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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | On Ravenstein's edition of Battell's adventures in Angola and Loango |
Author: | Vansina, Jan |
Year: | 2007 |
Periodical: | History in Africa |
Volume: | 34 |
Pages: | 321-347 |
Language: | English |
Geographic terms: | Angola Congo (Democratic Republic of) |
Subjects: | travel historical sources |
About person: | Andrew Battell (ca1565-na1614) |
External link: | http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/history_in_africa/v034/34.1vansina.pdf |
Abstract: | Between 1590 and c. 1610 the English sailor Andrew Battell lived in central Africa, first in Angola until 1606/1607 and then in Loango. His reports about these lands are a priceless source for the otherwise poorly documented history of Angola between 1590-1606, especially since his is the only known eyewitness account about the way of life of the notorious Jaga. In addition his account is also one of the earliest about Loango. Hence modern historians of Angola and Loango have relied extensively on him. They all have used the text edition by E.G. Ravenstein of 'The strange adventures of Andrew Battell of Leigh' (London, 1901) without referring back to the original documents. This article evaluates the reliability of Ravenstein's edition compared to the original publications. It concludes that despite its defects and its outmoded annotation, the Ravenstein edition is still satisfactory for most purposes. Notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract] |