ABSTRACT
Captain Harry Dean has been described as the Colored Trader Horn. He was born in Philadelphia and early came under the tutelage of Fanny Jackson Coppin, mentioned elsewhere in this volume as the Principal of the Institute of Colored Youth and the wife of Bishop Levi Coppin. Harry Dean was, however, largely self-taught. He learned the science of navigation in England, and, following a family tradition, he soon went to sea and became master of his own sailing vessel. He circumnavigated Africa eighteen times, crossed it from east to west three times, and from north to south once. Dean’s life was one of great excitement and dedication. He visualized bringing Negroes back to Africa and motivating them to form a solid nation in co-operation with native Africans. He put his ideas into practice first by trying to unite African tribes in southern Africa and then by trying to acquire large tracts of land on which to settle the Negroes who might come. He was actually successful in uniting several tribes who had previously been enemies. From political motives the Portuguese offered to sell him Mozambique for £50,000, which he unsuccessfully tried to raise among affluent Negroes in America. Because of his perseverance and influence, Dean was regarded as a dangerous person in Africa. There were several attempts on his life, which he imputed to the connivance of the officials of the Union of South Africa and which forced him to leave Africa penniless.
