Immerse yourself in the extraordinary journey of the African naturalist William Burchell (1781-1863), who extensively explored southern Africa from 1810 to 1815. Our illustrated book unveils Burchell's African Odyssey, revealing the narrative and natural history discoveries from his unpublished return journey (1812-1815) as he traveled from the south-eastern Kalahari to Cape Town via the mouth of the Great Fish River.
The English naturalist arrived in Cape Town in November 1810 to investigate the flora and fauna of the expansive southern African interior. Over a remarkable four-year period, traveling in a custom-built oxwagon, he collected an astonishing 63,000 specimens of plants, bulbs, insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals—many of which were not documented prior to his work—as well as over 500 paintings and illustrations.
While Burchell's famous Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa details the outbound trek, little has been shared about the challenges and natural history discoveries made during his return journey to Cape Town from 1812 to 1815. This groundbreaking book traces the homeward leg of Burchell’s epic odyssey, covering the arid northern Cape, the Great Karoo, the war-ravaged eastern Cape, and the lush southern Cape coast.
Drawing on both primary and secondary sources, including Burchell’s letters and the detailed map he created to document his trek, the authors present a thought-provoking and beautifully illustrated account that highlights both the genius of William Burchell and the captivating natural history of the region that so fascinated him.
