Willem Bosman

A new and accurate description of the coast of Guinea, divided into the Gold, the Slave, and the Ivory Coasts : containing a geographical, political and natural history of the kingdoms and countries : with a particular account of the rise, progress and present condition of all the European settlements upon that coast : and the just measures for improving the several branches of the Guinea trade ... London : J. Knapton, 1705.

Bosman was a Dutch trader who worked for fourteen years on the West African coast, and finally decided to record his knowledge. Within a year after the initial Dutch publication of his work, translations appeared in French and English, underscoring the widespread European interest in the African trade. Bosman attempted to correct earlier, erroneous accounts of the area, including accurate drawings of the coastal forts and wildlife, drawn by the only artist and draftsman the author could locate on the coast.