EUROPEAN EXPLORERS AS CARAVAN TRAVELLERS IN THE WEST SUDAN: Some

Thoughts on the Methodology of Journeys of Exploration

Author(s): GERD SPITTLER
Source: Paideuma: Mitteilungen zur Kulturkunde , 1987, Bd. 33, European Sources for
Sub-Saharan Africa Before 1900: Use and Abuse (1987), pp. 391-406
Published by: Frobenius Institute

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Paideuma 33, 1987

EUROPEAN EXPLORERS AS CARAVAN TRAVELLERS IN THE

WEST SUDAN
Some Thoughts on the Methodology of Journeys of Exploration

GERD SPITTLER

In this paper I shall examine the methodology of journeys of exploration during the a
travel phase.1 Such travels can be divided into three distinct phases: the preparation, the
itself and the subsequent evaluation of the material. Preparation includes securing the fin
means, studying the relevant literature, acquiring certain skills (e. g. linguistic proficie
and establishing the goals of the exploration. After the trip the material is evaluated
publication, taking account of both the taste of the reading public and career considera
The explorer's person, the preparation and plans for publication and career have a very s
impact on the exploration (Bridges, this volume; Essner, this volume). In my paper, how
I shall not deal with these aspects but concentrate exclusively on the actual travel.
The question we have to consider is how the organization of the journey and the ro
the explorer affect his exploration. What can he see and hear and how does he interpret
he has seen and heard? How long does he stay in one place and with whom does he come
to contact? Under what conditions does he take, preserve and prepare his notes?

African caravans and exploration

For my study I have chosen explorers who travelled to Bornu, Hausaland and Timbu
or attempted to, in the first half of the 19th century. The following table lists their n
and the dates of their journeys.

Explorers Dates of journeys

Mungo Park 1795-1797

Mungo Park 1805-1806
Friedrich Hornemann 1798-1801?
Joseph Ritchie and George Lyon 1819-1 820
Dixon Denham - Hugh Clapperton -
Walter Oudney 1 822- 1 825
Hugh Clapperton 1825-1827
Gordon Laing 1825-1826
René Caillié 1826-1827
Richard and John Lander 1830
James Richardson - Heinrich Barth -
Adolf Overweg - Eduard Vogel 1850-1856

1 1 should like to thank Dierk Lange, Humphrey Fisher and the editors of this volume for
on earlier drafts of this paper.

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392 Gerd Spittler

That these explorers regarded the

their publications: with the exception
or "expedition". An explorer can trav
we must make a further distinction bet
tothe local circumstances and secures
means. An expedition does not adapt b
surroundings by military means. Stanle
of an expedition. Caravans predominat
are some expeditions too. Mungo P
boat ensured virtual autarky, and sold
mediate vicinity. Peddie and his su
pitiable failure, was also a military exp
(1822-25) began as an expedition. Ri
military lines, had an expeditionary
(including a large boat).
An expedition and a caravan lead to t
shown elsewhere by one comparison
between Barth's caravan on the one
saharienne" under Foureau and Lam
shall not deal with expeditions but r
ploration. I shall consider five aspect
of stay in one place, (2) the organiza
travellers, (4) the role of co- traveller
and the local African population.

1 . The explorers all spent a lengthy p

to, in the case of Barth, over five yea
fieldwork, but we are dealing with tr
exploration depended largely on the t
For the most part the explorers rema
their possibilities for exploration. It i
yet he spent only two weeks in Timb
less than one month in Agadez, abou
Sokoto. He did spend six months in T
night, but this was forced rather tha
capital of Bornu, his six sojourns the
Clapperton).2
Sojourns of more than one month a
explorers might not leave for politica
await the departure of a caravan (Par
Barth and Richardson in Air);3 some
malia) or illness (Caillié in Time, Cl
hindered from exploration by illness

2 Nachtigal spent a total of 17 months in K

3 In Murzuk caravans were particularly in
Tibesti Mountains (Fisher, this volume).

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 European Explorers as Caravan Travellers in the West Sudan 393

stays forms one of the most interesting sections of their publications. They had enough time
to establish contacts, to make observations and enquiries, to reflect and to prepare their
material. This holds for Lyon's description of Murzuk, Clapperton's of Sokoto, Richardson's
of Air, and Barth's of the cities of Kano, Timbuktu and Kukawa. Park's four chapters on the
Mandingo are the most informative in his book. He collected the material for them during
his seven-month stay in Kamalia, where he waited for the end of the rainy season and the
departure of a caravan:
"Being now left alone, and at leisure to indulge my own reflections, it was an opportunity not to be
neglected of augmenting and extending the observations I had already made on the climate and pro-
ductions of the country ; and of acquiring a more perfect knowledge of the natives, than it was possible
for me to obtain in the course of a transient and perilous journey through the country." (Park 1815,
I: 383)

2. The explorers spent the greater part of their time in Africa not at one fixed place but
on the move. Barth, for example covered 15,500 km in 625 days. Given a daily travel time
of 6-8 hours, this amounts to 25 km a day on average (Schiffers 1967 a: 19). The studies
continued while on the move. To assess the value of these explorations we must now look
more closely at the conditions under which they took place. It made a lot of difference for
the explorer whether he himself could fix the time of departure, the route and the halts or
whether he joined another caravan. In the latter case what is discovered and the depth in
which it can be studied lies beyond the control of the explorer. The caravan's route is crucial.
For example the descriptions of the Tuareg were delayed for 50 years because explorers could
not find a caravan. In 1800 Hornemann's original intention was to travel from Fezzan to
Hausaland via Air and Agadez, which would have made him the first explorer to enter the
land of the Tuareg. As the route was too dangerous at that time and the caravans avoided
Air, he set out for Bornu on the Bilma route. After no word had been received of him for
years the African Association, convinced of his death, sent another explorer, Johann Lud-
wig Burckhardt. He, too, was supposed to travel from Cairo to Fezzan, but could not find a
caravan. Instead, disguised as a Mohammedan merchant, he travelled to Syria, Arabia, Egypt
and Nubia. When, in 1817, he did finally find a caravan bound for Fezzan, he died (Hallett
1964: 221 f.).
Richardson, Barth and Overweg were the first explorers to enter the land of the Tuareg.
Actually, it had been their intention to travel quickly from Air into Hausaland.4 We owe the
descriptions of Agadez and the Tuareg to the fact that they had to wait four months in Air
for a caravan. Caillié owed his arrival in Timbuktu to chance - the caravan he joined changed
course (Caillié 1982,11: 79). Whoever joined a caravan had to abandon fixed schedules and even
specific destinations, and be capable of adapting easily - even, if need be, to other goals!'
If an explorer joined a caravan instead of directing one, he could not fix the time spent
in any one place but was bound by the caravan's days of rest. These offered the opportunity
for more intensive observation and enquiry. Every day of rest was a gain for exploration.
Once, when Park had to wait for his guide, he helped his host with his work, which gave him
the opportunity to learn about agriculture:
"I accordingly took up my residence at the Dooty's house, where I staid four days; during which time
I amused myself by going to the fields with the family to plant corn. Cultivation is carried on hqre on
a very extensive scale; and, as the natives themselves express it, 'hunger is never known'. In cultivating

4 Cf. Barth's letter of 6.7.1850 to his brother-in-law (in: Italiaandcr 1970: 107).

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 394 Gerd Spittler

the soil, the men and women work together.

Gambia; but they are obliged, for fear of the
1815,1: 280 f.)
The choice of the means of transportatio
A characteristic common to all tradition
modern means.5 But there are also chara
travels on foot he has the most direct ac
more strenuous than any other form o
servation and one's ability to cope with
the smallest details from the point of v
companion Overweg for that reason, as
back (Barth 1857; II: 14). More explorers
began his great journey on foot, is an ex
slave for that (Caillié 1982, 1: 214). Park
was too weak. Not only does a mount red
better observation. Again it is Barth who
"But no one on foot can get a correct idea of
the fences and walls, while on horseback he
witness of scenes of private life, and often w
The quality of the transport animals is
afforded to the h explorer to reflect, use
Barth says he prefers a horse to a came
the camel's qualities: its steady gait allo
the way in which camels walk in a Tuare
"The lazy Arab mode of letting the camels go s
and fatigues the traveler's attention; but hi
great distances to be traversed when he see
by a man at a steady pace without any halt o
The commercial organization of travel
places of rest depend the travellers were
cause problems - especially when hospit
in vain for accomodation and food. Howe
insight into local everyday life. He saw
dishes and their preparation, learnt abou
further contacts.

On the other hand, where a rudimentary travel trade did already exist the explorers were
easily led into misinterpretations. Thus, Barth judges Tuareg women in general by the prosti-
tutes who offered themselves to the travellers (Barth 1965, I: 249). From the fact that the
travellers were offered food for sale everywhere in Hausaland Barth concludes prosperity,
whereas he deduces - presumably incorrectly - misery and poverty among the Tuareg of

5 In his "Geschichte der Eisenbahnreise" (1979) Schivelbusch shows how train travel has fundamentally
altered our concepts of time and place: we think only in terms of departure and arrival, and the interval
between these points has virtually disappeared. The extreme opposite of modern travel is travel on foot,
characterized not only by slowness but also by closeness to and awareness of nature as well as by de-
pendence on topography, climate and the hospitality of people. The explorer on foot has quite a differ-
ent view of the environment and people from one travelling by train or even by mail coach. In his "Wan-
derbuch" (1869) the folklorist Wilhelm Heinrich Riehl praises travel on foot as the epitome of the ex-
ploratory method.

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 European Explorers as Caravan Travellers in the West Sudan 395

Air because the travellers were unable to buy any food there (Barth 1965, I: 249). Here
Barth makes another mistake typical for the journey, viz. drawing general conclusions for
the whole year from one brief period. Whereas Barth deduces a general scarcity from the
lack of the famous cheese of Aïr, this lack is quite normal in the month of August. Von Bary,
who travelled in the same region at the "right" time of year, moans at the beginning of
March 1877: "What good is this never-ending cheese?" (Von Bary 1977: 220)
The size and composition of a caravan has considerable influence on the possibilities of
exploration. The smaller the caravan, the more the explorer takes in of and can concentrate
on his surroundings. A large caravan becomes similar to an expedition in that it constitutes a
world in itself, quite apart from the local environment. By its size it provokes change in the
surrounding area, which in turn suggests a false picture to the explorer. For instance, Park,
who travelled alone or with a few companions most of the time, recorded sighting or hearing
wild animals almost daily. Caillié, on the other hand, who often travelled in enormous caravans
comprising hundreds of people or over one thousand camels, did not see a single wild animal
in one and a half years (Caillié 1982, II: 198).

3. Travellers in Africa faced many dangers: disease, wild animals, bandits and warriors. Of
our fifteen explorers ten died in Africa, six of them of disease, four from violence. And those
who survived were frequently enervated by illness. Caillié's longest stay in one place (four
months in Time) was due to his serious illnesses (open wounds, scurvy). He spent the whole
period fighting against death and was incapable of any work at all. On his second journey
Clapperton left few remarks on his five-week stay in Kano (Clapperton 1829: 177): he was
ill almost all the time (Bovili 1968: 209). Often, however, it is precisely the drive to explore
which gave travellers the strength to overcome illness. Thus, Lyons survived in contrast to
Ritchie (Bovili 1968: 59). Barth conquered his maladies in Kano (and elsewhere) by his ex-
ceptional will-power (Barth 1857, II: 119), though after five years of travelling he was so
exhausted that when forced by the sultan to spend five months in Kukawa he was hardly
able to do any research (Barth 1965, III: 601). He did not even have the strength to continue
his study of the Kanuri language (Barth 1862: XVII).
Not just disease but also brigands and armed conflict were a threat to travellers. At this
point we are interested only in the dangers that befell all travellers, including Africans; the
specific dangers faced by Europeans will be considered in the next section. In many regions
the caravans were prey to brigands. The trans-Saharan routes were rendered unsafe mainly
by the Tuareg and the Tubu. For this reason Hornemann abandoned his plan to travel to
Hausaland via Agadez and chose the Bornu route instead. There were two strategies to pro-
tect oneself against brigands: either one travelled in a large caravan with a military escort, or
one travelled so inconspicuously and without equipment as to be of no interest to brigands.
Denham, Clapperton and Oudney, and later Richardson, chose the protection of a large
caravan. While such large caravans with hundreds of people and thousands of animals were
very interesting objects of study in themselves, like expeditions they frequently rendered
contact with the local inhabitants impossible. Many travellers (Park, Caillié, Hornemann,
Lyon, the Lander brothers and Barth) preferred to travel as inconspicuously and with as
little equipment as possible so as not to attract brigands. As a consequence, they were very
dependent upon the hospitality of the people and are thus more informative about them
than are those who travelled in a large train.
Whereas a large caravan offered protection against robbers, armed conflict was a greater
danger. Both Clapperton and Barth faced great difficulties in travelling from Kano to Sokoto

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 396 Gerd Spittler

because the route was made unsafe b

Denham had to abandon his plan of
cause Bornu was at war with Kanem
first journey Mohamed Bello in Soko
IV: 685); on his second journey a Yor
who temporarily pursued the plan of
because of unsafe conditions and tra
in centralized states than in acephalo
in the latter and, hence, we know les
Up to now I have tended to stress t
ploration. But there are also indisput
ly one who, before the age of train
Everything that can be described an
corded in notebooks: mountains, trees
ments and architecture of settlemen
traveller in rural societies simply ha
greater part of everyday life - priv
is, therefore, visible.
As would be expected, the best and
caravan travel itself. That is by no me
are organized for commercial reasons
Indeed, all travel accounts are full o
origins and destinations, buyers and
(in particular Park, Lyon, Richardson
the structure of the caravans, about
vans had to pay levies at the various
learn something about the boundaries
also obtain a fairly precise picture ab
is important; for, on the basis of the
and we learn something about order a

4. Except for Park, who travelled alo

Precise knowledge about these compa
pects of and limits to exploration, fo
depends. We can distinguish betwe
African companions and the explorer
Only Park, Laing and Caillié travelle
had some European company, at leas
discuss the results of the exploratio
cultural background. An additional a
comparing an explorer's account wit
Barth and Richardson.8 But Europea

6 Fisher (this volume) emphasizes the im

as does Essner (this volume) for other exp
7 For a detailed treatment of the relati
volume.
8 On the question of companions' accounts as a means of checking cf. Bridges, this volume.

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 European Explorers as Caravan Travellers in the West Sudan 397

Conflicts and rivalries often hindered rather than promoted the enterprise. Such conflicts,
which sometimes ended in hate, were present in every group of travellers: between Ritchie
and Lyon (Bovili 1968: 60), between Denham on the one hand and Clapperton and Oudney
on the other (Bovili 1965, Vol. II, Introduction), between Vogel and his two English com-
panions (Wagner 1860: 257, 276), and, in the end, between Richardson and Barth too (Barth
1857, II: 1 18)9 . But even amicable cooperation had its disadvantages. There was always the
risk of a European enclave forming, whereas the solitary traveller had much closer contact
with the African population. We shall see that Barth was positively relieved to part from his
two European companions for these very reasons.
Even if an explorer was able to do without European companions - possibly to his advan-
tage - none travelled without African servants. They usually brought along their servants
from the coast or abroad; accordingly, these seldom were acquainted with local conditions.
At best they knew one native tongue and thus could serve as interpreters.10 Their function
consisted principally in relieving their masters of the routine tasks and the strain associated
with them, so as to leave them free to do their exploring. This at least was the theory. In
practice they often caused their masters a lot of trouble. Barth frequently mentions trouble
with his servants, as does Nachtigal (for the latter cf. Fisher, this volume). But to travel with-
out a servant, i. e. to forgo the advantages, created even greater problems. After one of Park's
servants had been enslaved and the other had run away he wandered aimlessly for months
without any means of assistance, fighting to survive: begging for food and shelter, on the
watch for wild animals and robbers, and often barely able to move for days on account of
illness. He could hardly concentrate on his task of observing the country and the people,
which explains the paucity of ethnographical or geographical details in his record for this
period.
All explorers engaged local guides at times. These not only led the way, but were invalu-
able sources of information about the local geography and customs. The traveller's problem
is often his inability to interpret the many things he sees. Hence, the value of his records
depends largely on the knowledge and honesty of the local guides. Frequently the guide
served as a contact person to the local population as well. Caillié, for example, was a guest in
his guide's native village for 20 days. He was introduced to many of the inhabitants and had
the opportunity of studying local farming practices, the position of the slaves and Koranic
schools. He concludes with a character study of the Fulani of Fouta Djalon (Caillié 1982, 1:
251-273). While staying with his guide Hamma in Agadez Barth was shown around the town
and introduced to many persons, including the sultan (Barth 1965, 1, Ch. XVII).
It was not only the co-travellers employed by the explorers who served as guides, language
teachers, interpreters and informants. The other African companions played just as im-
portant a part. As a rule, the explorers did not travel only with their servants, but within a
largish caravan which included many foreigners. The traveller obtained the most detailed and
candid information not from the natives of the region he was passing through but from his
fellow-travellers. Frequently they were the most informative people to whom he could talk.

9 In the German edition of this work Barth is more open about his conflicts with Richardson than in the
English edition. In this paper references to Barth are to the English edition (reprinted in 1965) unless,
as in this instance, details have been omitted, in which case I have used the German edition (1 857/58).
10 Fisher (this volume) presents a differentiated picture of Nachtigal's servants. Above all, he shows that
the position and duties of various servants can be an important source for research.

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398 Gerd Spittler

Whereas the natives were often suspic

fellow-travellers reveal a particular op
frankness to three features of the trav
customary environment; 2) they share
3) they are aware that they will part
As a consequence of the detachment
obligations binding the individual fall
this is subjectively perceived too. Hen
of conversation or statements about ce
Simmel does not take into consideratio
the customary environment also mean
professional obligations is available fór
thing to do. The traveller is free, and
Furthermore, an African caravan journ
great deal of time can be spent in conv
The longer the journey lasts, the str
shared impressions and encounters may
the travellers. Barth describes very vi
heterogeneous group in a caravan trave
gressed, the more open his fellow-tra
when he and Oudney set out from Kuk
"Travelling in a kafila [= caravan) was muc
being ready to oblige one another, and all
As fellow-travellers are generally the
properly in order to assess the value o
know the country and people well or
The quality of their information depen
occupation. Traders, pilgrims, warrior
different fields. Contacts with the nat
distance traders have native intermed
explorer. But these intermediaries them
meet local traders, travelling scholars m
will have a variety of friends and relati
Again it is Barth who profited consid
companion from the desert, Serkin Tur
court of Agadez, could give him a lot o
and about politics and administration
high-ranking persons. When he parted
journey with the salt caravan as the on
"I now went alone, but felt not at all depre
to wander about by myself among strang
nection with my black friend Gajere who wa
1965, I: 432)

Barth clearly enjoyed his release from

as his introduction into the world of t
Barth's endless questions but spontaneo

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 European Explorers as Caravan Travellers in the West Sudan 399

Tessaoua and wars between the Fulani and the independent Hausa states. He constantly
draws Barth's attention to things along their way, be it a rare tree or an elephant.
The most important informants and sources of contacts were the merchants in the cara-
vans. In his record Lyon, who did not get beyond Murzuk, gives us a lot of information about
Bornu, the Hausa states and Timbuktu - places no European had set foot in, apart from
Hornemann, who had died soon afterwards. He obtained his information solely from Bornu
merchants (Lyon 1821: 122).

Relations between European explorers and Africans

So far I have dealt with the general implications of African caravan travel for exploration.
The European explorer, though, was not a traveller like the others. He occupied a special
place, which in turn greatly influenced his opportunities for exploration.
The variety of languages in West Africa was a fundamental problem for all European travel-
lers. How could they communicate with the Africans, how reliable are their reports of con-
versations and their interpretations? Most conversations were conducted through interpreters,
but unfortunately we know very little about their ability. Few travellers were as honest as
the Landers, who openly questioned the value of their interpreters' translations:
"So innumerable are the mistakes which the smattering of ignorant native interpreters never fails to
occasion, that we despair of getting much accurate information on any of these heads. We can only
answer for what we see" (Richard and John Lander 1832, 1: 184)

Of course, it is an illusion to believe, like the Landers, that seeing alone is enough. I think
that Bridges is right when he says that hearing was more important for the explorer than
seeing (Bridges, this volume). On the other hand, the Landers were almost surely right to
complain about the unreliability of interpreters and to regard a command of the language as
a sine qua non for a deeper understanding of an country and its people:
"We are of opinion, that it would require a long residence in this country, and a perfect acquaintance
with its language, to enable a foreigner to form a correct judgement of its laws, manners, customs, and
institutions, as well as its religion and the form and nature of its government." (loc. cit.)
However, all travellers, including the Landers, do make observations about these aspects,
and it is often these observations which interest us most. To what extent did travellers fulfil
the conditions of "long residence" and "perfect acquaintance with the language", conditions
for the reliability of their descriptions? As shown above, their stays in one place were usually
short. Had they mastered the respective languages? Some had a fluent command of Arabic,
e.g. Hornemann and Barth. In Caillié's case, however, it is doubtful whether he really mastered
the language, although he travelled incognito as an Arabic-speaking Egyptian (Caillié 1982,
II: 135, 137 ; Berque 1982: 22). Laing too had only a poor knowledge of Arabic (Bovili 1964,
I: 356, 374), as had Lyon (Lyon 1821: 2, 8). But no matter how good or bad an explorer's
Arabic, it was still of only limited use in the Sudan. It would be possible to communicate with
the educated elite in Bornu and Timbuktu, though certainly not with the ordinary people.
But among the Tuareg and Hausa there would be very few indeed who would have under-
stood Arabic.
A working knowledge of at least the important African languages such as Hausa, Kanuri
and Mandingo would have been indispensable. Park, Caillié and Laing understood Mandingo
- how well is unclear. The same was true of Park's (1815,1: 345 f.) and Laing's (Bovili 1964,
I: 374) knowledge of Bambara. Both of Park's servants interpreted Mandingo and later

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 400 Gerd Spittler

Bambara (pp. 42, 245 f.). He felt helpl

of half a year (p. 253). Again it was B
African languages. He learnt Hausa so
in Air that in Agadez he was able to co
1862: VII). Clapperton's knowledge of H
raises doubts about his knowledge of
Barth was the only explorer to acqui
languages that he had at least an elem
spoken in the regions he explored (
nuri fluently; they served him as the
in Fulfude, Tamajegh and Bagirmi; ov
other seven languages (Teda, Wanda
When travelling, Barth used the halts
his fellow-travellers. He perfected his
His servant Mohamed introduced him
learnt Fulfude from his companion, M
Billama. Barth frequently chose his c
they might act as his teachers. Thus in
Arabic, Fulfude, Songhai, Mossi and B
1965, III: 198). Numerous people acted
journey, but, in contrast to all the oth
(Barth 1862: IX).
Europeans were regarded as exotic bei
were a cause of derisive remarks rathe
perienced this. While staying with the
white man, but then made fun of his u
"They rallied me with a good deal of gaiet
my skin, and the prominency of my nose.
was produced when I was an infant, by di
pinched every day, till it had acquired its
I: 82)

The Europeans caused a sensation and attracted crowds of Africans almost everywhere. Kano,
the "metropolis", was the exception; for foreigners from all parts of Africa were so numerous
there that a European did not attract attention either. Clapperton, who on 20 January 1824
became the first European to enter Kano, writes:
"Arrayed in naval uniform, I made myself as smart as circumstances would permit ... I might have
spared all the pains I had taken with my toilet; for not an individual turned his head to gaze at me, but
all, intent for their own business, allowed me to pass without notice or remark." (Bovili 1 966, IV: 64 1 f.)
He later attracted attention because of his white skin, by no means a positive reaction either:
"I was visited by three of the governor's wives, who, after examining my skin with much attention,
remarked, compassionately it was a thousand pities I was not black, for I had then been tolerably
looking." (Ibid.: 670)

By the mid-1 9th century the situation had not yet changed and the Africans still regarded
white skin as ugly, as the astonished Richardson registered among the Tuareg as well:
"I was much amazed by the predilection of En-Noor (who is not absolutely a white man) for black
people. He praised Overweg, because he was getting brown and black. As for me his highness was al-
most inclined to express his disgust for the whiteness of my skin." (Richardson 1853, II: 77)

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 European Explorers as Caravan Travellers in the West Sudan 401

Magical and medical skills were frequently attributed to the European travellers. Park was
once asked for a lock of his hair by his host, who thought he would acquire the European's
learning through it (Park 1815, I: 280 f.). Magical qualities were attributed to his compass
as well (p. 193). All the explorers were in demand for their apparent powers of healing, al-
though only Park and Oudney were qualified doctors. Medical practice not only afforded
the explorers insights into the spread of various diseases, but also created opportunities to
form contacts.
Slaves sold at the coast regarded Europeans as cannibals, as e.g. Park learnt while travelling
with a slave caravan:
"They were all very inquisitive; but they viewed me at first with looks of horror, and repeatedly asked
if my countrymen were cannibals." (Park 1815, 1: 475)
Lyon, who also travelled with a slave caravan, reports similar notions held by the slaves:
"The poor slaves looked forward to the mighty river before them with wonder and fear, and I believe
at that moment all the stories they had heard of 'the people on the great waters who eat the Blacks',
recurred to their imagination." (Lyon 1821: 334)
For the ordinary people the Europeans were exotic, fabulous beings, whom they some-
times regarded with curiosity and sometimes consulted because of their magical and medical
skills, but from whom they kept a certain distance out of fear. The influential groups, how-
ever, regarded the Europeans not as fabulous beings but as intruders upon their spheres of
interest. The long-distance traders regarded them as competitors, the politicians feared their
military might and penetration and orthodox Moslems feared the spread of Christianity.
The assumption that white travellers were traders, or at least forerunners gathering in-
formation for this purpose, was at the root of many of the difficulties white travellers ex-
perienced. In Segu the Moors and slave-traders inveighed against Park and managed to prevent
him visiting the city (Park 1815,1: 297). In Sokoto Arab traders intrigued against Clapper-
ton (Bovili 1966, IV: 685). Barth, too, complains on several occasions of the extreme distrust
on the part of Arab and other traders (Barth 1965, III: 140, 277).
In the first half of the 19th century the European powers had not yet laid claim to the
interior of Africa, but they were already established on the coasts and there were fears that
they would advance inland. The rulers of Bornu and Sokoto also knew of and were dis-
quietened by England's conquest of India (Bovili 1965, IV: 688; Bovili 1968: 214). Hence,
all travellers were suspected at some time of spying. For this reason information was with-
held or their planned journeys were hindered. Park was suspected of spying in the land of
the Bambara and thus shunned by everybody (Park 1815, I: 332). In North Africa Horne-
mann was thought to be a French spy (Bovili 1964, 1: 78), as was Caillié later in West Africa
(Caillié 1982, I: 91). Clapperton's enquiries about the Niger during his first stay in Kano
drew false answers,
"for it is commonly believed among them that strangers would come and take their country from
them, if they knew the course of the Quarra 1= Niger]." (Bovili 1966, IV: 643 f.)
The same thing happened in Sokoto . The Sultan of Sokoto had a map of the Niger sketched
for him on which the river flows not southwards but, contrary to his previous statements
(p. 688), eastwards towards the Nile (map pp. 698 f.). Thus, Clapperton was deliberately
misled on the question of greatest interest to him! On his second journey he was treated in
much the same manner while staying with the ruler of the Yoruba; there he did not obtain
any information about the course of the Niger either (Clapperton 1829: 42). The Landers
later experienced similar difficulties. For this reason they did not divulge the purpose of

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 402 Gerd Spittler

their mission (to explore the course o

were heading for Bornu (R. and J. L
In Richardson and Barth's time the
Richardson writes about the difficultie
"The people have complained to En-Noor
and pervades all Northern Africa and the
afterwards invade or capture it' Travelle
public, are looked upon as spies, which m
receive." (Richardson 1853, 1: 293)
The African rulers feared not only
Tripoli. The Sheikh of Bornu's distru
their arrival in Kukawa with an Arab
vasion by the Pasha of Tripoli (Bovil
anticipating a Turkish conquest. Ove
Bilma because Europeans and Turks w
But there were also advantages to
Clapperton and Oudney were regard
were later Richardson and Barth, an
While their scope for movement and
status they met many high-ranking
had a far better grasp of the political
who travelled very simply, or Horne
Moslems.

The dangers and restrictions were not only politically but also religiously motivated. The
first half of the 19 th cen tury was a period of great religious change in West Africa: after violent
struggles Islam finally gained the upper hand against the "pagan" religions. As Christians, the
travellers were frequently exposed to insult, and at times even their lives were in danger. In-
formation was often withheld from them because they were Christians. The Cadi of Agadez,
from whom Barth had hoped to obtain a lot of information, refused to see him (Barth 1965,
I: 357). Nor was Barth any more successful in his effort to look at the historical Arab manu-
scripts in Agadez (Barth 1857, 1: 499). At other places however, the tolerant Islamic scholars
appreciated his learned conversation (p. 496).
Acceptance of European travellers as explorers and scholars was admittedly the exception
rather than the rule. They all introduced themselves as such, though. Park declared time and
again that he had come "to look at the country and its inhabitants". Clapperton, too, had a
standard answer to questions about his purpose in coming to Africa:
"I come to see the country, its rivers, mountains, and inhabitants, its flowers, fruits, minerals, and
anmimals, and to ascertain wherein they differed from those in other parts of the world." (Bovili
1966, IV: 679)

At best the Africans reacted with incredulity, but frequently with distrust. When the King
of Bambara prohibited Park from entering Segu, the royal capital, the explorer's comment
showed his understanding for this reaction:
"The circumstances under which I made my appearance at Sego, were undoubtly such as might create
in the mind of the king, a well warranted suspicion that I wished to conceal the true object of my
journey. He argued, probably, as my guide argued: who, when he was told, that I had come from a
great distance, and through many dangers, to behold the Joliba river [= Niger], naturally inquired, if
there were no rivers in my own country, and whether one river was not like another." (Park 1815, 1:
299)

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 European Explorers as Caravan Travellers in the West Sudan 403

To travel as a European and a Christian was frequently a perilous undertaking, and in many
cases made exploration difficult. How could the explorer solve this problem? He could not
disguise himself as a black, but with skill and good fortune he might travel as an Arab Moslem,
an acceptable role. Caillié always travelled in this manner, telling people that as a child he
had been carried off from Egypt to France, had later been set free by his master in Senegal,
and was now on his way home to Egypt via Timbuktu. Hornemann travelled from Cairo via
Murzuk, Kukawa and Katsina to Nupe, initially as an Arabian merchant and later as a ma-
rabout (Bovili 1964, I: 26, 33). Lyon and Ritchie, as well as Laing, began their travels as
Moslems (Lyon 1821: 7; Bovili 1964, 1: 230). On his way to Timbuktu Barth travelled for a
month as a Sherif, i. e. as a descendant of the Prophet. He was even taken for Mahdi, the
saviour from the East (Barth 1965, III: 248).
At first sight, to disguise oneself as Arab or Moslem seems an ideal precondition for ex-
ploration. But the records of the travellers paint a different picture. Incognito travel created
new difficulties for all of them, as Caillié's journal makes particularly clear. It caused a number
of technical problems. The explorer had to formulate his questions in keeping with the role
he had assumed, which severely restricted his possibilities. If a merchant were to ask as many
questions about different matters as an explorer it would have raised suspicions. The same
applied to his movements: unlike an explorer, no merchant would roam about observing all
he could. Finally, no merchant would take notes of conversations or record observations,
and those possibly in a foreign language.
Taking notes was not the only problem; they had to be kept safe at all times, and safely
transported home. This applied to all explorers, not just those travelling incognito. Publi-
cations were usually based on journals brought back safely, incidentally thereby ensuring
authenticity. An explorer could meet with no greater disaster than the loss of his journal.
Hornemann's servant destroyed his master's journal when they were in danger of being un-
masked as Christian spies (Bovili 1964, I: 80). On his second journey Clapperton lost his
journal for one period of his journey; accordingly, there is an hiatus of six weeks in the
published journal (Clapperton 1829: 127).
The journal was regarded as the source of future fame, if necessary posthumous. As all ex-
plorers were aware that death could come unexpectedly they took the greatest care of their
journals. They sent detailed letters or parts of the journal to Europe, lest their information
be lost in the event of their death. The journals of European explorers who died in Africa
were rescued by their European companions and later published - Clapperton's journal by
his servant Richard Lander and Richardson's by Barth. Although Oudney's notes were found,
Denham, the leader of the expedition, later prevented publication of part of the material
(Bovili 1965, II: 123). Those who did not keep ajournai were soon forgotten, e. g. Overweg,
Barth's companion, and Ritchie, Lyon's superior.
The journals of most of those who died without a European companion have been lost
(Hornemann, Laing). Park's journal was taken to the coast by his guide Isaako and published
later. Before Hornemann left Murzuk for Kukawa he sent the first part of his journal back to
Europe. No records have been found of his journey from Murzuk to Nupe via Kukawa and
Katsina; it is assumed that his journals were burnt (Bovili 1966, IV : 658). The fate of Gordon
Laing's journals even provoked a political controversy between England, France and Turkey,
because it was assumed that they had been stolen (Bovili 1964, 1: 330-41). But it is possible
that they, too, were burnt by his murderers for fear of their magic powers (p. 316). Although
Vogel's letters have survived, most of his material was lost; for, although he had entrusted his

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 404 Gerd Spittler

papers to his English companion Ma

from Kukawa to Murzuk (Wagner 1

Conclusion

The days in which we simply accepted the reports of the European explorers as true re-
flections of African reality are past. In recent years critical attention has been turned to their
financial backers, their ideological background and the explorers' own interests. The extreme
interpretation holds that the explorers' accounts tell us more about the authors themselves
and about Europe than about Africa (Essner 1985 and this volume). Without wishing to
deny the influence of their European background, I take the view that these explorers, many
of whom travelled for years in Africa, do provide us with much information on the African
reality of their time. Often we do not have the choice between their reports and other sources:
they are often the only, or at least the most detailed source, on a certain area or a specific
event.

We can and must use the explorers' accounts as a source for African history. But this does
not relieve us of the duty to study these sources critically. In this regard the conditions under
which the Europeans in Africa travelled and the consequences this had for their interpretations
thereof are influenced not only by their personal backgrounds, their interests and their
financial backers but also, and to a considerable extent, by the conditions under which they
travelled. To do justice to this aspect requires a methodology of journeys of exploration. Al-
though many of the travellers themselves make numerous comments on precisely this point,
we still lack an appropriate methodology. In my paper I have attempted one by formulating
from the explorers' scattered remarks general factors conditioning journeys of exploration,
and, in particular, caravan travel.
I have concentrated on five factors: (1) the length of time spent in one place; (2) the or-
ganization of the caravans; (3) the dangers involved in this type of travel; (4) the role of
fellow-travellers; and (5) the relations between the European travellers and the local African
population. All five factors had a considerable influence on exploration. The time spent in a
place determined the explorer's possibilities of contact and the amount and depth of in-
formation he could obtain. The organization of a caravan determined the date of the journey,
the length of halts, the route, etc. The historian who uses these journals must bear in mind that
these factors could both create and restrict opportunities to gain information. The historian
will learn a lot about trade relations, but less about subsistence economy, a lot about Islam
and virtually nothing about local animisi religions, a lot about states able to offer caravans
protection but little about areas thought unsafe and thus avoided by caravans.11
In their roles as informants, interpreters and contact persons fellow-travellers had a great
influence on exploration, an influence which has received inadequate attention. Their origins,
their status, their local connections and their knowledge all guided the explorer's interest in
a specific direction, opened some doors for him, but closed others. The greater the Europeans'
reliance on fellow-travellers as interpreters, the greater their dependence on their knowledge

11 In my opinion differences between the 20th-century anthropologist's picture of Africa and that of the
19th-century traveller reflect not only different historical situations but also different conditions of
research. Stationary fieldwork in a restricted area and a journey of exploration will inevitably lead to
different views.

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 European Explorers as Caravan Travellers in the West Sudan 405

and goodwill. Whether an explorer obtained information or not, or possibly even false in-
formation, did not depend only on the interpreter but also on the role the Europeans played
in the eyes of the Africans. Nobody believed that Europeans made observations and asked
questions purely out of scientific curiosity. They were assumed to have political or economic
motives, and information was accordingly manipulated - a common experience of, in parti
cular, explorers of the Niger River.
I hope I have convinced readers that a knowledge of the social conditions of travel in Africa
is important for a critical assessment of the writings of the explorers. This creates a further
problem: is it possible for the modern historian to satisfactorily reconstruct the travel con-
ditions of the first half of the 19th century? Any attempt should make use of the explorer
unpublished writings as well. These writings are usually more comprehensive than the
published material, are closer to the time of observation and more informative on the ex-
ternal circumstances of the journey.12 Barth's unpublished manuscripts include, for example
notebooks written en route, either on horseback or on a camel, and detailed diaries written
up during halts as well as itineraries (Schiffers 1967 b). Schiffers estimates that Barth used
only about 4 of this material in his principal work "Travels and Discoveries . . (p. 511
Moreover, the German edition is more informative about the external circumstances of the
journey than the English.
Unpublished writings are seldom as extensive as Barth's. But even where only the published
account is available we still have recourse to the genre of the scientific travelogue. One featur
of this genre is that it recounts rather than theoretically speculates; another is the preferenc
for authenticity. The most extreme position is formulated by the Lander brothers:
"Our journals were invariably written on the spot at the close of each day, and in all our observations
to the best of our belief, we adhered religiously to the truth. We have only to add, that since returning
to our native country, we have made no alterations, nor introduced a single sentence in the original
manuscript of our travels." (R. and J. Lander 1832, 1: VIII)
I have not checked whether the Landers were always true to their maxim. Other authors
took greater account of the public's taste, or even employed a ghostwriter (Park). But even
then the publications contain a wealth of information on the external circumstances of the
journey. Other features of the travelogue are chronological form and a description of the
traveller's route. Although the author of a scientific travelogue does not directly present
himself as a hero, he gives us an enourmous amount of detail about his feelings and sufferings
his companions and fellow-travellers as well as the other Africans he met along the route.
Accurate descriptions of time and place as well as the "unscientific" use of the first perso
provide a far better basis on which the critical historian can reconstruct the conditions of
such exploration than do the ethnographic monographs which began to replace the travelogue
in the second half of the 19th century.13 In the light of the current discussion on method in
the social sciences the travelogue, which explicitly includes the explorer himself, suddenly
appears more modern than the monograph.

12 Bridges (this volume) has closely examined travellers' unpublished material and shown why it shoul
be included in analyses.
13 On problems of method in the ethnographic monograph ct. Vansina, this volume.

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 406 Gerd Spittler

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