From West Africa to Palestine.

£4,500 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

A very good copy of a desirable book: Blyden’s travels in Africa and the Middle East were vital in the development of his theory of Pan-Africanism and his most important work, Christianity, Islam, and the Negro Race (London, 1887). Edward Wilmot Blyden (1832-1912) was born in the Danish Island of St. Thomas, West Indies to parents of African heritage. From an early age he was inspired to return to his ancestral homeland, but not before equipping himself with knowledge and skills that could be used to aid the development of Africa. Once recognised as a student of exceptional promise he travelled to America, where he hoped to study at an institution of higher learning. Due to his race, Blyden was denied acceptance, and subsequently changed his plans: settling on the idea of moving to Liberia in West Africa, where the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States was establishing a high school. He later joined the school and eventually rose to the position of Headship, a title that he carried until being elected to a professorship in 1862, at the newly-established College of Liberia. He balanced his academic duties with a political position as Secretary of State (1864), before terminating his professorship in order to devote his time to travel. Upon re-settling in West Africa he was made Minister Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Liberia in 1877. From West Africa to Palestine is Blyden’s record of one of his travels. Having decided against the danger

• Binding: Hardcover

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