Abstract:
This book does not claim to be in any sense a comprehensive
survey of the first century of white enterprise in West Africa.
It is little more than an introduction to a vast subject, which
so far has been practically ignored by most English students.
One reason for so remarkable an omission in English colonial
studies is undoubtedly the fact that material for the early story
of West Africa is scarce, and one may search far and wide with
little result. For one thing, a mass of valuable records was
destroyed, when in I755 a serious earthquake shook Lisbon.
Yet those, who combine patience with a genuine interest in the
more elusive problems of the past, will find that the Portuguese
empire in West Africa during the sixteenth century provides a
study as enigmatic as it is fascinating. My own investigations
incline me to believe that much relevant evidence, untouched
and unknown, does exist, scattered and hidden in various
European archives, and anyone, who cares to ransack the Torre
do Tombo at Lisbon, will soon be handsomely rewarded.
The story of white enterprise in Guinea, as presented here,
has been reconstructed mainly from printed sources of information.
Except for the Portuguese collections of documents, these
are generally of only limited value. But I have used many
MSS. in the British Museum and the Public Record Office, and
of those. which I have examined. the records of the High Court
of Admiralty have proved most fruitful. Perhaps I should say
that. since writing this little monograph. the Admiralty records
have Yield d me many new secrets, particularly about the
organisation of the Portuguese empire in Guinea during the
Sixteenth century. and the nature and surprising scope of
Enghsh traffic La Guinea between IS 0 and 16I<;.
1 cannot let this book go to press without paying tribute to
my teachers. It is difficult for me to express my debt to Dr.
A.P Newton. Rhodes Professor in the University of London,
who, after piloting me safely through undergraduate shoals,
directed my attention to West Africa as a verdant field for
research. His erudition and unfailing enthusiasm have been
my constant supports. I am also under a deep obligation to
Professor Edgar Prestage, who has generously assisted my
investigation of Portuguese colonial enterprise; to Professor
J. E. Todd, of Queen's University, Belfast, my present chief,
who has given me both encouragement and opportunity in my
research, and who read the Introduction; to Professor 1. G.
Llubera, of Queen's University, Belfast, who read portions of
the book; to Mr. F. H. Kingsland, B.Sc., who kindly drew the
map for me; to the officials of the British Museum and of the
Public Record Office ; and to all those, who in various ways
have assisted me. Lastly, I am truly grateful to the Unjversity
of London and to the Imperial Studies Committee, whose
generous grants have alone enabled me to produce this work.