Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa: Volume 2 (Cambridge Library Collection - African Studies) - Softcover

Burchell, William John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1108084141 ISBN 13: 9781108084147

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2015

Synopsis

William John Burchell (1781–1863) is remembered for this outstanding geography of South Africa, published in two volumes in 1822–4 and later taken on Darwin's Beagle voyage. It covers the first year of Burchell's 4,500-mile expedition into southern Africa from 1811 to 1815, while 'botanist to the Cape Colony'. The author returned to England with 500 scientific and ethnographical drawings, many of them used as illustrations in the book, and about 63,000 natural history specimens including 120 animal skins and 265 species of bird. His preface emphasises that his journal is accurate, independent and free from prejudice; he also claims that unlike many travelogues, his contains no 'indelicacies ... offensive to decency'. Volume 2 covers February to August 1812, and focuses on ethnography. Burchell describes the indigenous peoples he encounters, their way of life, including music and dance, and notes many local words for artefacts, animals and plants.

About this title

Book Description:

Published 1822–4, this highly influential two-volume account of the interior of southern Africa derives from the journal kept by William John Burchell (1781–1863) during the first year of a 4,500-mile expedition from 1811 to 1815. It describes landscapes, flora and fauna, and the lives of indigenous peoples encountered.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1108084141
• ISBN 13: 9781108084147
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 682