WHAT MAKES AN AFRICAN STATE? BARTH’S INTER-CULTURAL APPROACHES

Aside from conducting geographical research on Africa, Heinrich Barth was sent out by the British Government to convince African rulers to sign commercial treaties with the British Crown. In his role as a political representative or diplomat, he actively approached African governments, courts and palaces. The article analyses Barth’s ideas concerning African and non-African statehood with regard to his German background, his scholarship and the perspectives held by his African informants. In addition, it analyses the entanglements of concepts referring to proper names of states (Songhay, Sokoto, Bornu) as well as to categories of states (such as kingdom, empire, city state or nation) in Barth’s work and legacy. The findings enhance our understanding of Barth’s role among the European ‘explorers’ and the inter-cultural concepts they developed with regard to Africa.