Historical African Cultural Scenes

Engravings depicting various historical African scenes, including traditional gatherings, cultural practices, and representations of indigenous peoples in their environments.

King of Ashanti and his guards, engraving, 19th century, Ghana

Slave market in Zanzibar. Engraving by Hildebrand (1882).

Hut building among the Biheno people, Chad, Historical, digital reproduction of an original from the 19th century, Africa

Indigenous from Ubujue, Uguha and Uhyeya. Central Africa. Journey to unexplored Africa, the mysterious continent by Henry Morton Stanley. Old 19th century engraved illustration, El Mundo Ilustrado 1880

King of Ashanti and his guards, engraving, 19th century, Ghana

Two Khoikhoi people (South African tribe) tearing the intestines of an ox apart to eat; four men seated in the background, one of them eating intestines of the ox. Engraving, 1768

Natives of Madi and the Lira tribe. Uganda. East Africa. Journey to Lake Albert, 1861-1864 by Samuel White Baker (1821-1893) Le Tour du Monde 1867

Irokan family for Tipi, Ludwig Gottlieb Portman, after Jacques Kuyper, 1804 print An Irokan family stands for a tipi. The man has just returned from hunting with a shot reindeer or deer. The child tackles his ax and a bloody fur. The woman takes the shot animal at the horns. Amsterdam paper etching human races; peoples; nationalities (+ costume). hoofed animals: deer (+ animal killed by man). Native peoples of North America North America

In 1698, Zanzibar fell under the control of the Sultanate of Oman. Until around 1890, the sultans of Zanzibar controlled a substantial portion of the East African coast, known as Zanj, which included Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, and trading routes extending much further inland, such as the route leading to Kindu on the Congo River. The sultans developed an economy of trade and cash crops in the Zanzibar Archipelago with a ruling Arab elite. Ivory was a major trade good. The archipelago, also known as the Spice Islands, was famous worldwide for its cloves and other spices, and plantations were developed to grow them. The archipelago's commerce gradually fell into the hands of traders from the Indian subcontinent, whom Said bin Sultan encouraged to settle on the islands. Zanzibar City was East Africa's main port for the slave market between Africa and Asia (including the Middle East), and in the mid-19th century as many as 50,000 slaves passed annually through the port. Sultan Barghash bin S

Public appearance of the king of Benin, Africa, with drummers, trumpeters, panthers and dwarf. Handcoloured copperplate engraving by Antonio Sasso from Giulio Ferrario's Ancient and Modern Costumes of all the Peoples of the World, Florence, Italy, 1843.

nineteenth century Illustration of a tribal group in Ethiopia. 1852

'Dance of the Two Children, Hawaii', 19th century. Artist: Ellis

A festival, Honduras, 1855. Engraving

Marriage custom of the Towkan people of central America - the ritual wife-snatching Date: 1863

The use of fire for cooking among the natives, 1869, Uganda, Historic, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, exact original date unknown, Africa

Engraving depicting a Hindu schoolmaster and his pupils.

Inhabitants of lower Senegal in 1850. Africa. Travel and expedition to Senegal and bordering countries 1847-1860

The life of American Indians. Cooking in front of a hut, California. United States of America, drawing by Gustave Adolphe Chassevent (1818 - 1901) Trip to California, 1859 by Louis Simonin (1830-1886) Le Tour du Monde 1862

Montage of native inhabitants of South America

BRAHMINS WORSHIPPING THE GANGES, INDIA. Hinduism Brahmin is a term in the traditional Hindu societies of India and Nepal.

Ecuador. Archidona. Yumbo Wedding.Trip to the Amazon river and the mountain ranges, by C. Wiener. Engraving, 19th c.

Natives from 'protected' tribes are summoned with a bell and shouts to act as bearers or carriers for the British in the 2nd Ashanti War (1873-74). In 1873, after decades of an uneasy relationship between the British and the Acing people of central Ghana, the British attacked and virtually destroyed the Asanti capital of Kumasi, and officially declared Ghana a crown colony on 24 July 1874. After this they moved their administrative capital from Cape Coast Castle to Accra. Date: 17 January

Westasiatische Modekleidung in der Antike, von links, ein Kefti-Mann mit einer Binde, dann ein Cheriter oder Cheta, dann ein Mann eines Wüstenstammes ...

Ancient tribe of indigenous natives. Moluccan Islands, Indonesia. Trip to Papua New Guinea by Achille Raffray 1876-1877. Le Tour du Monde 1879

South Sudan, Africa. Makaraka warriors and musicians. 19th century. Photogravure. Colorised.

Slaves on a cotton plantation in Georgia, USA, Wood engraving c1830

Left to Right: Woman and man of the Tonkinese wealthy class; Li Yu-tche, a Chinese mandarin travelling with Duupis; M. Dupuis in Chinese dress; a Yunnanese soldier of M. Dupuis' escort; man and woman of 'the people' of Tonkin - that is, not of the wealthy class. Jean Dupuis was associated with the unsuccessful effort to establish French influence in northern Vietnam in 1873.

Costumes of the people of the Pacific, 18th century. Polynesian man and woman of Tahiti wearing tapa bark-fabric tiputa cloaks 1, Hawaiian man and woman in tapa bark-fabric skirts, the man a dancer with an 'uli'uli feather rattle 2. Handcoloured copperplate engraving from Friedrich Johann Bertuch's Bilderbuch fur Kinder (Picture Book for Children), Weimar, 1792.

The collection of cochineal in Algeria, engraving

Jean-François de Galoup, Comte de La Pérouse (August 23, 1741-1788) was a French explorer and naval officer. In 1785, the King of France commissioned La Perouse to head an expedition to explore the Pacific Ocean, to investigate whaling and fur prospects, and to establish French claims in this area. La Pérouse had admired the explorer James Cook, and wanted to continue his work. La Perouse was assigned two 500-ton ships called the Astrolabe and the Boussole. His crew of 114 included sailors, scientists, a physicist, three draftsmen, three naturalists, clergymen, and a mathematician. They left France in August, 1785. La Perouse mapped the west coast of North America in 1786, and visited Easter Island and Hawaii. His ships reached the west coast of Alaska in 1786 and did extensive mapping of the North American west coast from Alaska to Monterey, California. Next La Pérouse landed at Botany Bay (Port Jackson), Australia, before heading for the Solomon Islands. La Pérouse took the opportuni

Arabian dames and tents. Engraving. (Later colouration). Iconographic Enclyclopaedia of science, Literature and Art. 19th century. Author: HENRY WINKLES. Johan George Heck.

Indian servants' clothes: jaliya or fisherman, harkara or messenger, dai or wetnurse with baby, ayah or nursery maid with child, ladies' maid, and methrani or female sweeper. Handcoloured copperplate drawn and engraved by Andrea Bernieri after Francois Solvyns from Giulio Ferrario's Ancient and Modern Costumes of all the Peoples of the World, Florence, Italy, 1844.

Those faithful to Captains Speke and Grant, Africa. Old XIX century engraved from Le Tour du Monde 1864

Kingdom of Dahomey. King BŽhanzin, last independent king of Dahomey (1890-1894). Image from the illustrated supplement'Petit Journal'. Etching. FRANCE. ëLE-DE-FRANCE. Paris. National Library.

Lascorijns or Singalese soldiers on Ceylon, Jan Brandes, 1785 - 1786 drawing Color drawing of a yard with an Ataphuis on which three 'Lascorijns', a headman middle flanked by a gun and a pajung carrier, lend to a man with a bun and lend towel. On the right two women. Part of Jan Brandes' sketchbook, dl. 1 (1808), p. 3. Sri Lanka paper. pencil brush the soldier; the soldier's life. Asiatic races and peoples (SRILANKANS) Sri Lanka

Africa, Wedding procession at Lake Moero, Lake Mweru or Lac Moero, Congo, 1880 / Afrika, Hochzeitszug am Moerosee, Mwerusee oder Lac Moero, Kongo, 1880, Historisch, historical, digital improved reproduction of an original from the 19th century / digitale Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhunder.

TIPOS Y COSTUMBRES-PRIMEROS INDIOS QUE ENCONTRO COLON - 1492 - GRABADO S XVIII. Location: BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL-COLECCION. MADRID. SPAIN. CRISTOBAL COLON (1451/1506).

Bathing Scene at Benares Varanasi Uttar Pradesh India Copyright: xJehangirxSorabjee/DinodiaxPhotox

Cottages and natives at hacienda of Mondomo. Illustrations. 1827. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division. Indians of South America , Colombia, Colombia

THE PALAVER AT KINSHASHA: MEETING WITH STANLEY AFTER RETURN VOYAGE, 1883

History of Africa. 19th century. Porters from Lukungu. Engraving by W. Meyer. El Congo y la Creacion del Estado Independiente de este nombre. Historia de los Trabajos y Exploraciones Verificados (The Congo and the Founding of its Free State. A Story of Work and Exploration), by Henry M. Stanley. Edited in Barcelona, ca.1890. Spain.

Audience with Soba Bango, Regent of Golungo Alto, Angola, and his nobles. The regent wears a military jacket with captain's epaulettes over a Luanda skirt. Handcoloured copperplate engraving after Jean-Baptiste Douville from Giulio Ferrario's Costumes Ancient and Modern of the Peoples of the World, Florence, 1834.

History of Africa. Slave market in Zanzibar. Engraving by Hildibrand. 1882.

A Mrua medicine man or shaman with his assistants, Central Africa. Coloured wood engraving after V.L. Cameron.

Ancient people and cultural history, Egypt, priestess, priests, Ethiopian queen, court official, Pharaoh, fan carrier, judge, bodyguard, from left, historic steel engraving, 1875, Africa

African porters and guides. Guinea-Bissau Africa. Old 19th century engraved illustration, Journey through Senegambia and Portuguese Guinea by captain Henri Brossard-Faidherbe (1855-1893) from Le Tour du Monde 1889

Engraving depicting slaves being sold for cowries in Africa.

Ivory Traders on the West Coast of Africa, historical woodcut, circa 1870, digitally restored reproduction of an original 19th century print, exact original date unknown, coloured

Slave-dealers and slaves - A street scene in Zanzibar.. Prints. 1873-05-03. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division. Slavery, Slave traders, Zanzibar, Women slaves, Slave trade , Tanzania , Zanzibar, Slaves , Tanzania , Zanzibar

'Indians of the Gran Chaco; A visit to Paraguay during the war', 1875. From, 'Illustrated Travels' by H.W. Bates. Cassell, Petter, and Galpin, c1880, London

Illustrations showing the customs of the Guinea people (three illustrations); Picart, Bernard (1673-1733); 1727 (1727-00-00-1727-00-00);

king of kongo (Congo) coronation, depicted in a French 18th century illustration

Medicine man with his followers, in the Marshall Islands, c. 1885, Historic, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original, Medicine man with his followers, in the Marshall Islands, c. 1885, Historic, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original

Two warriors and a squaw ofthe Mohave people : all wearelaborate tattoos covering thegreater part of their bodies Date: circa 1850s

Scene in the Slave Market of Rio - a 'Lord of the Soil' estimating the 'flesh value' of recent importations - 'Nothing can be more calculated to shock...' Date: 1845

Normal life in an Ashanti village before the outbreak of the second Ashanti War in 1873-74. The second Ashanti War fought between,1873-74, was between King Kofi Karikari, ruler of the Ashanti (or Asantehene), and the British. Both were trying to secure the coastal town of Elmina on the West Coast of Africa also known as the Gold Coast. Date: 9 August 1873

The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade took place across the Atlantic Ocean from the 16th through to the 19th centuries. The vast majority of those enslaved that were transported to the New World, many on the triangular trade route and its Middle Passage, were West Africans from the central and western parts of the continent sold by western Africans to western European slave traders, or by direct European capture to the Americas. The numbers were so great that Africans who came by way of the slave trade became the most numerous Old World immigrants in both North and South America before the late 18th century. Far more slaves were taken to South America than to the north. The South Atlantic economic system centered on producing commodity crops, and making goods and clothing to sell in Europe, and increasing the numbers of African slaves brought to the New World.

Salaaming Kelas at Lama Chokden, Tibet, circa 1899

Orchestra in the Karague court. from Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile, by Captain John Hanning Speke, Africa. Old XIX century engraved from Le Tour du Monde 1864

Dayak women taking care of a child circa 1860. 19th Century. Borneo. Engraving. Later colouration.

America. Florida. 16th century. Ritual dedicated to the sun god. Sacrifice deer skin. Engraving, 1850. Color.

Mexico people Mexican beggars on the street wood engraving 19th century,

Sir Charles D'Oyly, 1781-1845, British, active in India, Nuts or Indian Jugglers, undated. Chromolithograph on medium, slightly textured, cream wove paper mounted on moderately thick, slightly textured, beige wove paper.

GAMBLING BY THE INHABITANTS OF CALIFORNIA AT THE MISSION OF SAN FRANCISCO, c. 1815-18, lithograph after watercolor painting by Louis Chorus. Close contact at the missions promoted disease which decimated and dispirited the population. The Indians would also be coerced into agricultural labor for subsistence (BSLOC_2019_9_33)

Explorer Mungo Park reports the honour given by natives of Senegal/Nigeria to MUMBO- JUMBO, an idol to whom even the king must pay reverence, as shown here. Date: 18th century

Tahiti. The output of the temple, vintage engraved illustration. Journal des Voyages, Travel Journal, (1880-81).

Shaman in ritual mask, Central Africa. Old 19th century engraved illustration from Journey from Zanzibar to Benguela by Verney Lovett Cameron, Le Tour du Monde 1877

Slaves building a pyramid in ancient Egypt. From Cassell's Universal History, published 1888.

Cemetery of the Serer people, Senegambia, 18th century. The grave mounds are marked with bows and arrows. After Rene Claude Geoffroy de Villeneuves LAfrique, Paris, 1814. Handcoloured stipple copperplate engraving from Frederic Shoberls The World in Miniature: Africa, A description of the manners and customs Moors of the Sahara and of the Negro Nations, R. Ackermann, England, 1821.

Guianga warrior, Mindanao, Philippines island. Indonesia. Journey to the Philippines and Malaysia by Dr. J. Montano 1879-1881. Old 19th century engraving from Le Tour du Monde 1906

William Penn (1644-1718) English Quaker colonist, treating with Native Americans on the site of what is now Philadelphia. Woodcut, 1830

David Livingstone (1813-1873). Scottish explorer. Death of Livingstone in the village of Chief Chitambo's, 1873. Engraving by Riov. The Illustrated World, 1882. Colored.

The moussammba of Kasongo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central Africa. Old 19th century engraved illustration from Journey from Zanzibar to Benguela by Verney Lovett Cameron, Le Tour du Monde 1877

Music concert with native instruments of the tribe of black Galla inhabitants of the banks of the Nile, Ethiopia. Old 19th century engraved illustration from El Mundo Ilustrado 1880

India: People waiting for famine relief in Bangalore (Bangaluru), Great Indian Famine of 1876-78. Illustrated London News, 20 October 1877

Slave Caravan, 1892. Slaves chained on the march to be sold into the slave market. Photogravure after the oil painting by Walter Stanley Paget (1863-1935). Colorised. Author: Walter Stanley Paget (1869-1935). English painter.

Africa. Niam-Niam village. South Sudan. Photogravure by André & Sleigh after a photograph by R. Buchta (1845-1894). 19th century. Colorised.

Journey to the sources of the Nile. He manages to save her from the hands of the bloodthirsty king. vintage engraved illustration. Journal des Voyage, Travel Journal, (1880-81).

Engraving depicting termite mounds. When the termites fly from the nest to form new colonies, they are trapped by the Native Africans to be roasted and eaten by. Dated 19th century

Human sacrifices in Dahomey, Central Africa, Old 19th century engraved illustration, Le Tour du Monde 1863

East African tribesfolk Date: 1836

The slave market at Zanzibar Date: 1872

Man and woman of Cochin China (Vietnam) 1818. Handcoloured copperplate engraving from Mary Anne Vennings A Geographical Present being Descriptions of the Principal Countries of the World, Darton, Harvey and Darton, London, 1818. Venning wrote educational books on geography, conchology and mineralogy in the early 19th century.

The British 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia was a punitive expedition carried out by armed forces of the British Empire against the Ethiopian Empire. Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, also known as 'Theodore', imprisoned several missionaries and two representatives of the British government. The punitive expedition launched by the British in response required the transportation of a sizable military force hundreds of miles across mountainous terrain lacking any road system. The force consisted of 13,000 British and Indian soldiers, 26,000 camp followers and over 40,000 animals, including elephants. It set sail from Bombay in upwards of 280 steam and sailing ships. The advance guard of engineers landed at Zula on the Red Sea, about 30 miles (48 km) south of Massawa. The decisive battle took place at the mountain fortress of Magdala on April 10-11, 1868. British casualties were 2 killed and 18 wounded, while the Ethiopians lost 700 killed and 1,400 wounded. The defeated emperor Tewodoros com

Four Muslims carrying a coffin for burial at the mosque preceded by two men reading from a holy book. Gouache painting by an Indian painter.

c.1825 Children of Ali´i doing the hula outdoors, Reverend William Ellis, black and white

Kischi Dance of the Marutse, Southern Africa, Illustration, 1885

Muteesa I Mukaabya Walugembe Kayiira and his chiefs Kabaka of the Kingdom of Buganda. Uganda, Central Africa. Travel to unexplored Africa, the mysterious continent of Henry Morton Stanley. Old engraved illustration from the 19th century, El Mundo Ilustrado 1880

An African native inspects a warrior termite nest. The Warrior Termite (Macrotermes bellicosus) is the largest termite known and builds nests in the shape of mounds that can reach 17 feet in height.

Benevolent colonialism - Mrs Shaw's sewing class at Rabai, East Africa Date: 1898

Dalai Lama Escaping from Tibet to British India 1910 Artist Unknown Colored print

Women from Senegambia, Senegal, Gambia, Women in the 19th century, Historical, Digital Reproduction of an Original 19th Century Original, Africa

Scottish explorer and missionary David Livingstone preaching from a wagon, Africa, 19th century. Artist: Unknown

Civilisation comes to theCaroline Islands (WestPacific) - natives learn thewonders of the Singer sewingmachineDate: circa 1900

A Central African couple from the Congo Date: circa 1700

Kulottunga Chola instructs surveyors to dominions, 1086 AD Copyright: xKenxGraham/DinodiaxPhotox

Man and woman of Hindostan or Hindustan, 1818. The man wears a turban, tunic, sash and harem pants and holds a saber, the woman wears a veil, shawl and dress. A man rides an elephant howdah in the background. Handcoloured copperplate engraving from Mary Anne Vennings A Geographical Present being Descriptions of the Principal Countries of the World, Darton, Harvey and Darton, London, 1818. Venning wrote educational books on geography, conchology and mineralogy in the early 19th century.

Magician from Loango Coast (now Republic of Congo), Africa, Illustration, 1885

King Mongkut of Siam and his principal wife, c. 1864, Historic, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original, exact date unknown

India, parades, music, dances, by Auguste Racinet (1825-1893), lithograph comes from Le Costume Historique, Volume I, 1888. India.

Ethnic groups of Africa: 1 Ashanti, 2 Loango woman, 3 Cameroon, 4 Baluba, 5 Somali, 6 Abyssinian woman, 7 Howa, 8 Herero women, 9 Ovambo, 10 Akka, 11 Zulu, 12 Masai, 13 Wagranda from Uganda, 14 Darfurian, 15 Haussanian, 16 Bushmen, 17 Bushmen woman, 18 Nama or Namaqua, 19 Niam, 20 Dinka, historical illustration, wood engraving, circa 1888

of 3