The Lands of Cazembe: Lacerda's Journey to Cazembe in 1798

The Lands of Cazembe documents the ambitious 1798 expedition led by Portuguese explorer Francisco de Lacerda into the heart of south-central Africa. Commissioned by the Portuguese crown to establish a trade route between Mozambique and Angola, the journey was intended to consolidate colonial interests in the region. Lacerda, a mathematician and astronomer, meticulously chronicled the expedition's progress through the interior until his untimely death near the capital of the Cazembe kingdom.

This edition was published by the Royal Geographical Society as a vital contribution to nineteenth-century exploration literature. By translating and curating Lacerda's journals and accompanying observations from his companions, the Society aimed to provide the British academic and public spheres with a firsthand look at the geography and social structures of the Cazembe. It remains a foundational text for historians studying early European encroachment into the African interior and the scientific documentation of the era.