AFRICA AFRICAN INSTITUTION. 



Africa, London, 1821, who, starting from Tripoli, 

 visited (lie civc-. of tlii' tribes of mount (iareun, anil 

 penetrated l>y way of Moureouk, to Tegerhy, (24 

 J. N. Int..) I In- most southern city of the kingdom of 

 Feno::, in company \\iili his friend Ritchie, who 

 ilicd, lioweser, in Mourzouk, Nov. 20, 181!>. In 

 September, 1821, doctor < Midncy, major Dcnham, 

 ami captain Clapperton, proceeded on ;m expedition 

 of a similar nature to Tripoli, in order to travel 

 to I lornou, by way of Mourzouk, and explore Uie 

 course of the Niger. Oudney died at Murmur, Jan. 

 12, 182-1, in consequence of catching a cold when the 

 frost wa> so \iolcnt on a plain, between hills of sand, 

 that water froze in the leather bags. His fellow-tra- 

 veller, Clapperton, pursued his journey to Cano, the 

 present capital of lloussa, and reached Soccatoo,the 

 residence of the governor of Soodan. They discover- 

 ed the fresh-water lake Tschad, into which two large 

 rivers empty themselves, the Shary from the south, the 

 Yaou from the west. (See Narrative of Travels and 

 Discoveries in Northern and Central Africa, by maj. 

 Denham, capt. Clnpperton, and the late Dr Oudney, 

 in the years 1822, 23, 24, London, 1826.) In 1824, 

 major Gordon Laing undertook to travel from Tri- 

 poli to Timbuctoo. Clapperton commenced, in 1825, 

 a new expedition into the interior from Benin, by way 

 of Soccatoo, to the Tschad, in order to penetrate into 

 Abyssinia through Timbuctoo, whence Laing was to 

 start for Benin. He was accompanied by doctor 

 Dickson, the naturalist, capt. Robert Pearce, and 

 doctor Morrison. Clapperton died of a dysentery at 

 Soccntoo, April 13, 1827, and Laing is now known 

 to have been killed near Timbuctoo in the latter part 

 of the year 1826. Clapperton's journal of his second 

 expedition has been published at London, 1829, to- 

 gether with the journal of Richard Lander, from 

 Cano to the sea-coast. To Lander the merit belongs 

 of solving the long disputed question regarding the 

 mouth of the Niger. Sailing down the river, he 

 entered the sea by the outlet distinguished on maps 

 by the name of Nun. Among the German and 

 French adventurers, who have explored the interior 

 of Africa, starting from Egypt, are Minutoli (q. v.), 

 Caillaud, and since the year 1822, Ed. Ruppel. 

 Ruppel explored, in 1825, the great Oasis in the 

 west of Nubia, and the unknown country of Kordo- 

 fan ; and undertook, in 1826, a journey to the Red 

 sea. He has imparted to the public much that is 

 new respecting Egypt and Ethiopia, and the anti- 

 quities of the East, in von Zach's Corresp. Astron. 

 The French Gasp. Mollien, who published a Voyage 

 dans Clnti-rietir de VAfrique aux Sources du Senegal 

 et de la Gambia, Paris, 1820, 2 vols., set out from St 

 Louis, r.nd reached the sources of the Senegal, the 

 Gambia, and the Rio Grande, at no great distance 

 from each other, Ion. 7" 15' W., and fat. 10 3(y N. 

 in the neighlxnirhood of Teemboo. But he was un- 

 able to reach the sources of the Niger, and also 

 wanted instruments to give accuracy to his observa- 

 tions. In the connexion of those two streams by the 

 Nerico, he has shown the route on which the caravans 

 from the kingdoms of Oubi and Foutadiallon, in the 

 interior, might proceed along the Senegal to fort St 

 Louis. Much light has been shed over the south of 

 Africa by Burchel, an Englishman, who travelled 

 five years in the interior, setting out from the Cape. 

 Before him, the Cape itself had been explored, by 

 Barrow, in 1797, and by John Campbell, agent of 

 the. London Missionary Society, as far as Latakoo, 

 a settlement of the Bushwana tribe, 900 miles north of 

 Cape Town. In 1818, Campbell undertook a second 

 journey, in the same direction, arrived at Latakoo in 

 1819, and reached, in April, 182O, Old Latakoo, 

 containing 8000 inhabitants. He here found, in a 

 northerly direction, several populous cities, situated 



in a fertile and cultivated country, where he discov- 

 ered the tribe of the red Caffres, and reached Ku- 

 rerchanee (almost 24 S. lat.), a city of the Ma root- 

 Bees, near the eastern coast, said to contain 16,000 

 inhabitants. August*- Caillo, a French traveller, by 

 his own account readied Timbuctoo, April 19, 1828. 

 The committee of the geographical society at Paris, 

 appointed to examine him, report that his journey is 

 connected, in a way very advantageous tor science, 

 with those of Park, Laing, and others, who have ex- 

 plored A. It may be obser\ ed, however, that consid- 

 erable doubts are entertained as to the authenticity 

 of his statements. Thus the courage of European 

 discoverers has penetrated Africa, from four sides, the 

 Cape, Senegal, Tripoli, and Egypt. North Africa 

 has now been intersected and scientifically explored, 

 by five or six important expeditions. J!ul there are 

 yet wanting communication and connexion between 

 the 20 or 25 principal lines, which mark the routes of 

 the discoverers. The space already explored by them 

 in Africa is estimated at 225,000 square miles. 

 We have, therefore, accounts more or less authentic 

 respecting the 50th part of this vast continent . (See 

 Jotaard., Sur les Decouvertcs dans rinli'rirur di: 

 VAfrique, Rev. Enc., 1824, Dec.) Ukert lias com- 

 piled the latest geography of the northern half of 

 Africa (Weimar, 1824, the 21st vol. of the t'o/lst. 

 Handb. der nuesten Erdbcschreib.) A new and 

 very complete lithographic map of Africa was pub- 

 lished in 1828, by Cotta, at Munich, containing all 

 the late additions to African geography, price six 

 guilders. For information respecting the American 

 colony Liberia, and the other important settlements 

 on this continent, see the separate articles. 



AFRICAN ASSOCIATION ; a society of 95 members, 

 who held their first meeting, June 9, 1788, in Lon- 

 don. Its object is to explore the interior of Africa, 

 to promote the civilization of the blacks, and the 

 commercial interests of Great Britain. The soul ot 

 this association was the famous Sir Joseph Banks. 

 (See Banks.) Ledyard, the American traveller, and 

 Lucas, were the first persons sent out to explore the 

 interior of Africa, at the expense of this association, 

 which subsequently despatched, at different times and 

 on different routes, major Houghton, Mungo Park, 

 and two Germans, Hornemann and Burckhardt. 

 (q. v.) See the results of these enterprises in the 

 Proceedings of the Association for promoting the 

 Discovery of Africa , 1790. 



AFRICAN COMPANY ; a society of merchants estab- 

 lished by Charles II., for the purpose of trading to 

 Africa. Similar companies had been formed during 

 the reigns of Elizabeth, of James I., and of Charles 

 I., but did not continue long. Another was incor- 

 porated in 1662, with a charter from Charles II., se- 

 curing to the British a monopoly of all commerce 

 from cape Blanco to the cape of Good Hope. The 

 last incorporation of this kind was formed in 1672, 

 and conducted for some time a flourishing trade. At 

 the time of the English revolution, the trade to Af- 

 rica was thrown open. All private traders, however, 

 were obliged to pay 10 per cent, towards maintaining 

 the forts and factories already erected. In 1750, the 

 original company being completely bankrupt, its forts 

 and various establishments on the African coast were 

 vested, by 23 Geo. II. in the present company of 

 merchants trading to Africa. This company can- 

 not trade as a corporate body, nor possess transfer- 

 able stock. Its duties are to maintain the forts and 

 garrisons in good order; and any British subject 

 may be admitted into it ori the payment of 40 shil- 

 lings. 



AFRICAN INSTITUTION; a society in England, the 

 first meeting of which was held, April 14, 1807. Jts 

 principal object is the abolition of the slave trade, 



