Of the forms of government among the several nations and tribes, our knowledge is not sufficiently definite. Though there is despotism, it appears to be limited to some ex tent by a respect for the "bead-men" in every tribe, who form a sort of aristocracy, and whom the king must consult on all important affairs. The liberty of speech employed in a native parliament, or rather "palaver," is often considerable. Though women are generally found in a degraded position, the wives of the king often take a part in council, and exercise their influence in the affairs of state. Civilization, in the proper sense of the term, is only to be met with in the settlements of the Europeans; for the condition of the Moors, Arabs, and Egyptians is scarcely entitled to rank higher than that of semi civilization.
Of science, art, and literature we can say little; for all that had been achieved under the Pharaohs and Ptolemies disappeared with the conquest of the Moslems. A school master is found in almost every Mohammedan village; but the Koran is the only book studied. Medicine is little understood, though the tribes in the s. and elsewhere have great faith in its powers, and practice it in a very absurd and superstitious style. Among many tribes, the religion might be styled medicine-worship. Inoculation, as a preser vative against the small-pox, is common among the Mohammedan tribes. Mechanical skill is generally respected, and the smith or worker in iron is reckoned among the "head-men" in every tribe.
Of the interior commerce or barter of the natives among themselves, our knowledge is scanty. Caravans of camels pass over the wide deserts of the n. by such routes as lead them to the greatest number of springs brooks, and oases, or comparatively fertile places. The chieftains in the desert are the principal traders; and one in their character, though carried to a cruel extreme, is certainly favorable to commerce: debtors are treated with great severity. When payments are delayed, not only the debtor himself, but, if he is absent, any member of his family, may be seized as a slave. Timbuctoo, on the s. edge of Sahara, is the chief commercial depot and central station for the caravans which arrive from Tafilet, Tripoli and other places in n. A. From Timbuctoo they proceed on their route along the course of the Niger to Kaslina, another station of commercial im portance, which is also visited by the caravans from Sudan and Bornu. From Kashna the caravan-route leads to Bornu and lake Tchad; thence to the territories of the Tib boos and the Tawareks, and on to 3lurzuk in the oasis of Fezzan. Kulfa is another great meeting-place of the caravans coming from Dahomey in the s.w., Borgu in the n.e., and Niffe in the s.e. There seems to be no doubt that these caravans are in communication with others from the e., and thus connect, in a primitive style of commerce, the Indian ocean with the Atlantic and the Mediterranean sea. The principal places of commerce in the e. are Marnegar, Berbera, Ankobar, Gondar, Sennaar, and Kobbe. In Benguela and Angola, negro caravans from the interior arrive at the chief places on the coast, bringing slaves, ivory, and gold-dust, which are bartered for various commodities, and the plateau of the upper Nile is visited by Arab traders from Zanzibar engaged in the same traffic.
Though A. is so rich in natural productions, and capable of maintaining a thriv ing commerce with other parts of the world, it is still a painful fact tljat along its coasts, and in the caravan roads of the interior, the principal trade is in slaves. Baker's great expedition up the Nile, and recent enactments in Zanzibar forbidding slavery, will proba bly do much to diminish or destroy this odious traffic. The African is fit for something better. Many of the tribes are in a condition which cannot be fairly described as say agism. They have fixed dwellings, though these are merely mud-buts, defended by stockades; and are possessed of some laws or customs which are favorable to commerce. Among several tribes the native merchant is highly respected, and his goods are safe even in times of feud or warfare. The land is cultivated ; the natives wear dyed cotton dresses, thicker and more durable than those exported from England, and consequently far dearer. Gold and iron are manufactured with ingenuity. The principal tribes on the Gambia, the Fulahs, the Joliffes and the Mandingoes, and the negroes of the sub-equatorial re gions in which Livingstone spent the last twenty years oI his life, have qualities which forbid us to despair of the progress of A. in culture. All that is wanted is a free com mercial intercourse with the civilized world. Commerce must carry into A. the doctrine that it is better to employ men in trade, than to sell them as slaves. Ability to under stand such a truth will not be wanting; and when it is known and practiced, the negro will prove that he is human, and will break through all the natural obstacles placed in the way of his development and improvement.
That portion of A. which is known is divided as follows: Native states and regions— Ashanti, Dahomey, Fezzan, Barca, Bornu, Darfur, Kordofan, Dongola, Guinea, Abys sinia, Morocco, Senegambia, Senaar, Sudan with Sahara, Zanzibar, and the countries of the interior, with others on the east coast. British possessions are—Cape Colony and Natal at the s.; the island of Mauritius, St. Helena, Ascension, Sierra Leone, Cape Coast and the Gambia colony. The French have settlements on the Senegal, with the islands of St. Louis and Goree, the isle de Bourbon, St. ,Marie, and the great colony of Algeria. Egypt, Nubia, Tunis, and Tripoli belong nominally to Turkey. There are some N. American forts and settlements in Guinea. The Portuguese have theAzore and Cape Verd islands, with Madeira, Porto Santo, St. Thomas, Angola, Benguela, and Mozambique. The Canary islands belong to Spain. The large island of Madagascar and (he Comoro group arc under native rulers; but in some of these islands on the east coast the French have recently established themselves, as at 3Iayotta.