First Footsteps In East Africa: Illustrated

by Richard Francis Burton

In this book, first published in 1856, Burton recounts his travels to Harar, a city in East Africa notorious for its slave trade activity. His plan was a challenging one, as it was believed that no European had been there before; upon arrival he claimed to be an agent of the British government and presented himself to the ruler of Harar. Burton was allowed to spend ten days there, and his account give a fascinating glimpse into a then unknown city and culture. One of the great adventure classics. Victorian scholar-adventurer's firsthand epic account of daring 1854 expedition to forbidden East African capital city. A treasury of detailed information on Muslim beliefs, manners and morals; plus pleasures and perils of the desert. A wealth of geographic, ethnographic and linguistic data. "By the side of the camels ride my three attendants, the pink of Somali fashion. Their frizzled wigs are radiant with grease; their Tobes are splendidly white, with borders dazzlingly red; their new shields are covered with canvass cloth; and their two spears, poised over the right shoulder, are freshly scraped, oiled, blackened, and polished. They have added my spare rifle, and guns to the camel-load; such weapons are well enough at Aden, in Somali-land men would deride the outlandish tool!" 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. Burton's best-known achievements include a well-documented journey to Mecca, in disguise at a time when Europeans were forbidden access on pain of death; an unexpurgated translation of One Thousand and One Nights (commonly called The Arabian Nights in English after early translations of Antoine Galland's French version); the publication of the Kama Sutra in English; and a journey with John Hanning Speke as the first Europeans to visit the Great Lakes of Africa in search of the source of the Nile.

Genres: Travel, Africa, History, Nonfiction, Adventure, Biography, Somalia

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1856

About the author

Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS was a British geographer, explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia, Africa and the Americas as well as his extraordinary knowledge of languages and cultures. According to one count, he spoke 29 European, Asian, and African languages.

Burton's best-known achievements include travelling in disguise to Mecca, an unexpurgated translation of One Thousand and One Nights (also commonly called The Arabian Nights in English after Andrew Lang's adaptation), bringing the Kama Sutra to publication in English, and journeying with John Hanning Speke as the first Europeans led by Africa's greatest explorer guide, Sidi Mubarak Bombay, utilizing route information by Indian and Omani merchants who traded in the region, to visit the Great Lakes of Africa in search of the source of the Nile. Burton extensively criticized colonial policies (to the detriment of his career) in his works and letters. He was a prolific and erudite author and wrote numerous books and scholarly articles about subjects including human behaviour, travel, falconry, fencing, sexual practices, and ethnography. A unique feature of his books is the copious footnotes and appendices containing remarkable observations and unexpurgated information.

He was a captain in the army of the East India Company serving in India (and later, briefly, in the Crimean War). Following this he was engaged by the Royal Geographical Society to explore the east coast of Africa and led an expedition guided by the locals and was the first European to see Lake Tanganyika. In later life he served as British consul in Fernando Po, Santos, Damascus and, finally, Trieste. He was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and was awarded a knighthood (KCMG) in 1886.

Reviews

[Monty Milne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to learn that, according to Burton, the Somalis like whistling, in contrast with the Arabs, who hold it to be “the chit chat of the djinns.” That was curious, as his is throwaway remark on the contrast between Somali and Arab treatment of snakes:

“To kill a serpent is considered by the Bedouins to be almost as meritorious as slaying an infidel”

And this is amusing in a very Burtonish way:

“As we aproached...the villagers inquired Hibernically if we were the party that had been put to death by the Amir of Harar.”

However, a lot of this is quite tedious, with many boring and exhaustive sections detailing the preparations future explorers should take. And although Burton often seems quite congenial, and takes a keen interest in everything, he has some fairly disagreeable characteristics. For me his worst one is his pointless massacre of “fishing hawks and sea birds” shot out of the sky at one halt. He admits -

“I had acquired throughout the land the evil reputation of killing everything from a bird to an elephant”. Quite so. He seems almost amused by this, but it seems to me that the “savages” show a moral superiority over our author by deprecating the killing of (often inedible) creatures just for the sake of killing.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

8.25/10.

An excellent adventure by a proud Englishman during the height of the British Empire. It is very interesting to read of the Somalis’ reaction to the whiteness of Burton, for many of their tribes were extremely isolated and had not seen someone lighter than milk chocolate.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting journey whose telling is burdened with a hefty cargo of the easy confidence of unchallenged racism and imperialism.

[AbrahamQ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting journal.

[Amerynth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chock full of ethnographical information about the Muslims of Somalia, Richard Burton's "First Footsteps in Africa" is a great look at a white man's first forays into that area of the continent. As an adventure novel, the book is kind of dry -- Burton essentially travels to an area, is held there by its leaders and observes the people before he is finally allowed to move on. I found the volumes to be okay-- but I'm sort of surprised they are ranked so highly on the "Greatest Adventure Books of All Time..." because there were plenty of other books that were just a lot more interesting.

[Clivemichael · Rating 3 out of 5]

A detailed if not at times dry (pardon the pun) description of the author's travels into the interior of what was then unknown country. His understated observations and sober reflections provide an occasionally thrilling (if not foolhardy) insight into the mind of a dedicated explorer in the colonial age. That he succeeded is a testament to his knowledge of Arabic, his patience and a familiarity with the temperaments and moral attitudes of the people along with the ability to conceal his actual identity.

[Peter]

Victorian-era nonfiction by the first European to return from Harar, a city in modern-day Etheopia. A slow read due to the language of the time, but still quite interesting. His reaction to the natives, varying from reverent to derisive, is telling.

[Marsha]

--

[Dan Piette]

Somalia and Harrar

[Darinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

An account of the author's travels in Eastern Africa. A slow read.

[Zechy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Took my about 6 months to finish, Glad I did though.

[Cherie · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF – very slow, the footnotes drove me nuts. But some interesting observations, and many would no longer be true today.