A F R 



lecled in th^ DtTti-t, Hence he infers, tliat there muft be a 

 laijfe lioUow in the interior of Africa, between the hij^li 

 land of Nubia on the cull, and Mandinjr on the well, and 

 of wbicli the mountains and Defert form the other two fidi-S ; 

 fnnilar to the cavity in Afia, to whofe waters the Cafpian 

 and A::il ferve as recipients. The l/jir//, part of north Africa, 

 Jn the dillribution of Mr. Rennell, is the Great Defert or 

 Sahar.i, and its members, confifting of the lefFer deferts of 

 ]5orno',i, Bilma, Ikuea, Sort, &c. For the defcriplion of 

 this part, fee S.^hara. 



Many laudable attempts have been lately made, under the 

 encouragement ■afiorded by the African ylffoaalion, for 

 difeovering the interior, and hitherto very much unknown, 

 parts of Africa. Mr. Park, a very intelligent and intrepid, 

 and it may be juilly added, a very fuceefsful adventurer in 

 this miffion, has made feveral important difcoveries. Having 

 left Pi SAN 1 a, N. lat. 13°. 35'. about 200 miles from the 

 mouth of the Gambia, Dec. 2, 1 795, he returned thither 

 after an abfence of eighteen months. In this long interval 

 of time, he explored the interior of Africa to the dillance 

 of I :oo miles, in a direifl line from Cape Verd ; proceeding 

 in a trac^ bounded by the 15th and returning by the 12th 

 parallel of latitude. His firft. llation was Medina, the 

 capital of the kingdom of Woolli, whence he purfued his 

 journey by Kolor, to Koojar, the frontier towns of this 

 counti-y. Here he refrellied himielf with a liquor made from 

 corn previoully malted, with bitter roots inftead of hops. 

 After palling a wildernefs of two days journey, he reached 

 Tallika, the frontier town of Bondou, and at Fatte- 

 CONDA, the capital, he was introduced to the king Almami. 

 From Bondou Mr. Park proceeded to the kingdom of 

 Kajaaga, and having been ill treated at Joag, the frontier 

 town, he profecuted his journey to the kingdom of Kasson, 

 and puffing Tessee, the frontier town, arrived at Koonia- 

 kary, the capital. Here he was treated kindly by the 

 king ; and having remained here for iome time, he refumed 

 bis journey, andarrived at Kemmoo, tlie capital of Kaarta. 

 Following the route which Daifi, the king of this country, 

 prefcribed, through the kingdom of Ludamar to that of 

 Bamdarra, he paffed Marina, on his way to Simbing, 

 the frontier town of Ludamar. 



Having left Jarra, the frontier town of this country, he 

 pmfned his journey and reached Sampaka. He was after- 

 wards feized by a party of Moors, and condufted back to 

 Benowm, the refidence of Ah, king of Ludamar, where 

 l\e was treated with great feverity by the big'ottcd and ma- 

 licious Moors, and efcaped death only by a piilol's twice 

 miffing fire. At length he fortunately efcaped, and reached 

 a negro town called Wawra, belonging to Manfong, king 

 of Bambarra : and paCing through feveral towns of this 

 kingdom, he arrived at Sego, on the banks of the Niger, 

 which he found to be as broad as the Thames at Wcilmin- 

 fter, and flowing /lowly to the eajlnvard. Purfumg his 

 courfe in this direction along the banks of the river, he 

 paifcd through the towns of Kabba, Modiboo and Kea, 

 and reached Moorzan. Here he crofled the Niger to 

 SiLLA, which was the termination of his journey to the 

 call. In his return \'.tflward on the northern bank of the 

 river, he arrived at B.'.mmakoo, the frontier of the king- 

 dom of Bambarra, and quitting the Niger at this place, he 

 proceeded to Sididooloo, the frontier town of the king- 

 dom of Manding. ■ Hence he purlued his journey to 

 Kamalia, where he remained feven month?.. In his pro- 

 grefs fitjm Kamalia he traverfed the Jalonko wildernefs, 

 by an interval of 100 miles, and having eroded the Black 

 River, a principal branch of the Senegal, he arrived at 

 Malacotta; and after a journey of 500 miles reached 



A F R 



Medina, the capital of the king of Woolli's dominions, nn 

 the 4tli of June 1797, which he had left in December 

 1 79 J. From hence he proceeded to I'iiania, and afterv.ards 

 returned to Kngland. 



All tlic inhaijitants of the African continent, tlioughdif- 

 tinguiflied n;ider a variety of denominations, according to 

 tiieir different fituations, origin, tribes and governments, are 

 commonlv included under the twofold dilliutlion of Africans 

 and Arabs, or ^Vhitcs and Blacks. The white Africans, ac- 

 cording to Leo Africanus, (1. i. c. 9.) and Marmol, (1. i.e. 

 24.) are divided into five nations or tribes, iva;. the Z as- 



HAGIANS, MuSMUDANS, ZkNET/U, Gu MKR AN ) A S S, and 



HoAREs ; and to thefe Coo capital families of Berbers, 

 and the mofl conllderable ones in Africa, owe tlieir origin, 

 lliey lirll fettled in Barbaiy, and from thence gradually 

 dlfperfed themfelves over the greattft part of Africa. Far an 

 account of theblack Africans, fee Blacks and Negrokr. 



The Ancients and Moderns have concurred in giving a 

 vei-y unfavourable reprefentation of the dlfpofition and clia^ 

 racter of the native Africans. Lucan (1. iv.) Virgil (yEn.. 

 viii. cum not.Scrvii) andmany others, defcribe them as proud, 

 indolent, thievilh, revengeful, addicted to all kinds of lull, 

 cruel, inconllant, fuperilitious and cowardly. So general 

 has been the unfavourable opinion entertained concerninj^ 

 thefe people, that it has given oceafion to a common proverb, 

 that all the inhabitants of the globe have fome good as well 

 as ill qualities, except the Africans. But this degeneracy 

 of charafter is owing more to their bad education, their 

 tyrannical governments, and their unfettlcd Rate, than to 

 their country ; for this has produced feveral dilliuguiflie J 

 perfons, among whom we might enumerate St. Cyprian, 

 Auguilin, and Tertullian, in the clafs of diniK's ; Hanno,. 

 Hannibal and Afdrubal,. in the lift of heroes ; Terence 

 among the poets, and many others. We might alfo appeal 

 to the indutlry with which they have formerly cultivated 

 their lands, and applied to commerce and tlie nfeiul arts. IT 

 they are novi', too generally, ignorant and depraved, idle, 

 dl'lionell or fuperilitious, we are to feek the eaufe of the 

 evil in the nature of their governments, and the inatt-entiou 

 and neglec~t with which they have been treated. The rei 

 ligion of the native Africans has been the groffeft kind of 

 idolatry, blended with the magical and fuperilitious rites of 

 the antient Egyptians. Neverthelefs we difcover many relics, 

 of Jwdaifm not only in Abyssinia, but in many other paiti 

 of Africa ; where many Jews, driven there at a very early- 

 period, or by the difperfion after the dcftruftion of Jeru- 

 falem, or by the perfecutions of later times, have fettled and 

 maintained their religious woriliip and ceremonies. Clirif- 

 tianity was alio introduced at an earlv age of the Chrilliai\ 

 a;ra into this countr)^ and has fubfifted, under one fonn or 

 other, and amidll great diffenfions and corruptions, in various 

 dillricls of Africa to the prefent day. The interior parts of 

 Africa remain Hill in the darknefs of Pagamfm, as tkey have 

 been in a great degree inaeceinble to the moll adventurous 

 of the Europeans. Indeed, in the maritime provinces of 

 this great peninfula, and efpecially v,-l;ere the Portuguefo 

 have their fettlements, there are feveral diftrifts in whieli the 

 religion of Hemic has prevailed over the favage fiiperflitions 

 of that barbarous region. But the ingenuous hillorians, 

 even of the Roman Catholic perfuafion, who have given 

 accounts of the African colonies, acknowledge, that of the 

 profelytes made to the faith of the gofpel fevi- deferve the 

 denomination of Chriilians ; as mofl of them retain the 

 abominable fuperftltions of their anceftors, and the belt 

 among them difhonour their profeffion by various praiiliees 

 of a moll vicious and eorrujjt nature. The millions in Africa 

 have been much neglecled by the Portuguefe ; and the few 



tnliliunories 



