While these pictures may seem to be simple drawings of the landscape of Africa, the prints give accurate depictions of the layout of West Africa. They are simple, yet open up the detailed world of Africa to the English population. Unable to venture into the unknown themselves, the use of maps and drawings by cartographers during the Enlightenment helped shed light on West Africa. Cartography and pictures, like the ones above, solidified the Enlightenment ideal of turning the dark, unknown country of Africa into the realm of English knowledge.
[1] Josephine Kamm, “Mungo Park and the Niger,” Explorers into Africa, Great Britain: Cromwell-Collier Press, 1970, 44.
[2] Josephine Kamm, “The Niger Problem Solved,” Explorers into Africa, Great Britain: Cromwell-Collier Press, 1970, 65.