The Narrative of Robert Adams

First published in 1816, The Narrative of Robert Adams is the story of the adventures of Robert Adams, an American sailor who survived shipwreck off the coast of Africa and slavery under brutal conditions. He was finally ransomed to the British Consul, where he eventually made his way to London. It was there that he was discovered by the Company of Merchants Trading to Africa, where he narrated the full details of his adventure. This volume is reminiscent of earlier Barbary slave narratives, which were written by shipwrecked sailors (and their passengers) who had been taken captive and enslaved in Northern Africa. About 700 Americans were held captive as North African slaves between 1785 and 1815, just before the publication of Robert Adam's Narrative, and these Barbary captives produced more than 100 editions of 40 full length narratives. The notable difference about this narrative is that Adams describes visiting the legendary city of Timbuktu.

Europeans had sought the supposed golden riches of Timbuktu for many years, sending expedition after expedition to conquer the remote city. Despite this, no reliable Western witness had returned from Timbuktu to share his experience, and the last update Europeans had received was from Leo Africanus in the sixteenth century. Leo Africanus was a Christianized Moor from southern Spain, and not a "true" Westerner himself. By the early nineteenth century when Robert Adams dictated his Narrative, Timbuktu had become an elusive dream for Europeans, an unattainable goal. It was the African El Dorado. Yet foreigners who dared set foot within the city or the surrounding region were forced to choose between adopting the local faith or suffering decapitation.

Adams' actual experience in the city, however, widely differed from how Europeans imagined Timbuktu. Because of this, they questioned his Narrative, though he was the first person from the West to actually visit the city and return to tell the tale. Despite the controversy regarding the veracity of Adams' story, the publication of the Narrative represented, in a way, a triumph for British science and exploration. Adams may have been an American, but he told his tale in England, and it was there that the Narrative was published, thus announcing victory over other European interests in the city, most notably France.

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