conquered.

652. Essai sur les Isles Fortunees, et l'Antique Atlantide. Par Borry de Saint Vincent. Paris, 1803. 4to. The author of this work resided for some time in these Islands; and his work, besides historical information, bears testimony to his having employed his residence in gaining minute information respecting their soil, climate, natural history, and productions; and likewise respecting the manners, &c. of the inhabitants.

There is much learned discussion respecting the origin of the Guanches, and interesting information regarding their civilization and knowledge.

653. Noticias de la Historia general de las Islas de Canaria. Par D.J.

Dariera y Clavigo. Madrid, 1771. 3 vols. 8vo. Borry de Saint Vincent, who derived much of his information from this work, justly characterizes it as a valuable and accurate performance.

The Islands of Madeira, Teneriffe, St. Jago, &c. are described in many Voyages to the East Indies, particularly in Barrow's Voyage to Cochin China. In the first volume of Sir Hans Sloane's Jamaica, there is also a good account of Madeira.

THE SOUTH OF AFRICA.

The Cape of Good Hope being generally visited by ships going to the East Indies and China, there are many accounts of it and the adjacent country, in the relation of voyages to those parts. Since it came into the possession of the British, this part of Africa has frequently become the ultimate and special object of travellers. The oldest accounts were published in the Dutch and German languages.

654. Reise Beschriebung, 1660-1667 unter die Africanisken Vaelker besonders die Hottent.i.ten. Von. J. Breyer. Leips. 1681. 8vo.

655. Reise nach dem Vorgeberg der Guten Hopnung. Von Peter Kolb. Nuremberg, 3 vol. fol.--This voluminous work, originally published in Dutch, was abridged and published in French, in 3 vols. 12mo. From this abridgment, an English translation was published in 2 vols. 8vo. in 1738. Both the entire and abridged work have been frequently published. The reason for this popularity and general sale, must be sought in Kolben's work, being, for a long time, the only detailed account of this part of Africa, and from its enjoying a reputation for accuracy, which subsequent travellers have destroyed, especially De la Caille, the celebrated astronomer, in the following work.

656. Journal du Voyage fait au Cap de Bonne Esperance. Paris, 1673.

12mo.--This work is well known to astronomers; but it also deserves to be perused by those who wish to detect the errors of Kolben, and by the light which it throws on the manners of the Hottentots.

657. Description du Cap de Bonne Esperance. Amsterdam, 1778. 8vo.--This work, translated from the Dutch, contains a Journal of Travels into the interior, undertaken by order of the Dutch Governor. The first part gives a short description of the Cape, and the adjacent districts, which seems drawn from the authority of Kolben, in too many particulars; the second part contains the Journal of the Travels: and it is more full and instructive on objects of natural history, than on the customs and manners of the people. The plates of these are very valuable.

658. Voyage de M. Levaillant, dans l'Interieur de l'Afrique, 1780-85.

Paris, 2 vols. 8vo.

659. Second Voyage, 1783-1785. Paris, 3 vols. 8vo.--These Travels, which have been translated into English, possess a wonderful charm in the narrative, attained, however, too often by the sacrifice of plain and unadorned truth, to the love of romance and effect. Notwithstanding this drawback, Levaillant's Travels are valuable for the light they throw on the natural history of the South of Africa.

660. Voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, 1772-1776. By Sparman, 1785. 2 vols.

4to.--This work was originally published in Swedish; it is interesting, not only on account of the valuable information it conveys on natural history, especially botany, and on the manners, &c. of the people, but likewise for the perseverance and zeal with which Sparman, without friends, a.s.sistance, and almost without pecuniary a.s.sistance, forced his way into remote and barbarous districts.

661. Barrows Travels into the interior of Southern Africa, 1797-1798. 4to.

2 vols. Very few writers of travels have possessed such a variety and extent of information, both political and scientific, as Mr. Barrow; hence these volumes are acceptable and instructive to all cla.s.ses of readers, and have attained a celebrity not greater than they deserve. In Mr. Barrow's voyage to Cochin China, there is some information respecting the Cape, especially an account of a journey to the Booshuana nation. In Thunberg's voyage to j.a.pan, there is also much information on the geography, natural history, manners, &c. of the South of Africa.

662. La Trobe's Journal of a Visit to South Africa, in 1815. 4to.

663. Lichtenstein's Travels in Southern Africa, 1803-06. 2 vols. 4to.

664. Campbell's Travels in Africa, by order of the Missionary Society. 2 vols. 8vo.

Additional information may be gleaned from these travels, respecting South Africa; Campbell penetrated farthest, and discovered some populous tribes and large towns. La Trobe's is the most interesting narrative.

665. Histoire de la Grande Isle de Madagascar. Par du Flacourt. Paris, 1661. 4to.

666. Relation des Premiers Voyages de la Compagnee des Indes, faits en l'Isle de Madagascar. Par de Rennefort. Paris, 1668. 16mo.

667. Voyage a l'Isle de France, a l'Isle de Bourbon, &c. Par Bernardin de St. Pierre. Paris, 1773. 8vo.--This work is full. of accurate and detailed information on the soil, climate, productions, &c. of the Isle of France, and on the manners and morals of its inhabitants: on the other Island it is less instructive.

668. Voyage a l'Isle de Madagascar, et aux Indes Orientates. Par Rochon.

Paris, 1791. 8vo.--This work enters into every subject relating to this isle and its inhabitants, which can be interesting and instructive to the naturalist, the political economist, and the moralist; and the information bears all the marks of accuracy and completeness.

669. Voyages dans les quatre princ.i.p.ales Isles des Mers d'A Afrique, 1801-2. Par Borry de Saint Vincent. Paris, 1804. 3 vols. 8vo.--The author was chief naturalist in the voyage of discovery, under the command of Captain Baudin. The isles of France and Bourbon are most minutely described in this work; and the isles of Teneriffe and St. Helena in a less detailed manner. The information, as might be imagined, relates princ.i.p.ally to natural history, on all the branches of which the author is very full and instructive; he also extends his remarks to the soil, climate, agriculture, topography, commerce, manners, &c.

670. Grant's History of Mauritius, or the Isle of France. 1801. 4to.--This work is drawn princ.i.p.ally from the memoirs of Baron Grant, by his son. The Baron resided nearly twenty years in the island: hence, and from his acquaintance with most of the scientific and nautical men who visited the island, he has been enabled to collect much information connected with its physical state, its harbours, climate, soil, productions, and the manners of its inhabitants.

ABYSSINIA, NUBIA, &C.

The most ancient descriptions of these countries are to be found in the collections of M. Thevenot, and Ramusio, already noticed.

671. Lobos's Voyage to Abyssinia, with fifteen Dissertations relating to Abyssinia. By Le Grand. 8vo. 1789.--This account of Abyssinia during the middle of the seventeenth century, though princ.i.p.ally relating to church affairs, is yet valuable for its information on the government and manners of the people, and curious, as giving indications or descriptions of several animals and birds, the existence of which had been previously doubted.

672. Travels in Abyssinia. By James Barretti. 1670. 8vo.

673. A new History of Ethiopia. By Joseph Ludolphus. fol. 1684.--Though Ludolphus did not visit this country, yet his work, originally published in Latin, with a commentary and appendix by himself, is well worthy of perusal, as it is full of recondite and important information on the origin of the Abyssinians, the climate, soil, productions, and the natural history, physical and moral state of the inhabitants, &c.

674. Bruce's Travels to discover the Source of the Nile. 5 vols. 4to.

1790.--Account of his Life and Writings, and additions to his Travels. By Alex. Murray. 4to. 1808.

675. Observations on Bruce's Travels. By Warton. 1799, 4to.

676. Observations on the authenticity of Bruce's Travels. Newcastle. 1800.

4to. We have added to the t.i.tle of Bruce's work, those of two works which remarked on its authenticity; there were also some acute papers on the subject in the Monthly Magazine: the result of these, and of the researches of subsequent travellers, seems to have established the credit of Bruce generally, though it is now known he did not reach the source of the real Nile, and that in some descriptions he coloured too highly. After all these drawbacks, however, his Travels are very valuable, and, with the exception of the tedious annals of Abyssinia, may be perused with interest and profit.

677. Salt's Voyage to Abyssinia, and Travels into the interior of that country. 1809-10: with an account of the Portuguese Settlements on the east coast of Africa. 4to. 1814.

678. Pearce's true account of the ways and manners of the Abyssinians. (In the Transactions of the Bombay Society, vol. 2.)

These two works have extended our knowledge of Abyssinia, especially of the moral state of the people, much beyond what it might have been expected we should have acquired regarding a country formerly so inaccessible. Mr. Salt's zeal, and opportunities of information and observation, have left little to be desired: and from Mr. Pearce, who resided fourteen years in the country, many particulars may be gathered, which only a long residence, and that intimacy and amalgamation with the natives which Mr. Pearce accomplished, can furnish accurately, minutely, and fully.

VIII. ASIA.

Several circ.u.mstances concurred to direct the travels of the dark and middle ages to Asia. Pilgrimages to the Holy Land;--the wish to ingratiate the Tartar chiefs, which was naturally felt by the European powers, when the former were advancing towards the western limits of Asia; and subsequently, and perhaps consequently, the spirit of commercial enterprise, were amongst the most obvious and influential circ.u.mstances which led to travels into this quarter of the world, from the ninth to the fifteenth centuries. Although the travellers during this period were by no means, in general, qualified to investigate the physical peculiarities of the countries they visited, and are even meagre, and often inaccurate in detailing what was level to their information and capacities, yet, as has been justly observed, "there is a simplicity in the old writers, which delights us more than the studied compositions of modern travellers;" to say nothing of the interest which the first glimpses of a newly discovered country never fail to impart.

We shall therefore annex the t.i.tles of the most interesting and instructive of these travels, which were performed between the ninth and fifteenth centuries, referring such of our readers who wish for a more complete list or fuller information on the subject, to the Bibliotheque des Voyages, Vol. I. p. 32., &c.; Murray's Asiatic Discoveries; the Review of Murray's work in the 48th number of the Quarterly Review; Forster's Voyages and Discoveries in the North; and Collection portative de Voyages. Par C. Langles.

679. Ancient accounts of India and China. By Two Mahomedan Travellers in the ninth century; translated from the Arabic by E. Renaudot. 8vo.