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Descrizione : FIVE AUTOGRAPH LETTERS SIGNED ( written during his consulship of Fernando Po, discussing human sacrifice, slavery, african amazon warriors, isabel burton, speke's nile discoveries, political and colonial affairs in west africa, and many other subjects, 20 pages, 8vo, three envelopes, Accra, Fernando Po, Kana in Dahomey, Bonny river, and HMS Zebra in Loanda, 10 July 1862 to 15 August 1863, light creasing and browning, pencil marks to one letter NOTE ...the people had never seen a white face before and being bushmen turned out to fight us. however we got over the row with a few leaves of tobacco... (26 September 1862) Burton was British Consul in Fernando Po, an island in the Bight of Biafra, from 1861 to 1864, but spent much of this time on numerous expeditions around West Africa. This series of private letters to William Wylde, a civil servant in the Foreign Office (see lot 31 for General Gordon's letters to Wylde), gives a fine impression of Burton's interests and activities over a year spent in a region then considered the epitome of darkest Africa. Burton records many notable events in these letters, including earthquakes (10 July 1862: This morning at 8 A.M. we had an Earthquake which has thrown down many and injured all the houses in [Accra]. People drunk as owls to drown fear...'), expeditions up mountains, and local wars. The hardships of life in the region are clear, with almost every letter making reference to the various diseases, especially Yellow Fever, that took a terrible toll on his company. Burton also discusses wider political issues, giving his opinion on the natural resources and commercial potential of the region, the goings on between the various local kingdoms, the slave trade, and the interests and activities of other European powers (especially the French). The Kingdom of Dahomey was of particular interest to Burton, principally because human sacrifice was known to be practised there. In his first letter he asks Wylde What do you propose doing with Dahomey? Remember I am always ready to visit the King and talk him into better manners. However, when he did visit the kingdom, in May 1863, he was disappointed: he did not see any human sacrifice, and the famed brigade of female warriors did not match expectations (The Amazons are bosh. I looked forward to seeing 5000 African virgins ... Imagine my disappointment at finding them to be chiefly wives taken in adultery ... They are mostly old and all fearfully ugly, the officers are apparently chosen for the bigness of their bums). Although the letters are mostly given over to reporting his experiences in West Africa, other aspects of his life are also mentioned. Burton makes a number of references to his wife Isabel, whom he had married shortly before leaving for Fernando Po, for example imploring Wylde, if you have any bowels of compassion dissuade my wife from visiting me at F Po. She would lose her health in a month... His initial response (16 June 1863) to Speke's return from his Nile expedition is particularly striking in the light of later tragic events: My late companion Speke has I see performed a geographical feat such as the world has never witnessed...
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