Travels in the Coastlands of British East Africa and their Islands, Zanzibar and Pemba

The book deals with a part of East Africa which, in spite of its apparent accessibility, has down to the present day remained surprisingly little known to the world at large. In the general rush to explore the more remote recesses of the African continent, many of the immediate coastlands have been left comparatively unheeded, and nowhere, perhaps, has this been more the case than in the northern districts of the British sphere along the East African coast.

Fitzgerald, an employee of the Imperial British East Africa Company, arrived in the region in 1891 to explore the coastal regions and to report on agricultural possibilities. He travelled widely up and down the coast and inland as far as Uganda. He was most impressed with the Giriama tribe and also wanted to resettle slaves in the area to provide labour, with the aim of promoting the growing of cash crops. Unfortunately the company was unable to co-ordinate its efforts to develop the coast and instead stirred up resentment among the tribes.

774 pp with bw illustrations and maps. Very good condition, no dw.