BORNO KINGDOM THROUGH THE ACCOUNTS OF THE EXPLORERS HUGH CLAPTON AND GERHARD ROHLFES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

This study focuses on the Kingdom of Brno in the 19th century through the writings of Scottish explorer Hugh Clapton and German explorer Gerhard Rolves, focusing on their observations and their role in conveying an image of the Kingdom of Borno to Europeans. A comparison was made, and we concluded the following results. This study seeks to analyse the image of the Kingdom of Borno as presented in the writings of Claperton and Rolves by examining their observations on various aspects in order to gain a deeper understanding of what Borno was like during the 19th century.The importance of this work lies in the fact that it deals with one of the most important and oldest kingdoms in Central Africa, which has rarely been studied in the writings of European explorers. Their reports and analyses were relied upon. The 19th century witnessed a growing interest among Europeans in exploring the interior of Africa. This coincided with the formation of geographical societies, which gave a strong impetus to exploration in Africa. These societies oversaw the organization and funding of expeditions to the interior of Africa, aiming for political and economic expansion as well as geographical discovery. Within the framework of the exploratory rivalry between the French and Royal Geographical Societies, several Royal Society explorers documented their impressions and observations of the cities of Central Africa. Among the most prominent was Bornu, the successor to the Kanem Empire, which played a significant role in Central Africa until the late 19th century. The choice of Bornu was not arbitrary; it was based on its appeal to many explorers. Clapperton, Denham, Barth, Vogel, Rohlfs, Nachtigall, and others visited it, considering it a gateway to understanding Lake Chad and the Niger River, and an important trading post on caravan routes, with direct connections to the northern shores of the Mediterranean as well as West and East Africa.