Fontes Historiae Africanae, New Series: Sources of African History – serie

The letter-books of the Royal African Company of England form the most substantial and important source of material on English trade in West Africa in the late seventeenth century. The Royal African Company held a legal monopoly of English trade with West Africa, principally in gold and slaves for the American colonies. The correspondence among the Company's local agents is exceptionally detailed in its coverage of the day-to-day operation of their trade and their interactions with local African societies - especially on the Gold Coast (Ghana). The letter-books, never previously printed, cover the period 1681-1699. The original texts are being published in full, with extensive explanatory commentary, in three or four volumes. This first volume contains the letters for the years 1681-1683.

The letter-books of the Royal African Company of England, which have never previously been printed, cover the period 1681-1699. The original texts are being published in full, with extensive explanatory commentary, in three or four volumes. This second volume contains the letters for 1685-1688.

This third volume completes Robin Law's highly acclaimed edition of original correspondence of the Royal African Company of England, relating to the period 1681-1699. The Royal African Company held a legal monopoly of English trade with West Africa, mainly for gold and slaves. The letter-books comprise correspondence received at the Company's local headquarters in West Africa, Cape Coast Castle, on the Gold Coast (modern Ghana), from its factories and agents elsewhere in the African coast. This material is exceptionally detailed in its coverage of the day-to-day operation of the RAC's trade and its interactions with local African societies.These documents, published here for the first time, comprise the most substantial body of source material on English trade in West Africa in the late seventeenth century, and are also an important source for indigenous African history.

This volume publishes one of the most important early Portuguese accounts of east central Africa. The author, António da Conceição, was the ecclesiastical administrator of the Portuguese Zambesi settlements at the end of the seventeenth century. He set out to describe the Portuguese community in the valley and in the gold-bearing regions of the high veldt. In doing so he commented in detail on the African kingdoms of the region and their relations with the Portuguese. He witnessed the rise of a powerful new African dynasty in the area of modern Zimbabwe, that of Changamira, and he described the destruction of the Portuguese fairs and settlements during the wars which followed. Prior to the wars of the 1690s the Portuguese had appeared to be the dominant influence throughout much of the region of modern Zimbabwe, but their position was more fragile than it looked. Conceição points to weaknesses in the commercial structure of the Portuguese settlements and to the difficult relations which existed with traditional African authorities. He also mounted a wide-ranging critique of the missionary policy of the Dominicans which had concentrated on achieving the nominal conversion of members of the ruling Monomotapa dynasty.This account, written by a highly intelligent and well-informed cleric, is essential for understanding the history of central Africa at a period of radical change. It is now available for the first time to an English as well as a Portuguese readership.

The History of Ashanti Kings and the Whole Country Itself is a key text for understanding the history of the great West African kingdom of Asante (now in Ghana). It is also an early - and perhaps the earliest - example of history writing in English by an African ruler and his amanuenses. It was begun in 1907 in the Seychelles on the instructions of the Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh I, who had been in British captivity with his family since 1896, during which time he had acquired proficiency in English.The chief source of information was his mother the Asantehemaa Yaa Kyaa, who possessed an encyclopaedic knowledge of the oral history of her own lineage, which was also the royal dynasty of Asante. The result is an indispensably detailed document that charts the history of the Asante monarchy from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. Context is provided by the inclusion of other writings by or about Agyeman Prempeh, together with four introductory essays by the world's leading scholars of Asante history.This fascinating volume evokes the rich historical experience of a renowned kingdom, and is of compelling interest to all concerned with the production of indigenous historical knowledge in Africa.

The Vice-Consulate in the coastal port of Ouidah, in the kingdom of Dahomey, West African (now in the modern Republic of Bénin) was established in1851-2 as part of the British government's efforts to suppress the trans-Atlantic slave trade. In particular it was hoped to persuade King Gezo to accept a treaty banning exports of slaves from his dominions.Louis Fraser proved a poor choice as Vice-Consul: he was no linguist, abrasive with naval colleagues and arrogant towards the king and people of Ouidah. However, his shortcomings as a diplomat do not detract from the value of his account as a historical resource.The documents collected here comprise principally the journals of the Vice-Consul, Louis Fraser, together with letters and other reports by him, a selection of the documents referred to in his journals, and letters and reports by other British officials (especially officers of the navy's West African squadron) which refer to his activities. These documents are valuable sources, not only for the history of British policy on the slave trade, but also for the history of Dahomey, which was one of the most important indigenous states in coastal West Africa in the nineteenth century.Fraser was one of a number of British visitors to Dahomey in the mid-nineteenth century, many of whom left published accounts. Fraser's account, in contrast, was never published, and so has remained less known. Its publication now brings it more effectively within the public domain.