The highlands included betwixt Abyssinia and the equator are unquestionably among the most interesting regions in Africa, whether viewed with reference to their climate, their soil, their productions, or their population. When the Ethiopic empire extended its sway over the greater part of the eastern horn, they doubtless supplied myrrh and frankincense to the civilised portions of the globe, together with the “sweet cane,” mentioned by the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, as being brought “from a far country.” The slave caravan1 still affords a limited outlet2 to their rich produce; but the people, ignorant and naturally indolent, are without protection, and they possess no stimulus3 to industry. Vice4 alone flourishes amongst them, and their fair country forms the very hotbed of the slave-trade. Hence arise wars and predatory violence, and hence the injustice5 and oppression which sweep the fields with desolation, bind6 in fetters7 the sturdy children of the soil, and cover the population with every sorrow, “with lamentation8, and mourning, and woe9.” It has already been remarked, that in early times, as early probably as the days of Moses, the authority of Egypt extended deep into the recesses10 of Africa, and there is reason to believe, at later dates, far into those countries to the southward of Abyssinia which are accessible from the shores of the Indian Ocean. The eastern coast, from beyond the Straits of Bab el Mandeb, in all probability as far south as Sofala, the Ophir of Solomon, was well-known to the enterprising merchants of Tyre, and to the sovereigns of Judea. In still later periods, the conquering Arabs, when they had become followers11 of the false prophet, extended their sway over all this coast as far as the twenty-fifth degree of south latitude12. The remains13 of their power, of their comparative civilisation14, and of their religion, are found throughout to the present day; and notwithstanding that their rule had greatly declined when the Portuguese15 first landed on this part of Africa, four hundred years ago, it was still strong and extensive, and constant commercial intercourse16 was maintained with India.
No portion of the continent has, however, excited less modern interest than the eastern coast; owing perhaps to the extreme jealousy17 with which the Portuguese have guarded its approach, and withheld18 the limited information gained since the days of Vasco de Gama. The illiberal19 spirit of their government, both civil and ecclesiastic20, has had the natural effect of degrading those maritime21 tribes placed in immediate22 juxta-position with the white settlers, and of effectually repelling23 the more spirited and industrious24 inhabitants of the highlands, whose prudence25 and independence have baffled attempted inroads. Many a fair seat of peace and plenty, vitiated by the operation of the slave-trade, has been converted into a theatre of war and bloodshed; and the once brilliant establishments reared by the lords of India and Guinea, now scarcely capable of resisting the attacks of undisciplined barbarians26, here, as elsewhere, exhibit but the wreck27 and shadow of their former vice-regal splendour.
Although free to all nations, the eastern coast, from Sofala to Cape28 Guardufoi, has in later years been little frequented by any, save the enterprising American, whose star-spangled banner is often found in parts where others would not deign29 to traffic; and who, being thus the pioneer through untried channels to new countries, reaps the lucrative30 harvest which they are almost sure to afford. English ships from India have occasionally visited the southern ports for cargoes31 of ivory and ambergris, but, in the absence of any rival, the Imam of Muscat is now, with his daily increasing territories, fast establishing a lucrative monopoly from Mombás and Zanzibar.
In most of the interior countries lying opposite to this coast, to the south of Shoa, the people unite with an inordinate32 passion for trinkets and finery, a degree of wealth which must favour an extensive sale of European commodities. In Enárea, Cáffa, Guráguê, Koocha, and Susa, especially, glass-ware, false jewellery, beads33, cutlery, blue calico, long cloth, chintz, and other linen34 manufactures, are in universal demand. That their wants are neither few nor trifling35 may be satisfactorily ascertained36, from the fact that the sum of 96,000 pounds sterling37, the produce of the slave-trade from the ports of Bérbera, Zeyla, Tajúra, and Massowah, is only one item of the total amount annually38 invested in various foreign goods and manufactures, which are readily disposed of even at the present price of the monopolist; who being generally a trader of very limited capital, may be concluded to drive an extremely hard bargain for his luxurious39 wares40.
It would be idle to speculate upon the hidden treasures that may be in store for that adventurous41 spirit who shall successfully perform the quest into these coy regions—for time and enterprise can alone reveal them. But it is notorious that gold and gold dust, ivory, civet, and ostrich-feathers, peltries, spices (see Note 1), wax, and precious gums, form a part of the lading of every slave caravan, notwithstanding that a tedious transport over a long and circuitous42 route presents many serious difficulties; and that the overreaching disposition43 of the Indian Banian and of the Arab merchant, who principally divide the spoils on the coast of Abyssinia, offer a very far from adequate reimbursement44 for the toil45 and labour of transportation.
No quarter of the globe abounds46 to a greater extent in vegetable and mineral productions than tropical Africa. The extent to which it contributed to the trade of antiquity47 has been ably investigated by Mr J.A. Saint John, in his learned enquiry into the manners and customs of ancient Greece (volume 3, chapter 13). In the populous48, fertile, and salubrious portions lying immediately north of the equator, the very highest capabilities49 are presented for the employment of capital, and the development of British industry.
Coal has already been found, although at too great a distance inland to render it of any service without water communication; but we may reasonably infer that it exists in positions more favourable50 for the supply of the steamers employed in the navigation of the Red Sea; and I received the most positive assurances that it is to be obtained within a reasonable distance of Massowah. Cotton of excellent quality grows wild, and might be cultivated to any extent. The coffee which is sold in Arabia as the produce of Mocha is chiefly of wild African growth; and that species of the tea-plant which is used by the lower orders of the Chinese, flourishes so widely and with so little care, that the climate to which it is indigenous51 would doubtless be found well adapted for the higher-flavoured and more delicate species so prized for foreign exportation.
Every trade must be important to Great Britain which will absorb manufactured goods and furnish raw material in return. Mercantile interests on the eastern coast might therefore quickly be advanced by increasing the wants of the natives, and then instructing them in what manner those wants may be supplied, through the cultivated productions of the soil. The present is the moment at which to essay this; and so promising52 a field for enterprise and speculation53 ought not to be neglected. The position of the more cultivated tribes inland, the love of finery displayed by all, the climate, the productions, the capabilities, the presumed navigable access to the interior, the contiguity54 to British Indian possessions, and the proximity55 of some of the finest harbours in the world, all combine inducements to the merchant, who, at the hands even of the rudest nation, may be certain of a cordial welcome.
If, at a very moderate calculation, a sum falling little short of 100,000 pounds sterling can be annually invested in European goods to supply the wants of some few of the poorer tribes adjacent to Abyssinia; and if the tedious and perilous56 land journey can be thus braved with profit to the native pedlar, what important results might not be anticipated from well-directed efforts, by such navigable access as would appear to be promised by the river Gochob? The throwing into the very heart of the country now pillaged57 for slaves a cheap and ample supply of the goods most coveted58, must have the effect of excluding the Mohammadan rover, who has so long preyed59 upon the sinews of the people; and this foundation judiciously60 built upon by the encouragement of cultivation61 in cotton and other indigenous produce, might rear upon the timid barter62 of a rude people the superstructure of a vast commerce.
At a period when the attention of the majority of the civilised world, and of every well-wisher to the more sequestered63 members of the great family of mankind, is so energetically directed towards the removal of the impenetrable veil that hangs before the interior, and fosters in its dark folds the most flagrant existing sin against nature and humanity, it could not fail to prove eminently64 honourable65 to those who, by a well-directed enterprise, should successfully overcome the obstacles hitherto presented by the distance, the climate, and the barbarity of the continent of Africa. But lasting66 fame, and the admiration67 of after-ages, are not the only rewards extended by the project. A rich mercantile harvest is assuredly in store for those who shall unlock the portals of the Eastern coast, and shall spread navigation upon waters that have heretofore been barren.
Note 1. Ginger68 is exported in great quantities from Guráguê; and amongst other indigenous spices, the kurárima, which combines the flavour of the caraway with that of the cardamom.
点击收听单词发音
1 caravan | |
n.大蓬车;活动房屋 | |
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2 outlet | |
n.出口/路;销路;批发商店;通风口;发泄 | |
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3 stimulus | |
n.刺激,刺激物,促进因素,引起兴奋的事物 | |
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4 vice | |
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的 | |
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5 injustice | |
n.非正义,不公正,不公平,侵犯(别人的)权利 | |
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6 bind | |
vt.捆,包扎;装订;约束;使凝固;vi.变硬 | |
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7 fetters | |
n.脚镣( fetter的名词复数 );束缚v.给…上脚镣,束缚( fetter的第三人称单数 ) | |
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8 lamentation | |
n.悲叹,哀悼 | |
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9 woe | |
n.悲哀,苦痛,不幸,困难;int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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10 recesses | |
n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 );(工作或业务活动的)中止或暂停期间;学校的课间休息;某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 );将(墙)做成凹形,在(墙)上做壁龛;休息,休会,休庭 | |
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11 followers | |
追随者( follower的名词复数 ); 用户; 契据的附面; 从动件 | |
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12 latitude | |
n.纬度,行动或言论的自由(范围),(pl.)地区 | |
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13 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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14 civilisation | |
n.文明,文化,开化,教化 | |
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15 Portuguese | |
n.葡萄牙人;葡萄牙语 | |
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16 intercourse | |
n.性交;交流,交往,交际 | |
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17 jealousy | |
n.妒忌,嫉妒,猜忌 | |
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18 withheld | |
withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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19 illiberal | |
adj.气量狭小的,吝啬的 | |
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20 ecclesiastic | |
n.教士,基督教会;adj.神职者的,牧师的,教会的 | |
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21 maritime | |
adj.海的,海事的,航海的,近海的,沿海的 | |
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22 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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23 repelling | |
v.击退( repel的现在分词 );使厌恶;排斥;推开 | |
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24 industrious | |
adj.勤劳的,刻苦的,奋发的 | |
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25 prudence | |
n.谨慎,精明,节俭 | |
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26 barbarians | |
n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 );外国人;粗野的人;无教养的人 | |
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27 wreck | |
n.失事,遇难;沉船;vt.(船等)失事,遇难 | |
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28 cape | |
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风 | |
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29 deign | |
v. 屈尊, 惠允 ( 做某事) | |
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30 lucrative | |
adj.赚钱的,可获利的 | |
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31 cargoes | |
n.(船或飞机装载的)货物( cargo的名词复数 );大量,重负 | |
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32 inordinate | |
adj.无节制的;过度的 | |
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33 beads | |
n.(空心)小珠子( bead的名词复数 );水珠;珠子项链 | |
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34 linen | |
n.亚麻布,亚麻线,亚麻制品;adj.亚麻布制的,亚麻的 | |
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35 trifling | |
adj.微不足道的;没什么价值的 | |
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36 ascertained | |
v.弄清,确定,查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37 sterling | |
adj.英币的(纯粹的,货真价实的);n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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38 annually | |
adv.一年一次,每年 | |
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39 luxurious | |
adj.精美而昂贵的;豪华的 | |
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40 wares | |
n. 货物, 商品 | |
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41 adventurous | |
adj.爱冒险的;惊心动魄的,惊险的,刺激的 | |
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42 circuitous | |
adj.迂回的路的,迂曲的,绕行的 | |
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43 disposition | |
n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署 | |
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44 reimbursement | |
n.偿还,退还 | |
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45 toil | |
vi.辛劳工作,艰难地行动;n.苦工,难事 | |
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46 abounds | |
v.大量存在,充满,富于( abound的第三人称单数 ) | |
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47 antiquity | |
n.古老;高龄;古物,古迹 | |
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48 populous | |
adj.人口稠密的,人口众多的 | |
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49 capabilities | |
n.能力( capability的名词复数 );可能;容量;[复数]潜在能力 | |
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50 favourable | |
adj.赞成的,称赞的,有利的,良好的,顺利的 | |
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51 indigenous | |
adj.土产的,土生土长的,本地的 | |
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52 promising | |
adj.有希望的,有前途的 | |
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53 speculation | |
n.思索,沉思;猜测;投机 | |
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54 contiguity | |
n.邻近,接壤 | |
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55 proximity | |
n.接近,邻近 | |
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56 perilous | |
adj.危险的,冒险的 | |
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57 pillaged | |
v.抢劫,掠夺( pillage的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58 coveted | |
adj.令人垂涎的;垂涎的,梦寐以求的v.贪求,觊觎(covet的过去分词);垂涎;贪图 | |
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59 preyed | |
v.掠食( prey的过去式和过去分词 );掠食;折磨;(人)靠欺诈为生 | |
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60 judiciously | |
adv.明断地,明智而审慎地 | |
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61 cultivation | |
n.耕作,培养,栽培(法),养成 | |
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62 barter | |
n.物物交换,以货易货,实物交易 | |
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63 sequestered | |
adj.扣押的;隐退的;幽静的;偏僻的v.使隔绝,使隔离( sequester的过去式和过去分词 );扣押 | |
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64 eminently | |
adv.突出地;显著地;不寻常地 | |
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65 honourable | |
adj.可敬的;荣誉的,光荣的 | |
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66 lasting | |
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持 | |
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67 admiration | |
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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68 ginger | |
n.姜,精力,淡赤黄色;adj.淡赤黄色的;vt.使活泼,使有生气 | |
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