FISHER, Richard Barnard. The Importance of the Cape of

FISHER, Richard Barnard. The Importance of the Cape of Good Hope, as a Colony to Great Britain, Independently of the Advantages it Possesses as a Military and Naval Station, and the Key to Our Territory Possession of India. London: G. Sidney for T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1816. 8vo (225 x 140 mm). Engraved folding frontispiece in aquatint, folding map outlined in color. Original publisher’s drab boards (rebacked preserving original spine and endpapers). FIRST EDITION IN BOOK FORM, and the third edition overall that was expanded from the short pamphlet first published in 1814 and contains considerable additions to the letterpress of these earlier publications. “Fisher was of the opinion that the Hottentots had ‘no language’ and that the few words they pronounced were either Portuguese or Dutch. Fisher complains that there were no taverns, hotels, or even shops in Cape Town, and draws a by no means favorable picture of its inhabitants, who he says, have ‘a most inordinate sense of pride’ while ‘they seem to pride themselves on their dexterity in imposition, and none suffer so much from it as English military and navy. He also quotes Barrow as saying ‘that the inanity of their minds and the indolent habit of their bodies are not even surmounted by self-interest,’ and reference is made to the extreme brutality displayed by the “Africans” (Afrikanders) to their slaves. There is an article on the wines of the colony, and others having reference to the trade in dried fruits, ostrich feathers, ivory, &c. Under the title ‘Further Considerations,’ many suggestions are made for the betterment of the government of the colony…" (Mendelssohn Vol. I, p. 547). Abbey, Travel 324; Mendelssohn I:547.