A journal comprising an account of the loss of the brig Commerce, of Hartford, (Con.) : James Riley, master, upon the western coast of Africa, August 28th, 1815 ; also of the slavery and sufferings of the author and the rest of the crew, upon the desert of Zahara, in the years 1815, 1816, 1817: with accounts of the manners, customs, and habits of the wandering Arabs: also, a brief historical and geographical view of the continent of Africa

Archibald Robbins

Andrus and Judd, Lee Street., 1818

Bound in contemporary leather.  Shelf wear to extremities. Early calligraphic bookplate.  vii, [4], [13]-275 pages. Some toning, scattered staining. No map. Sabin 71738.   

Originally published in 1817 is a memoir by James Riley. The memoir relates how Riley and his crew of the American merchant ship Commerce, were captured in Africa after being shipwrecked in 1815. He led his crew through the Sahara Desert, as slaves to a local Arab tribe for 2 years, until their freedom was paid for by British consul, William Willshire. It was immensely popular in the 19th century as a startling switch on the usual master-slave relationship.

Abraham Lincoln, who later became president of the United States, listed Sufferings in Africa, as one of the three most influential works that shaped his political ideology, particularly his views on slavery. The others were the Bible and The Pilgrim's Progress