1797 Homann Heirs Map of Africa

This is an attractive 1797 map of Africa by Homann Heirs. Based on earlier work of Sayer, Rennel and Arrowsmith and new observations, this map by F.L. Güssefeld presents the entire continent with impressive detail of the largely unexplored interior. Features the names of various tribal groups and indigenous empires throughout, while at the same time, avoiding presumption regarding the general geography of the interior. The known lands, most explored by missionaries and early colonists, of Mediterranean Africa, Egypt, Abyssinia, Morocco, the Niger Delta, and South Africa and the Congo, are mapped according to convention. Lake Malawi (Maravi or Zambre) appears in its embryonic form.

Of the many tribes noted throughout, the Hottentotten tribe appears in South Africa. The Hottentots were actually what some Europeans called the Khoikhoi ('people people' or 'real people') or Khoi. (The term 'Hottentot,' an imitation of the sound of the Khoisan languages, is considered derogatory today.) The Khoi are the native people of southwestern Africa, and are closely related to the Bushmen.

Across the center of the continent the map details a mythical mountain range commonly known as the ‘Mountains of the Moon’. The mountains of the moon were first postulated by Ptolemy to be the source of the Nile. This mysterious range remained on maps until the mid 19th century explorations of Burton, Speke, and Livingstone. Today it is generally agreed that references to the Mountains of the Moon refer to the Ruwenzori Range of Kenya & Uganda.

Overall, a beautiful map of the continent on the cusp of Europe's great wave of exploration into the interior of Africa. Issued by Homann Heirs in 1797.