A Mission to Gelele, King of Dahome

by Richard Francis Burton

Overview

Sir Richard Burton (1821–1890) the famous Victorian explorer, began his career in the Indian army in 1842. While in India he developed his linguistic talent, mastering more than forty different languages and dialects. He turned to writing books in the 1850s and, over the remaining forty years of his life, published dozens of works and more than one hundred articles. He spent part of his career as British consul in Fernando Po (present-day Equatorial Guinea) in West Africa, and used this as an opportunity to explore the region. In 1861, he was sent on a mission, recounted in this two-volume work of 1864, to Dahomey (present-day Benin) to urge the king to put a stop to the local slave trade. In Volume 2 Burton discusses the human sacrifices that were taking place while he was there, and the negotiations with the king about slavery.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108030328
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/18/2011
Series:	Cambridge Library Collection - African Studies
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	424
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890) was an English explorer, author, translator, linguist, and orientalist. Though he published over forty books and countless articles during his life, only two were original works. He is best known for his translations, in particular his translations of One Thousand and One Nights and The Kama Sutra.

Table of Contents

14 continued. The King's 'So-sin custom'; 15. Of the so-called Amazons and the Dahoman army; 16. Addo-kpon, the Bush King's So-sin customs; 17. Of the Dahoman religion; 18. The Sin-Kwain, or water-sprinkling custom; 19. Of 'The negro's place in nature'; 20. The Y of triumph; 21. Dahome and her capital; 22. The firing to Whydah, and conclusion of the customs; 23. The delivery of the message; 24. Return to the seaboard; Conclusion; Appendices.