Zanzibar: City, Island, and Coast (Cambridge Library Collection - African Studies)

First published in 1872, this two-volume memoir by explorer, ethnographer and diplomat Sir Richard Burton (1821-90) was written while Burton and John Hanning Speke were making preparations for their expedition to solve one of the major geographical mysteries of the nineteenth century - the location of the source of the Nile. The pair arrived in Zanzibar in December 1856, and Burton made detailed notes on his surroundings which were developed into Volume 1, which focuses on 'The City and the Island', including Burton's journey preparations and arrival. He discusses the significance of the 'Nile question' as well as recording geographical, botanical, meteorological and ethnographic observations. The manuscript on which the book is based, entrusted to an East India Company official for dispatch to the Royal Geographical Society, was initially misplaced, thus delaying publication by twelve years, but enabling Burton to add a chapter on Speke's achievement and untimely death.