A North Prospect of the Town and Fort of Kachao; Negros of Kachao and Bisao Preparing the Maniok Root
This engraving is divided into three sections: the top shows the Portuguese colony and town of Kachao in the Upper Guinea Coast region; the bottom two scenes show people grinding, cooking and growing manioc at Kachao and Bissau, which is a root vegetable of New World origin. Thomas Astley (d. 1759) was a British bookseller and publisher who never went to Africa. His imagined localities and illustrations of Africa were informed by a library of travel books at his disposal.
Image Title
A North Prospect of the Town and Fort of Kachao; Negros of Kachao and Bisao Preparing the Maniok Root
RegID
SI-OB-807
Date
1745-1747
Title
A North Prospect of the Town and Fort of Kachao; Negros of Kachao and Bisao Preparing the Maniok Root
Source
"Plate XVI" in Thomas Astley (ed.), A New General Collection of Voyages and Travels, vol. 2 (London: Thomas Astley, 1745-1747), facing p. 90.
Language
English
Item sets
Pre-Colonial Africa: Society, Polity, Culture
Spatial Coverage
Africa--Rivers--Bissagos Islands
Reproduced In
The bottom two images of manioc preparation were reversed versions from Jean Baptiste Labat, Nouvelle Relation de l'Afrique Occidentale, vol. 5 (Paris: Chez G. Cavelier, 1728), facing p. 181); and Jean Baptiste Labat, Nouveau voyage aux Isles de l'Amerique, vol. 1 (Paris: Chez Theodore le Gras, 1742) between p. 378 and 379. See image Labat001.
Researchers
Jerome Handler; Michael Tuite; Henry B. Lovejoy Graduate Research Assistants: Tiffany Beebe; Travis May
Last Updated
5-Apr-16; 21-Aug-19
Identifier
Astley002