The Gold Regions of South-Eastern Africa

Thomas Baines's The Gold Regions of South-Eastern Africa (1877) is a posthumously published work detailing his exploration of goldfields in Matabeleland and Mashonaland. Baines, an English artist and explorer who spent much of his life in Southern Africa, led an expedition in 1868 to these regions. He secured a mining concession from the Ndebele king, Lobengula, for an extensive area that was later acquired by Cecil Rhodes. The book includes Baines's maps, scientific data, and illustrations of the local scenery and people. This work emerged during a period of intense European interest in Southern Africa's mineral wealth, particularly gold, which fueled colonial expansion and competition among powers like Britain, Portugal, and Germany in the late 19th century.123