The first new translation in over 400 years of one of the great works of the Renaissance: an
African diplomat's guide to Africa.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 its descriptions of
lands cities and peoples giving a singular vision of the vast continent: its urban bustle and
rural desolation its culture commerce and warfare its magical herbs and strange animals. Yet
it is not a mere catalogue of the exotic: Leo also invited his readers to acknowledge the
similarity and relevance of these lands to the time and place they knew. For this reason The
Cosmography and Geography of Africa remains significant to our understanding not only of Africa
but of the world and how we perceive it.
