The Cosmography and Geography of Africa

Author  Johannes Leo Africanus Introduction by  Anthony Ossa-Richardson and Richard J. Oosterhoff Edited by  Anthony Ossa-Richardson and Richard J. Oosterhoff Translated by  Anthony Ossa-Richardson and Richard J. Oosterhoff Notes by  Anthony Ossa-Richardson and Richard J. Oosterhoff
The Cosmography and Geography of Africa
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The first new translation in over 400 years of one of the great works of the Renaissance: an African diplomat's guide to Africa

A Penguin Classic

In 1518, al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan, a Moroccan diplomat, was seized by pirates while travelling in the Mediterranean. Brought before Pope Leo X, he was persuaded to convert to Christianity, in the process taking the name Johannes Leo Africanus. Acclaimed in the papal court for his learning, Leo would in time write his masterpiece, The Cosmography and the Geography of Africa. The Cosmography was the first book about Africa, and the first book written by a modern African, to reach print. It would remain central to the European understanding of Africa for over 300 years, with…