This book’s very existence is significant, since the material is that of the end of the seventeenth century, the period when the dramatic changes that took place in the eighteenth century were beginning to materialize. Transatlantic slaving was to become the chief interest and the use of firearms was to become much more widespread. Tilleman’s time on Africa’s Gold Coast came just after Jean Barbot’s and coincided with that of Thomas Phillips and Willem Bosman. Tilleman’s text allows for a comparison of the areas in which they agree and where there are discrepancies, especially considering that these four men represent different European backgrounds, colored by their particular national interests. Tilleman’s book also reveals, as do the other sources, prevailing attitudes and beliefs held by the Europeans, as they described the Africans and their lives.
