Reliable Account of the Coast of Guinea (1760)

This is the first complete English translation of Ludewig Ferdinand Rømer's sensitive account of the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) in the mid-eighteenth century. A vital resource on the history of West Africa, Rømer's work offers rich descriptions of African societies, trading practices with Europe, and religion. Ludewig Ferdinand Rømer was employed in West Africa from 1739 to 1749 by the Danish West India and Guinea Company. He published two books about the Gold Coast, a short one in 1756, and then his more substantial A Reliable Account of the Coast of Guinea in 1760. Rømer deals with the operation of the various European trading companies, and discusses the African-European relations that he had witnessed. But the real value of his work lies in his descriptions of the local context-the African traders and customers, their societies, practices and religion. And he was much interested in African history, particularly from oral traditions.

This edition (principally of Rømer's 1760 text, but drawing on his 1756 volume too) makes available an uncommon source for the history of West Africa. This edition of Rømer's volume was runner-up for the African Studies Association's Texts Prize, 2001.