Explorers' Texts and the Problem of Reactions by Non-Literate Peoples: Some Nineteenth-Century East African Examples

Victorian Field Notes from the Lualaba River, Congo

“…The other (Table 1). 51 Recourse to the archive of exploration -as Bridges (1973Bridges ( , 1977Bridges ( , 1998) 52 has argued more generally -thus allows for the production of a more nuanced and multifaceted history of Nyangwe than might otherwise be possible. Scholars can balance the use of edited or revised, multi-authored published works, 53 such as scientific papers or popular travel narratives, 54 with primary records like diaries and letters that are single-authored, unrevised, and often written in the immediate aftermath of the events described.…”

“…55 The question of which of these is the closest to 'objective reality' and whether such an approach can even be made remains open to debate. See the discussion between Youngs (1994), Bridges (1998), andWisnicki (2010). 56 Helly's (1987) Bridges (1987, p. 180) identifies three types of primary explorer records:…”