1849 Greenleaf Map of Africa

An example of Jeremiah Greenleaf's hand-colored 1849 map of Africa, from his New Universal Atlas, reflecting the limited but developing European understanding of African geography.

A Closer Look

Nineteenth century mapmakers were particularly challenged by the difficult task of deciphering Africa. Despite a constant flow of information about the continent dating to the Middle Ages, much of the interior remained speculative. Greenleaf chooses to leave much of the continent blank, and instead focuses on known areas, or more precisely, areas perceived to be known. These include Mediterranean North Africa, Egypt, Abyssinia (Ethiopia), the western Niger Valley, the Congo, South Africa, and the lands of Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Each of these regions has a unique history of European engagement. Egypt, along the Nile, was well-mapped even in antiquity. The same is true of Christian Abyssinia which, through regular contact with the Coptic mother church in Egypt and Portuguese missionaries, was well known, if mostly unexplored by Europeans. The tale of European incursion and occupation of South Africa could easily encompass volumes and explains Greenleaf’s sophisticated mapping of this region. The Niger Valley and the Congo had been simultaneously exploited and explored by Portugal since the 1400s.

Mozambique was a major stopping point on the Portuguese trade routes to India. Curiously, this region has also been associated with King Solomon's Mines and Biblical legends of the Land of Ophir. Greenleaf identifies several of its constituent regions, including Sabia, Botanga, and Sofala.

The remaining parts of the map are vague. North of Mozambique we can find the embryonic mapping of 'Lake Maravi,' most likely representing Lake Malawi, or possibly Lake Tanganyika, or both. The Ptolemaic Mountains of the Moon are drawn stretching across the central part of the continent with the suggestion that they are the source of several branches of the Nile. Compared to Burr's original (see 'Publication History and Census' below), Greenleaf has maintained the basic form but provided updates, removing some speculative and outdated elements while adding in new details (caravan routes across the Sahara, for instance).

Historical Context

At the time this map was made, the slave trade, thriving since the 5th century was rapidly diminishing due to decreased demand for slaves in the New World, the British outlawing of slavery in 1808, and subsequent diplomatic efforts including treaties with over 50 African rulers outlawing the practice. Many African economies adapted by shifting to the export of mineral and agricultural resources, which led to the European scramble for territory, occupying most of the continent by the end of the 19th-century and haphazardly carving it up.

Publication History and Census

This map was published by Jeremiah Greenleaf in the scarce 1849 (last) edition of his New Universal Atlas. It is based on David Burr's 1834 original, which was published in the latter's atlas of the same name, before being inherited and updated by Greenleaf, who published it in several editions in the 1840s.