The Lands of Cazembe: Lacerda's Journey to Cazembe in 1798; No. 2

This volume constitutes a significant historical record of the 1798 expedition led by the Portuguese explorer Francisco de Lacerda e Almeida into the interior of South-Central Africa. Lacerda, who sought to establish a trade route between the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and Angola, died during the journey, but his detailed journals survived to provide one of the earliest and most comprehensive European accounts of the Cazembe kingdom, located in present-day Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The publication was originally curated and translated under the auspices of the Royal Geographical Society to disseminate Lacerda's findings to the Victorian-era scientific community. The design and presentation were intended to formalize his observations for geographic and anthropological study, serving as a primary source for scholars interested in pre-colonial African trade networks. It remains a foundational text for historians documenting the cross-cultural encounters of the late 18th century.