Route map from Tin Telloust to Agadez, Niger following Dr. Heinrich Barth's journey from Tripoli to the Gulf of Guinea. A smaller inset map in the upper-left shows the full route of the mission.



Barth is considered to be one of the greatest African explorers. Along with Adolf Overweg and James Richardson he was tasked with crossing the Sahara to open relations with the kingdoms of Sudan and Nigeria. His fluency in Arabic, as well as Hausa and Fulani (two of the local languages) enabled him to study the region as no European had before. His extraordinarily detailed notetaking is evident from the miniature plan of Agadez in the lower-left corner which names buildings in English and in the local language.



Both Richardson and Overweg died of illness soon after the group left Agadez, so Barth was left to continue the expedition on his own. When he finally returned to Tripoli in 1855 he has traveled over 12,000 miles, an extraordinary feat. His detailed and thorough account was published in English and German several years later and remains one of the most valuable sources of information on pre-colonial West Africa.



Original hand-colour. [AFR4042]