Description

In 1829 the Church Missionary Society began operations in the African kingdom of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). The Anglican clergyman Charles Isenberg (1806-64) joined the mission there in 1835, followed by Johann Ludwig Krapf (1810-81) in 1837. Soon afterwards, opposition to the Society's presence in Abyssinia caused them to leave. However, they were determined to establish a base in the central Ethiopian kingdom of Shoa (Shewa), and did so in 1839, entering from the Yemeni port of Mocha. Isenberg stayed in the capital, Ankobar, from 7 June until 6 November 1839, while Krapf remained until 1842 and travelled to other, lesser-known parts of the country. This work, published in 1843, is an account of their period of missionary activity, told through their journals. It begins with a geographical account of the region by the leading specialist of the time, James MacQueen (1778-1870), widely considered one of his most important works.