The highlands included betwixt Abyssinia and the equator are
unquestionably among the most interesting regions in Africa, whether
viewed with reference to their climate, their soil, their productions,
or their population. When the Ethiopic empire extended its sway over
the greater part of the eastern horn, they doubtless supplied myrrh and
frankincense to the civilised portions of the globe, together with the
"sweet cane," mentioned by the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, as being
brought "from a far country." The slave caravan still affords a limited
outlet to their rich produce; but the people, ignorant and naturally
indolent, are without protection, and they possess no stimulus to
industry. Vice alone flourishes amongst them, and their fair country
forms the very hotbed of the slave-trade. Hence arise wars and
predatory violence, and hence the injustice and oppression which sweep
the fields with desolation, bind in fetters the sturdy children of the
soil, and cover the population with every sorrow, "with lamentation, and
mourning, and woe." It has already been remarked, that in early times,
as early probably as the days of Moses, the authority of Egypt extended
deep into the recesses of Africa, and there is reason to believe, at
later dates, far into those countries to the southward of Abyssinia
which are accessible from the shores of the Indian Ocean. The eastern
coast, from beyond the Straits of Bab el Mandeb, in all probability as
far south as Sofala, the Ophir of Solomon, was well-known to the
enterprising merchants of Tyre, and to the sovereigns of Judea. In
still later periods, the conquering Arabs, when they had become
followers of the false prophet, extended their sway over all this coast
as far as the twenty-fifth degree of south latitude. The remains of
their power, of their comparative civilisation, and of their religion,
are found throughout to the present day; and notwithstanding that their
rule had greatly declined when the Portuguese first landed on this part
of Africa, four hundred years ago, it was still strong and extensive,
and constant commercial intercourse was maintained with India.
No portion of the continent has, however, excited less modern interest
than the eastern coast; owing perhaps to the extreme jealousy with which
the Portuguese have guarded its approach, and withheld the limited
information gained since the days of Vasco de Gama. The illiberal
spirit of their government, both civil and ecclesiastic, has had the
natural effect of degrading those maritime tribes placed in immediate
juxta-position with the white settlers, and of effectually repelling the
more spirited and industrious inhabitants of the highlands, whose
prudence and independence have baffled attempted inroads. Many a fair
seat of peace and plenty, vitiated by the operation of the slave-trade,
has been converted into a theatre of war and bloodshed; and the once
brilliant establishments reared by the lords of India and Guinea, now
scarcely capable of resisting the attacks of undisciplined barbarians,
here, as elsewhere, exhibit but the wreck and shadow of their former
vice-regal splendour.
Although free to all nations, the eastern coast, from Sofala to Cape
Guardufoi, has in later years been little frequented by any, save the
enterprising American, whose star-spangled banner is often found in
parts where others would not deign to traffic; and who, being thus the
pioneer through untried channels to new countries, reaps the lucrative
harvest which they are almost sure to afford. English ships from India
have occasionally visited the southern ports for cargoes of ivory and
ambergris, but, in the absence of any rival, the Imam of Muscat is now,
with his daily increasing territories, fast establishing a lucrative
monopoly from Mombas and Zanzibar.
In most of the interior countries lying opposite to this coast, to the
south of Shoa, the people unite with an inordinate passion for trinkets
and finery, a degree of wealth which must favour an extensive sale of
European commodities. In Enarea, Caffa, Gurague, Koocha, and Susa,
especially, glass-ware, false jewellery, beads, cutlery, blue calico,
long cloth, chintz, and other linen manufactures, are in universal
demand. That their wants are neither few nor trifling may be
satisfactorily ascertained, from the fact that the sum of 96,000 pounds
sterling, the produce of the slave-trade from the ports of Berbera,
Zeyla, Tajura, and Massowah, is only one item of the total amount
annually invested in various foreign goods and manufactures, which are
readily disposed of even at the present price of the monopolist; who
being generally a trader of very limited capital, may be concluded to
drive an extremely hard bargain for his luxurious wares.
It would be idle to speculate upon the hidden treasures that may be in
store for that adventurous spirit who shall successfully perform the
quest into these coy regions--for time and enterprise can alone reveal
them. But it is notorious that gold and gold dust, ivory, civet, and
ostrich-feathers, peltries, spices [see Note 1], wax, and precious gums,
form a part of the lading of every slave caravan, notwithstanding that a
tedious transport over a long and circuitous route presents many serious
difficulties; and that the overreaching disposition of the Indian Banian
and of the Arab merchant, who principally divide the spoils on the coast
of Abyssinia, offer a very far from adequate reimbursement for the toil
and labour of transportation.
No quarter of the globe abounds to a greater extent in vegetable and
mineral productions than tropical Africa. The extent to which it
contributed to the trade of antiquity has been ably investigated by Mr
J.A. Saint John, in his learned enquiry into the manners and customs of
ancient Greece [volume 3, chapter 13]. In the populous, fertile, and
salubrious portions lying immediately north of the equator, the very
highest capabilities are presented for the employment of capital, and
the development of British industry.
Coal has already been found, although at too great a distance inland to
render it of any service without water communication; but we may
reasonably infer that it exists in positions more favourable for the
supply of the steamers employed in the navigation of the Red Sea; and I
received the most positive assurances that it is to be obtained within a
reasonable distance of Massowah. Cotton of excellent quality grows
wild, and might be cultivated to any extent. The coffee which is sold
in Arabia as the produce of Mocha is chiefly of wild African growth; and
that species of the tea-plant which is used by the lower orders of the
Chinese, flourishes so widely and with so little care, that the climate
to which it is indigenous would doubtless be found well adapted for the
higher-flavoured and more delicate species so prized for foreign
exportation.
Every trade must be important to Great Britain which will absorb
manufactured goods and furnish raw material in return. Mercantile
interests on the eastern coast might therefore quickly be advanced by
increasing the wants of the natives, and then instructing them in what
manner those wants may be supplied, through the cultivated productions
of the soil. The present is the moment at which to essay this; and so
promising a field for enterprise and speculation ought not to be
neglected. The position of the more cultivated tribes inland, the love
of finery displayed by all, the climate, the productions, the
capabilities, the presumed navigable access to the interior, the
contiguity to British Indian possessions, and the proximity of some of
the finest harbours in the world, all combine inducements to the
merchant, who, at the hands even of the rudest nation, may be certain of
a cordial welcome.
If, at a very moderate calculation, a sum falling little short of
100,000 pounds sterling can be annually invested in European goods to
supply the wants of some few of the poorer tribes adjacent to Abyssinia;
and if the tedious and perilous land journey can be thus braved with
profit to the native pedlar, what important results might not be
anticipated from well-directed efforts, by such navigable access as
would appear to be promised by the river Gochob? The throwing into the
very heart of the country now pillaged for slaves a cheap and ample
supply of the goods most coveted, must have the effect of excluding the
Mohammadan rover, who has so long preyed upon the sinews of the people;
and this foundation judiciously built upon by the encouragement of
cultivation in cotton and other indigenous produce, might rear upon the
timid barter of a rude people the superstructure of a vast commerce.
At a period when the attention of the majority of the civilised world,
and of every well-wisher to the more sequestered members of the great
family of mankind, is so energetically directed towards the removal of
the impenetrable veil that hangs before the interior, and fosters in its
dark folds the most flagrant existing sin against nature and humanity,
it could not fail to prove eminently honourable to those who, by a
well-directed enterprise, should successfully overcome the obstacles
hitherto presented by the distance, the climate, and the barbarity of
the continent of Africa. But lasting fame, and the admiration of
after-ages, are not the only rewards extended by the project. A rich
mercantile harvest is assuredly in store for those who shall unlock the
portals of the Eastern coast, and shall spread navigation upon waters
that have heretofore been barren.
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Note 1. Ginger is exported in great quantities from Gurague; and
amongst other indigenous spices, the _kurarima_, which combines the
flavour of the caraway with that of the cardamom.
Volume 3, Chapter XXXIX.