African Impressions

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Nineteenth-century European depictions of Africa often portrayed the continent as a blank slate. However, British writers once filled Africa with empires and trade routes connected by rivers, drawing from African narratives and representations. Previous investigations suggested that Africa existed in the British imagination as an entirely fabricated space, lacking genuine ties to African realities or merely serving as a canvas for expansionist fantasies. In her work, Rebekah Mitsein challenges this view, revealing that African elites effectively communicated their sovereignty, wealth, and geopolitical significance to Europe long before European exploration of sub-Saharan Africa. Mitsein explores how African self-representation influenced European perceptions throughout the early Enlightenment, sparking interests in West Africa's gold, the city-states along the Niger, the Christian kingdom of Prester John, and the source of the Nile. Through an analysis of various genres, including travel narratives, geography texts, maps, poetry, and fiction, she illustrates how African self-representation and European interpretations of Africa became increasingly intertwined, as the ideas presented by Africans migrated from contact zones into European texts and back again.