Travels in the Great Desert of Sahara, in the Years of 1845 and 1846Richardson, James
History
Travels in the Great Desert of Sahara, in the Years of 1845 and 1846
Richardson, James
Sahara -- Description and travel
And the time of us Englishmen will come next--our day of infamy! unless
we show ourselves worthy that transcendant position in which Providence
has placed us, at the pinnacle of the empires of Earth, as the leaders
and champions of universal freedom.
In noticing the efforts made for raising Africa from her immemorial
degradation, we are bound to confess our obligations to the Mahometans
for what they have done. If they have extirpated Christianity from the
soil of North Africa, and planted, instead of this tree of fair and pure
fruit, the more glaring and showy plant of Islamism, they have, at the
same time, endeavoured to raise Africa to their own level of
demi-civilization. Whilst we condemn their slave-traffic as we condemn
our own, we must do justice to the efforts which they have made, by the
spread of their creed and the diffusion of their commerce, during a
series of ten or twelve centuries, for promoting the civilization of
Africa. They have succeeded, they have done infinitely more for Africa
than we ourselves. They have organized and established regular
governments through all Central Africa, and inculcated a taste for the
occupation and the principles of commerce. A great portion of this
internal trade is untainted by slavery. Bornou, Soudan, Timbuctoo, and
Jinnee, exhibit to us groups of immense and populous cities, all
regularly governed and trading with one another. They have abolished
human sacrifice, which lingers in our East India possessions to this day.
They have regulated marriage and restrained polygamy. They have made
honour and reverence to be paid to grey hairs, superseding the diabolical
custom of exposing or destroying the aged. They have introduced a
knowledge of reading and writing. The oases of Ghat and Ghadames furnish
more children, in proportion, who can read and write, than any of our
English towns. The Koran is transcribed in beautiful characters by Negro
Talebs on the banks of the Niger. The Moors have likewise introduced many
common useful trades into Central Africa. But above all, the Mohammedans
have introduced the knowledge of the one true God! and destroyed the
fetisch idols. Let us then take care how we arrogate to ourselves the
right and fact of civilizing the world. Nay, there cannot be a question,
if we would abandon Africa to the Mohammedans, and leave off our
man-stealing trade and practices on the Western Coast, the dusky children
of the torrid zones would gradually advance in civilization. But is not
the bare idea of such an alternative an indelible disgrace to
Christendom?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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