Jean Baptiste Leonard Durand

Durand, Jean Baptiste Leonard, 1742-1812.

A voyage to Senegal, or, Historical, philosophical, and political memoirs, relative to the discoveries, establishments and commerce of Europeans in the Atlantic Ocean, from Cape Blanco to the river of Sierra Leone ; to which is added an account of a journey from Isle St. Louis to Galam. London : Printed for Richard Phillips by J.G. Barnard, 1806.

Durand, who was director of the Senegal Company at Isle St. Louis, published his memoirs because he believed that the economic potential of the African colonies was being neglected since the "discovery" of the New World. His object, "to promote the power and riches of my country [France], with the hope that the inhabitants of Africa may thereby become more happy" may seem ironic today, but Durand's text mingles historical, geographical, and cultural information in a very informative narrative of the region.