One More Voice

Bokwala  top
Bokwala (dates unknown), possibly a fictional or composite figure, was a slave in the Belgian Congo.

Bokwala: The Story of a Congo Victim. London: The Religious Tract Society, 1910. PDF courtesy of Internet Archive.

• book-length oral narrative, as written down, edited, and published by members of a British religious society

Andries Botha  top
Andries Botha (dates unknown), a Gonaqua Khoe and appointed colonial official in South Africa's Kat River Settlement, served with British and Cape colonial forces against the amaXhosa in Hintsa's War (1834-5) and the War of the Axe (1846-7); accused of rebellion in 1851, he was tried for treason (the first time the Cape High Court considered the charge of treason), but eventually had his death sentence commuted to hard labour before being granted amnesty in 1855.

Letter to [Harry Smith]. June 23, 1850. Manuscript. CWM/LMS/South Africa/Incoming Correspondence/Box 25/File 4/Jacket B. University of London. School of Oriental and African Studies, London.

• handwritten copy of manuscript letter

[British] Government; [Said Bin Habeeb]  top
Said Bin Habeeb (dates unknown), an Arab trader, traveled widely in nineteenth-century East and Central Africa.

“Narrative of Said Bin Habeeb, An Arab Inhabitant of Zanzibar.” Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society 15 (1860): 146–48.

• oral narrative, as written down, edited, and published in a British geographical journal

James MacQueen; [Lief Ben Saeid]; [Thomas Wogga]  top
James MacQueen (1778-1870), a British “armchair geographer,” explored questions related to Africa. Lief Ben Saeid (dates unknown), an Arab trader, traveled in nineteenth-century East Africa. Thomas Wogga (dates unknown), an African traveler and former slave, traveled in nineteenth-century West Africa.

“Notes on African Geography.” Journal of the Royal Geographical Society 15 (1845): 371–76.

• summarized data in a published periodical article written by a British geographer

Ham Mukasa  top
Ham Mukasa (c.1870–1956), an African civil servant and linguist, served under two leaders of Buganda (now part of Uganda), Mutesa I and Apolo Kagwa. Also see “Apolo Kagwa,” below.

Uganda’s Katikiro in England. Edited and translated by Ernest Millar. London: Hutchinson & Co., 1904. PDF courtesy of Internet Archive.

• book-length travel narrative, as translated and subsequently published by a British minister in collaboration with British publishers

James Read, Jr.  top
James Read, Jr. (c.1811-1894), a missionary and evangelical campaigner in the Cape Colony as well as the eldest son of prominent London Missionary Society missionary James Read, Sr., was a vocal activist for Khoe civil rights and an influential figure in the establishment of schooling in South Africa's Kat River Settlement.

Introduction to James Read, Jr. (c.1811-1894), with a Discussion of His Letter to J.J. Freeman, 23 May 1850. Jared McDonald, author.

Letter to J.J. Freeman. 23 May 1850. Manuscript. CWM/LMS/South Africa/Incoming Correspondence/Box 25/File 3/Jacket D. University of London. School of Oriental and African Studies, London.

• manuscript letter in author’s hand

Saleh Bin Osman  top
Saleh Bin Osman (dates unknown), an Arab traveler, worked as a personal assistant to British-American explorer Henry M. Stanley during the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition (1886-89).

Testimony. November 12, 1890. Translated by Edward J. Glave. Manuscript. M055. Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, Washington, D.C.

• testimony in manuscript form, as dictated to and translated by a British explorer

“The Story of My Life.” Translated by [E. J. Glave]. St. Nicholas: An Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks 18, no. 2 (May 1891): 795–98.

• autobiographical narrative, as dictated to, translated by, and subsequently published by a British explorer in collaboration with British publishers

Benjamin Stone; [Apolo Kagwa]  top
Benjamin Stone (1838-1914) was a politician and photographer who had a passion for documenting British heritage. Apolo Kagwa (1864-1927) served as the chief minister (Katikiro) of Buganda (now part of Uganda) for over thirty years; he was also a prominent intellectual, ethnographer, and author. Also see “Ham Mukasa,” above.

“The Katikiro of Uganda and His Secretary.” In Sir Benjamin Stone’s Pictures: Records of National Life and History, by Benjamin Stone, 74. London; Paris; New York; Melbourne: Cassell and Company, Limited, 1906.

• verbal quotations, as included in a section of a book by a British author

Jacob Wainwright  top
Jacob Wainwright (c.1859-1892), an African traveler and explorer from the Yao ethnic group, accompanied British explorer David Livingstone during the last two years (1872-73) of the latter's final African journey.

Addition to David Livingstone's Field Diary XVII. April 28, 1873. Manuscript. 360. David Livingstone Centre, Blantyre.

• addition in author's hand to a manuscript diary by a British explorer.

Inscription on the Tree at the Foot of which David Livingstone's Heart was Buried, May 4, 1873. Photograph of original inscription. No. 561464i. Wellcome Library, London.

• original inscription in author’s hand

Extract from Diary. May-June 1873. Manuscript. 801. David Livingstone Centre, Blantyre.

• manuscript diary in author’s hand

Letter to William O. Livingstone. October 1873. Manuscript. 836. David Livingstone Centre, Blantyre.

• manuscript letter in author’s hand

Extract from Diary. [November 1873-February 1874]. Manuscript. 833. David Livingstone Centre, Blantyre.

• manuscript diary in author’s hand

Letter to Joseph Moore. May 23, 1874. Manuscript. Acc.12444. National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh.

• manuscript letter in author’s hand

Letter to Joseph Moore. July 10, 1874. Manuscript. Acc.12444. National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh.

• manuscript letter in author’s hand

“Jacob Wainwright.” Wesleyan Juvenile Offering: A Miscellany of Missionary Info, no. 93 (September 1, 1874): 98–99.

• autobiographical narrative, as published in a British missionary periodical

Horace Waller; Lindesay Brine; James Chumah  top
Horace Waller (1833-1896), a British abolitionist and missionary, served as the editor of explorer David Livingstone's posthumous Last Journals (1874). Lindesay Brine (1834-1906), a member of the Royal Navy, rose to the rank of Admiral and authored of several books related to his travels. James Chumah (1834-1906), an African traveler from the Yao ethnic group, was a liberated slave who accompanied Livingstone on his final travels and provided Waller with relevant information related to those travels.

“To the Editor of the Times.” The Times (April 10, 1874): 10.

• original letter, as edited and published (alongside another letter from a British sailor) within a letter by a British abolitionist in a British periodical