8 Prispevki za novejšo zgodovino LXI – 2/2021
Anja Polajnar*
The Portrayal of Africa  
in the Newspaper Zgodnja Danica 
from 1849 to 1859
IZVLEČEK 
PRIKAZ AFRIKE V ČASOPISU ZGODNJA DANICA MED LETOMA  
1849 IN 1859
Članek se osredotoča na podobo Afrike in Afričanov v časopisu Zgodnja Danica med 
Slovenci v obdobju od leta 1849 do 1859. V tem času je katoliško misijo za Srednjo Afriko 
pod vodstvom Ignacija Knobleharja podpiralo tudi avstrijsko cesarstvo zaradi morebitne 
kolonialne širitve, desetletje pa je sovpadalo z začetkom slovenskega narodotvornega pro-
cesa. Po letu 1848 pa so prevladali neabsolutistični sistem in katoliška ideološka načela, tako 
da sta v slovenščini lahko izhajala le dva časopisa, eden od njiju Zgodnja Danica. Luka 
Jeran, urednik revije in odločen podpornik misijona, je objavil, prevedel in cenzuriral številna 
pisma in poročila Knobleharja in njegovih sodelavcev, ki so predstavljala pogled misijonar-
jev na značilnosti pokrajine in prebivalcev dežel, ki so danes del Egipta, Sudana in Južnega 
Sudana. Pokrajina je bila predstavljena kot “oddaljena” in z “nezdravim podnebjem”.
Nasprotno so bili prebivalci na eni strani prikazani kot bistri, lepi in spretni, na drugi 
strani pa – z zahodnjaške perspektive razvoja in napredka – kot “leni in nerazviti”. Poleg 
tega so članki, ki so jih napisali ljudje, ki nikoli niso bili v Afriki, ustvarili stereotip “nemoč-
nega in revnega” Afričana, medtem ko je bila dežela prikazana kot “temačna” in “nevarna”. 
Številne “zbiralne akcije” v podporo srednjeafriški misiji, ki predstavljajo del prevladujoče 
podobe, razkrivajo ne le, kako so Slovenci videli Afriko in Afričane, temveč tudi, kako so 
dojemali “sebe” v nasprotju z “drugimi”, pri čemer se je izoblikoval “avtosterotip” Slovencev, 
ki lahko “pomagajo” tistim, za katere menijo, da potrebujejo njihovo pomoč.
Ključne besede: Afrika, Afričani, Zgodnja Danica, stereotipi, Drugi
1.01 https://doi.org/10.51663/pnz.61.2.01
*  Mag., PhD student, University of Nova Gorica, Vipavska cesta, SI-5000 Nova Gorica;  
anja.polajnar@gmail.com
9Anja Polajnar: The Portrayal of Africa in the Newspaper Zgodnja Danica from 1849 to 1859
ABSTRACT
The article focuses on the image of Africa and Africans in the Zgodnja Danica newspa-
per among Slovenians in the period from 1849 to 1859. At that time, the Catholic mission 
for Central Africa under the leadership of Ignacij Knoblehar was also supported by the 
Austrian Empire for the reasons of a potential colonial expansion, while the decade coinci-
ded with the beginning of the Slovenian nation-building process. After 1848, however, the 
non-absolutist regime and the principles of Catholic ideology prevailed, so that only two 
newspapers were allowed to be published in Slovenian, one of them Zgodnja Danica. Luka 
Jeran, the editor of the journal and strong promoter of the mission, published, translated, 
and censored numerous letters and reports by Knoblehar and his co-workers that presented 
the missionary’s view of the physical aspects and people of what are now Egypt, Sudan, and 
South Sudan. The land was portrayed as “distant” and as possessing an “unhealthy climate”.
In contrast, the people were portrayed, on the one hand, as bright, beautiful, and skilled, 
while on the other hand, they were deemed as “lazy and undeveloped”, as they were seen 
from the Western perspective of development and progress. Moreover, the articles written 
by people who had never been to Africa generated the stereotype of the “helpless and poor” 
African, while the land was portrayed as “dark” and “dangerous”. As a part of the prevailing 
image, numerous “fundraisers” in support of the Central African mission reveal not only how 
Slovenians saw Africa and Africans, but also how they saw “themselves” in contrast to “the 
others”, forming an “autostereotype” of the Slovenian who can “help” those who, in their 
perception, needed their assistance.
Keywords: Africa, Africans, Zgodnja Danica, stereotypes, the Others
Introduction
The history of the (one-way) relations between Slovenians and Africans offers 
much material that can be interpreted from the viewpoint of the contemporary issues 
of intercultural dialogue and stereotypes regarding foreign cultures.1 Precisely in the 
middle of the 19th century, Slovenians maintained one of the closest connections with 
the African continent through a Catholic mission led by the missionary Dr Ignacij 
Knoblehar (1819–1858), born in Škocjan na Dolenjskem, which is a part of today’s 
Republic of Slovenia (in continuation Slovenia). He was accompanied by fellow 
missionaries and artisans from Carniola and other parts of the territory that is now 
Slovenia,2 as well as from other provinces that are nowadays parts of the Republic 
1 It shall be noted that in the period under consideration (1849–1859), Slovenians were emerging as a nation. 
Furthermore, by referring to Africans, the author (AP) also generalises the heterogeneity of the people living in the 
African continent. 
2 It shall be noted that we are referring to the area of today’s Slovenia, which was, in the analysed period, a part of the 
Austrian Empire, which became the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1867.
10 Prispevki za novejšo zgodovino LXI – 2/2021
of Austria (in continuation Austria). They regularly reported to their homeland in 
the form of letters published in the Zgodnja Danica newspaper, a Catholic church 
newspaper published in the Slovenian language and printed in Ljubljana from 1849 
to 1902. The decade coincided with Bach’s absolutist era in the Austrian Empire when 
Zgodnja Danica was one of only two newspapers published in the Slovenian language. 
Consequently, many Slovenians read Zgodnja Danica, which contained numerous arti-
cles based on the direct reports of Slovenians from the area that is nowadays the Arab 
Republic of Egypt (in continuation Egypt), the Republic of the Sudan (in continuation 
Sudan), and the Republic of South Sudan (in continuation South Sudan). The present 
article aims to show how Africa and Africans were presented to Slovenians in the pre-
colonial period in the mid-nineteenth century in the missionary and Catholic ideol-
ogy prevalent at the time. Despite many studies of the missionary Ignacij Knoblehar, 
in Central Africa, there has been no comprehensive, systematic, and in-depth study 
of the presentation of Africa in the articles of the Zgodnja Danica newspaper in the 
decade under consideration. To understand the genesis of the image of Africa among 
Slovenians, letters, reports, and articles about Africa in Zgodnja Danica from 1849 
to 1859 will be examined using content analysis methods, mainly in a qualitatively 
combined quantitative manner. Moreover, the comparison of texts based on the writ-
ers’ direct and indirect experiences in Africa will be a valuable source for investigating 
the origins of representations, stereotypes, and prejudices about Africa and Africans 
among Slovenians. In the article, we will first address the historical context of the 
decade from 1849 to 1859, which is also the era of the beginning of the nation-building 
process of Slovenians, who were, at the time, a part of the Habsburg Monarchy. We will 
revisit the Habsburg colonial aspirations and the historical context of the Catholic mis-
sion in the area that is nowadays Sudan and South Sudan. The focus of the article will 
be an analysis of the content of the missionary reports in the Zgodnja Danica magazine. 
In the second part, we will analyse the texts in Zgodnja Danica, written by authors who 
never set foot in Africa but wrote about it nevertheless, and about the various activities 
related to Africa among Slovenians in the decade under consideration.
Slovenian Nation-building Process and the Role  
of National (Auto)Stereotypes
Vasilij Melik placed the first developments of the Slovenian nation-building pro-
cess in the 9th century, in the times of Carantania,3 followed by Primož Trubar and the 
first book in the Slovenian language in the 15th century. For Melik, the turning point 
of the Slovenian nation-building process were the times of the national movements 
in the Habsburg Monarchy, under Maria Theresa and Joseph II’s rule, while Marko 
Pohlin emphasised the importance of the Slovenian language.4 Fran Zwitter placed 
3 Vasilij Melik, “Slovenci skozi čas,” in: Slovenci 1848–1918. Razprave in članki (Maribor: Litera, 2002), 19–22.
4 Ibidem, 27.
11Anja Polajnar: The Portrayal of Africa in the Newspaper Zgodnja Danica from 1849 to 1859
the beginning of the Slovenian nation-building process among the people who were 
culturally active during the Age of Enlightenment.5 Miroslav Hroch6 dated the onset 
of national agitation in the Slovenian region to around 1840–1848, to the period of 
“Metternich’s absolutism”, when the dissatisfied elites in the Slovenian territory star-
ted to gain sympathisers for the “national matter” (“za narodno stvar”). Knoblehar’s 
mission in Sudan coincided with the revolutionary year of 1848 and the first Slovenian 
political programme called “United Slovenia” (Zedinjena Slovenija), initiated by Matija 
Majar-Ziljski, which represented the official beginning of the Slovenian national 
aspirations.7 The programme included the demand for the unification of Slovenians 
into a single political unit within the Habsburg state – that is, the dissolution of the 
old provincial borders according to the “national” criteria.8 Slovenians were unable 
to implement the programme at the time, but they did gain ethnic individuality, 
name, and integrity.9 Although the 1848 revolution was suppressed by the Imposed 
Constitution, Slovenians were recognised as a single nation and a part of the Austrian 
Empire, while the Slovenian language became frequently used in the public sphere.10 
In 1855, the influence of the clergy on the Slovenian public life increased with the 
concordat with the Catholic Church, which gained control over schools and teaching 
staff.11 According to Peter Vodopivec,12 the Slovenian national activists of this period 
gathered around Janez Bleiweis, the editor of the Novice newspaper, believing in com-
promise and practical training; around Anton Martin Slomšek and Luka Jeran, the 
editor of Zgodnja Danica, who represented clerical principles; while Simon Jenko and 
Fran Levstik represented the freethinking youth.13 In the 1850s, the first two groups 
dominated the Slovenian cultural scene with their newspapers Novice and Zgodnja 
Danica.14
According to Globočnik,15 in the first half of the 19th century, autostereotypes and 
heterostereotypes also emerged among Slovenians together with the nation-building 
5 Fran Zwitter, “Slovenci in Habsburška monarhija,” in: O slovenskem narodnem vprašanju (Ljubljana: Slovenska mati-
ca, 1990), 56. 
6 Marko Zajc and Janez Polajnar, “Zamorcev ne bomo umivali. Podoba zamorca v slovenskem časopisju v 19. in začet-
ku 20. stoletja,” in: Naši in vaši. Iz zgodovine slovenskega časopisnega diskurza v 19. in začetku 20. stoletja (Ljubljana: 
Mirovni inštitut, 2012). Available at https://www.mirovni-institut.si/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/nasi-in-vasi-
-mediawatch-23.pdf.
7 Vasilij Melik, “Leto 1848 v slovenski zgodovini,” in: Slovenci 1848–1918. Razprave in članki (Maribor: Litera, 2002), 
36.
8 Ibid., 28. 
9 Janko Prunk, Kratka zgodovina Slovenije (Založba Grad: Ljubljana, 2008), 73. 
10 Stane Granda, “Revolucionarno leto 1848 in Slovenci,” in: Slovenska kronika XIX. stoletja. 1800–1860 (Ljubljana: 
Nova revija, 2001), 303–12. 
11 Peter Vodopivec, Od Pohlinove slovnice do samostojne države (Ljubljana: Modrijan, 2006), 68. 
12 Ibid., 69 
13 Ibid.
14 Ibid., 70. With its publishing activities, the clergy exerted a general influence on the Slovenian public. The books 
and publications had a Catholic and patriotic content, written in a moral and educational tone. In 1849 and 1851, 
however, Campe’s Version of Robinson Crusoe was translated into Slovenian, while in 1853, a Slovenian translation 
of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published as well.
15 Damir Globočnik, “Gosposka škrijcasta suknja in slovenstvo: izbor stereotipnih upodobitev v slovenski karikaturi,” 
in: Irena Novak – Popov (ed.), 43. seminar slovenskega jezika, literature in kulture (Ljubljana: Filozofska fakulteta, 
2008), 156. Available at http://centerslo.si/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/43.-SSJLK.pdf.
12 Prispevki za novejšo zgodovino LXI – 2/2021
processes. According to Musek,16 the fundamental functions of national stereotypes 
include the identification of the people, the creation of a positive national identity, 
the simplification of self-esteem, and defensive action. The members of a particular 
national community use national heterostereotypes for members of other national 
communities.17 
Habsburg Colonial Aspirations 
Slovenians were never part of a colonial state “per se”. In the decade between 1849 
and 1859, they were a part of the Austrian Empire (1804–1867). Although it seems, at 
first glance, that the Habsburg Empire (Austro-Hungarian from 1867 to 1918) had no 
imperialist and colonial aspirations, certain plans and projects did exist.18 According 
to Robert Musil,19 the Habsburg Empire that stretched from the Adriatic to Ukraine 
possessed colonies within its borders, unlike France and Germany. Therefore, it did 
not need to compete in the colonial race with England, France, and Germany, as the 
borders of this multi-ethnic state did not need to be crossed to experience something 
foreign. However, as Walter Sauer20 writes, there were certain individuals – “travel-
lers”, “explorers”, and missionaries from the Habsburg Empire – who “explored” the 
territories overseas with “civilising” or “research missions” in mind. They did so in the 
contemporaneous political and colonial context, as the government needed informa-
tion about transport routes, weather conditions, food and water supplies, and the eco-
nomic and political potentials of the overseas territories. One of the Austrian Empire’s 
colonial attempts was the Jesuit missionaries’ effort to establish an Austrian colo-
nial presence in today’s Sudan and South Sudan, represented by Ignacij Knoblehar, 
who was active among the peoples living along the Nile between 1848 and 1858.21 
According to Marko Frelih,22 Knoblehar’s missionary and scientific work was also pro-
moted by Emperor Franz Joseph I, who provided personal patronage of the mission 
and appropriate material support. Knoblehar’s visit to Vienna stimulated the Austrian 
interest in dominating East Africa in many ways, as the control of the trade routes 
along the White Nile was crucial for many European countries. The trade in ivory and 
16 Janek Musek, Psihološki portret Slovencev (Ljubljana: Znanstveno in publicistično središče, 1994), 32, 33.
17 Ibid. Mirjana Ule, Socialna psihologija: Analitični pristop k življenju v družbi (Ljubljana: Fakulteta za družbene vede, 
2009), 180. 
18 Walter Sauer, “Habsburg Colonial: Austria-Hungary’s Role in European Overseas Expansion Reconsidered,“ in: 
Austrian Studies, Vol. 20, Colonial Austria: Austria and the Overseas (2012): 5, https://doi.org/10.5699/austrian-
studies.20.2012.0005.
19 Robert Musil and Ulrich E. Bach, Tropics of Vienna. Colonial Utopias of the Habsburg Empire (New York, Oxford: 
Berghahn, 2016), 2. 
20 Ibid., 7–12.
21 Ibid., 8.
22 Marko Frelih, Sudanska misija 1848–1858, Ignacij Knoblehar – misijonar, raziskovalec Belega Nila in zbiralec afriških 
predmetov = Sudan mission 1848–1858, Ignacij Knoblehar – Missionary, Explorer of the White Nile and Collector of 
African Objects (Ljubljana: Slovenski etnografski muzej, 2009), 141. Available at https://www.etno-muzej.si/files/
sudanska_misija.pdf.
13Anja Polajnar: The Portrayal of Africa in the Newspaper Zgodnja Danica from 1849 to 1859
natural resources also had a significant economic impact. The English, the French, 
the Germans, and increasingly the Austrians were aware of this. By establishing the 
mission, the Austrian government seized the opportunity to become politically and 
economically active on African soil.  
The History of Missionaries from the Territory of  
Today’s Slovenia in Africa
Evidence exists that Franciscan missionaries from the territory of today’s Slovenia 
were present in Egypt as early as the 18th century, but not in other parts of Africa.23 
Ignacij Knoblehar, born in 1819 in Škocjan, Lower Carniola (Dolenjska), was among 
the first missionaries to the newly founded Apostolic Vicariate for Central Africa in 
Khartoum. During this time, the region north of Khartoum (the 12th northern lati-
tude) was under the administrative and military rule of the Ottoman Empire in Egypt. 
Although people along the Nile already had their religion, the Church claimed it was 
possible to found Catholic missions in the area further south of Khartoum.24 The mis-
sionaries set up two Catholic missions among the Bari people in Gondokoro (near 
present-day Juba) and the Kyk people at the St Cross station (near today’s city of 
Bor). As Frelih writes, the Bari and Kyk people quickly recognised the advantages of 
the missionaries’ arrival, as they offered protection from slave hunters and provided 
food during famines. In 1850, Knoblehar returned to Europe, brought an extensive 
collection of ethnological artefacts of the peoples living along the Nile Valley, and 
donated it to the Provincial Museum of Carniola (Kranjski deželni muzej). He gained 
the patronage of Emperor Franz Joseph I and successfully presented his plans to Pope 
Pius IX, who appointed him Provicar for Central Africa.25 
When Knoblehar returned to Sudan for the second time, he was joined by sev-
eral missionaries, teachers, and artisans from various Austrian provinces, including 
Carniola (a part of what is nowadays Slovenia).26 Slovenian missionaries who joined 
the first group were Martin Dovjak, who arrived in Africa in 1851 and died in 1854; 
Matevž Milharčič, arrived in 1851, died in 1853; Oton Trabant arrived in 1851, died 
in 1854; Jernej Mozgan, arrived in 1851, died in 1858; and Janez Kocjančič, arrived in 
1851, died in 1853. The climatic conditions and malaria, for which there was no cure, 
caused illness and death among the missionaries.
During the time of Knoblehar, the slave trade and ivory trade endangered the pop-
ulation along the Nile Valley. Some peoples disappeared entirely, others intermingled, 
and some moved far away from the navigable rivers.27 
23 Zmago Šmitek, Klic daljnih svetov, Slovenci in neevropske kulture (Ljubljana: Založba Borec, 1986), 109–11. 
24 Frelih, Sudanska misija, 11–14.
25 Ibid., 14–18. 
26 Ibid., 24. 
27 Ibid., 67. 
14 Prispevki za novejšo zgodovino LXI – 2/2021
The second group that joined the mission in 1854 included the priest Jožef Lap 
from Preddvor, the craftsman Franc Bališ, who returned home in 1855, Jakob Šašel, 
who arrived in 1853 but returned in 1854, and Janez Klančnik, a craftsman. There were 
also priests from Brixen – Jožef Gostner, Alois Haller, and Martin Ludwig Hansal, 
whose letters were translated into Slovenian and published in Zgodnja Danica. After 
Knoblehar died in 1858, there were no missionaries from the Slovenian territory in 
Africa for about 40 years. As Zmago Šmitek28 writes, Knoblehar’s co-workers contrib-
uted significantly and provided an essential part of the study of the region along the 
Nile, its inhabitants, and its cultures. 
Representation of Africa in Zgodnja Danica 1849–1859
In 1850, Slovenians could familiarise themselves with the missionaries’ presenta-
tion of what is nowadays Sudan and South Sudan by reading a monograph written by 
Vinko Fereri Klun based on the Knoblehar’s diary titled Potovanje po Beli reki ( Journey 
on the White Nile).29 Luka Jeran, the editor of Zgodnja Danica, was a committed 
28 Ibid., 111–16.
29 Ignacij Knoblehar and Vinko Fereri Klun, Potovanje po Béli reki (Ljubljana: Ign. pl. Kleinmayerja in Fedor Bamberga, 
1850). Available at http://www.dlib.si/?URN=URN:NBN:SI:DOC-3ZGI0PGW.
Portrait of Dr. Ignacij Knoblehar - 
Abuna Soliman (1819–1858)
Source: Documentation of Slovene 
Etnographic Museum (Slovenski 
etnografski muzej)
15Anja Polajnar: The Portrayal of Africa in the Newspaper Zgodnja Danica from 1849 to 1859
supporter of the mission in Central Africa30 as he, for nearly ten years, regularly publi-
shed, translated, and probably also censored letters and reports by the missionaries in 
Egypt, Sudan, and South Sudan.31 Letters from Central Africa were probably widely 
read, as the newspaper’s advertisement reads: “The newspaper will appear in this spirit 
as it began, and we hope that it will continue to bring many fascinating letters from Central 
Africa.”32 According to Frelih,33 after some time, Knoblehar’s close associates and exter-
nal observers were often critical of the mission he led in Central Africa. However, 
the Catholic press persistently rejected any negative responses and, through direct 
propaganda, made sure that the readers did not doubt the Central African mission’s 
purpose. However, Knoblehar’s death finally confirmed that the illusion of the “great 
mission” came to an end. 
30 Marko Frelih, Slovenci ob Belem Nilu – Dr. Ignacij Knoblehar in njegovi sodelavci v Sudanu sredi 19. stoletja = Slovenians 
Along the Nile - Dr Ignacij Knoblehar and his associates in Sudan in the mid-19th Century (Stična: Muzej krščanstva 
na Slovenskem, 2019), 22. Available at https://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-1H55SW1C/e095c5a2-
de85-4722-8e57-d731a72be84e/PDF.
31 Frelih, Sudanska misija, 15.
32 Unsigned (probably translated by Luka Jeran from the letters of Josef Gostner and Anton Ueberbacher), 
“Naročevanje na Zgodnjo Danico,” Zgodnja Danica, 16. 6. 1853. Available at 
 http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-9HPO6IAZ/9116025f-9f81-4f97-8828-5d0e14264e55/PDF.
33 Frelih, Sudanska misija, 14. 
Portrait of Luka Jeran  
(1818–1896)
Source: Franc Jaklič, Apostolski 
provikar Ignacij Knoblehar in njegovi 
misijonski sodelavci v osrednji Afriki. 
Ljubljana: Ljudska knjigarna, 1943
16 Prispevki za novejšo zgodovino LXI – 2/2021
Presentation of Africa Based on the Direct Experience of 
Missionaries Living in Africa
The following analysis will focus on the most prevalent and repetitive represen-
tations of Africa. The letters and articles must be read in the historical context and 
the context of the mission propaganda. It is important to note that, as Charles Ralph 
Boxer34 claims, missionaries were, at the time, predisposed to considering themselves 
the bearers of not only a superior religion but also a superior culture. Our analysis will 
focus especially on the contrast between the articles written by those who reported 
directly from Africa and those who never set foot in Africa but wrote about it neverthe-
less. Although the articles include rich content about the living conditions and people 
in Egypt and Khartoum, only texts about the people living south of Khartoum will be 
analysed due to the lack of space. 
34 C. R. Boxer, The Church Militant and Iberian Expansion, 1440–1770 (Baltimore, London: The John Hopkins 
University Press, 1978), 40.
Front page of Zgodnja Danica
Source: Zgodnja Danica, 1851, 
naslovnica, https://www.dlib.si/
stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-VHTO993P/
be2ff442-ddb9-498c-b995-
b45dd7771468/PDF, pridobljeno  
27. 10. 2021
17Anja Polajnar: The Portrayal of Africa in the Newspaper Zgodnja Danica from 1849 to 1859
Presentation of Africa: Physical Aspects
One of the most prevalent concepts regarding physical Africa was the claim that 
it was far away. This is interesting because Africa is, in fact, closer to Europe than, for 
example, North America. Therefore, we denounce that the concept of the “faraway 
land” could also signify cultural and not only physical differences. “Beloved Europeans... 
Beloved Slovenians! I send greetings over fields and mountains, desert and country, king-
doms and sea, cities and villages.”35 
In almost every letter, the climate conditions are mentioned and presented from 
the European perspective. The focus is on the temperature of the air: “Instead, I have 
to protect myself from the burning sun so that my brain does not catch fire because the heat 
is between 26 and 30 degrees Celsius.”36
Another common topic was illness. Malaria was widespread in the region along 
the Nile, and at that time, there was no cure for it: “This fever is so widespread around 
here that everyone in Khartoum and the distant surroundings is ill; in many houses, there 
is no one healthy to help others, and there is no cure, so poor people suffer without any 
assistance.”37
The glorification of the river Nile and presentations of various animals and plants 
are omnipresent in the letters. Knoblehar depicts the sight of the Nile as “a magnificent 
view of the high water.”38 Trabant writes about Egypt as the “blessed land” as well as 
about the various plants and animals living along the bank of the “good Nile”.39 
Presentation of Africa: People Living along  
the White Nile
Carl Ralph Boxer writes that “by the early seventeenth century, the western intru-
ders were inclined to rate the Asian cultures as the highest, however still below the 
level of occidental Christendom: the major American civilizations (Aztec, Inca, Maya) 
as next best; and Black Africans in the bottom position as untamed ‘savages’. ”40 
35 Janez Klančnik, “Iz Hartuma. Nekoliko iz pisma, ki ga je pisal rokodelec Janez Klančnik visokočastitemu g. J. Volču, 
duhovnemu vodniku v ljubljanski duhovsnici,” Zgodnja Danica, 6. 4. 1854,  63, 64. Available at 
 http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-MVJEBMUT/2ec3c006-97a1-4627-9991-026a53fd66dc/PDF. 
36 Oton Trabant, “Iz pisma misionarja gospotla Antona Trabanta iz Hartuma,” Zgodnja Danica, 7. 11. 1852, 161. 
Available at https://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-KHABNOBZ/637a4bce-a7f3-4850-b5d8-
6c1d38cf2fed/PDF.
37 Jožef Gostner, “Pismo gosp. Misijonarja Jožefa Gostnerja iz Hartuma,” Zgodnja Danica, 18. 5. 1854, 86. Available at 
https://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:doc-3FI1HQ6R/da3f28cb-295c-425c-ab21-cbf36960dd81/PDF.
38 Ignacij Knoblehar, “Misijonska naznanila Dr. Knobleharja do središniga odbora Mariine družbe na Dunaju,” Zgodnja 
Danica, 1. 7. 1852, 106. Available at http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-BVNGDEE8/4425c841-
1c79-4a5f-b5ff-992994a593ce/PDF.
39 Oton Trabant, “Pismo misjonarja Antona Trabanta do prečastitljiviga knezoškofa Lavantinskiga,” in: Zgodnja 
Danica, 17. 6. 1852, 99. Available at http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-JMTYP75Y/d3197e9a-
-71bc-4eba-9d4d-c00983de8d66/PDF.
40 Boxer, The Church Militant.
18 Prispevki za novejšo zgodovino LXI – 2/2021
The importance of direct experience and stereotypes based on the prevailing 
image can be traced in the following passage: “They are not as wild in their behaviour as 
we often thought. They are friendly, sociable, and eloquent.”41 Yet the authors of the texts 
still referred to Africans as “savages”: “I cannot believe that I live in a land of savages.”42 
Who is a “zamorec/ka”?
When referring to Africans, several terms were used. The most common include 
zamorec/zamorka, zamurec/zamurka, zamurče, černak, černuh, černenc, černi, while ref-
erences to children include words such as zamurček/zamurčica, zamurčik, černuček, 
černiček. The literal translation of the term “zamorec” would be “a person beyond 
41 Unsigned (probably translated by Luka Jeran from the letters of Josef Gostner and Anton Ueberbacher), “Iz 
srednje Afrike,” Zgodnja Danica, 31. 1. 1856, 17. Available at http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-
JT6FQXTF/15c39d1c-b428-47be-8d9f-f3c7d0ccbdee/PDF.
42 Ibid., 18 
Mission 
Announcements 
from Central Africa by 
Ignacij Knoblehar in 
Zgodnja Danica
Source: Zgodnja Danica, 
5. 9. 1850, https://
www.dlib.si/stream/
URN:NBN:SI:DOC-
YUYXR7SX/e2e7c63f-364b-
4244-894e-a7bc7dd74a29/
PDF, pridobljeno 27. 10. 
2021
19Anja Polajnar: The Portrayal of Africa in the Newspaper Zgodnja Danica from 1849 to 1859
the sea”.43 However, not everyone who “came from the other side of the sea” was a 
“zamorec” for Slovenians, as the articles imply that it is characteristic of the actual 
“zamorec/ka” that they have a “velvet black skin colour” and “a quick temper”.44
The many
The writings acquainted the readers with the missionaries’ assumption that many 
Africans could be converted to the Catholic faith. “The praised Nile Valley is quite crow-
ded with people, as there is one village after another here.”45
One of the characteristics of the texts about Africa is the apparent homogeneity or 
“non-differentiation” of the continent:46 “Here, however, I had the opportunity to make 
sure that there was also a significant difference between the savages.”47 However, the early 
missionary press provides a various and culturally diverse image of the many peo-
ples living in today’s Sudan and South Sudan, named with their original names Bari, 
Nubians, Dinka, Kyk, Shilluk, Nuer, Chir, Heliab, Bor, Arol, etc. 
Skilful, bright, lively, happy, beautiful
People living along the White Nile were presented with characteristics perceived 
as positive, e.g. skilful: “people who are willing and generally able to learn arts and crafts”.48 
African children were characterised as “bright”, but in connection to educating them 
in the Christian doctrines. “The children are hearty, happy, and very bright: they learn 
everything – including the Christian doctrine – very quickly.”49 The missionaries further 
characterised Africans as lively and happy: … “Our boys exhibit self-satisfied liveliness and 
joy due to their hot blood.” Moreover, in general, missionaries saw Africans as beautiful 
in terms of their physical appearance: “A ‘zamurec’ is generally thin, fit and strong… If 
it seems that ‘zamorci’ are not beautiful, I would disagree and say that they are beautiful 
people.”50 
43 The dictionary of Slovenian Literary Language states that nowadays the term “zamorec” is a derogatory term for a person 
of “black race”. The synonym is “črnec”. “Zamorec” is also a term for a person who works hard and who has the hardest and 
worst-paid job – e.g., he works as a “zamorc”. – Slovar slovenskega knjižnega jezika. Available at www.fran.si. 
44 Unsigned, “Kerst v ljubljanski nunski cerkvi in ubogi zamorski otročiči,” Zgodnja Danica, 16. 11. 1856. Available at 
http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-GAGSGQMX/f26a2981-9f38-488d-ab10-31f4e2d9bc12/PDF.
45 Oton Trabant, “Pismo misijonarja g. Otona Trabanta do milostiviga visokočastitljiviga Lavantinskiga kneza 
in škofa,” in: Zgodnja Danica, 17. 6. 1852, 99. Available at https://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-
JMTYP75Y/d3197e9a-71bc-4eba-9d4d-c00983de8d66/PDF.
46 John Janzen, Catastrophe Africa: Getting through Stereotypes and Quick Fixes to the Social Reproduction of Health 
(2004). Available at https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/bitstream/handle/1808/14950/Janzen_Representation, 
Ritual,&Social_Renewal.pdf;jsessionid=BC611D806C885B0C73373C59795D1408?sequence=1.
47 Ignacij Knoblehar, “Misijonska naznanila g. Dr. Knobleharja do središniga odbora Marijne družbe na 
Dunaju,” Zgodnja Danica, 19. 7. 1852, 134. Available at https://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-
RVRXMSFE/9d393e9b-9aff-4c6e-b934-6979d298fc24/PDF.
48 Unisgned, “Z Bele reke v srednji Afriki,” Zgodnja Danica, 25. 1. 1855, 14. Available at http://www.dlib.si/stream/
URN:NBN:SI:DOC-EPH0AEZH/14bdb8c5-c2ec-475e-8138-1c450999a179/PDF.
49 Ibid.
50 Unsigned (probably translated by Luka Jeran from the letters of Josef Gostner and Anton Ueberbacher), “Iz 
srednje Afrike,” Zgodnja Danica, 31. 1. 1856, 17. Available at http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-
JT6FQXTF/15c39d1c-b428-47be-8d9f-f3c7d0ccbdee/PDF. 
20 Prispevki za novejšo zgodovino LXI – 2/2021
Wild, savage, military spirit, hot blood 
Although the majority of the missionaries wrote about Africans favourably and 
respectfully, they still referred to them as “wild” and “savage”: “I wish that two priests 
would come to teach with me in schools and present the Catholic religion to the wildest 
nations.”51 Later, the missionary press created a stereotype of the helpless African. 
However, the reports by the missionaries who were actually in Africa reveal that: 
“They (Africans) possess a belligerent spirit and dedicate a lot of their time to the army – 
village fighting against village, nation against nation.”52 The letters by Janez Klančnik, a 
craftsman, express the most extreme views of all the analysed material. He referred to 
Africans as inhuman: “These people are more like cattle than people in their behaviour and 
life because they think nothing, nothing of God, and neither do they care for food or clothing; 
they are even more ugly than cattle.”53 Another letter reveals that the missionaries were 
of a similar opinion as well: “The esteemed missionary says that baptism is slow: savages 
must first become human, and only then they can become Christians, so it takes time.”54 
Lazy and “underdeveloped”, slavery
On the other hand, the missionaries described the people living along the White 
Nile with negative characteristics such as “lazy” and “underdeveloped”. The authors 
wrote from the Western viewpoint of development and progress. Furthermore, cha-
racterising people in Africa as lazy can be considered a binary opposition to “diligence” 
(pridnost), which is one of the autostereotypes about Slovenians.55 Oton Trabant 
wrote: “There are fertile places along the Nile, yet the people are poor because they are too 
lazy to cultivate the land.”56 Slavery was mentioned in the context of the “slave trade”. 
According to the articles, missionaries fought against it and sympathised with the 
Africans: “These poor people are sold at the fair like dumb cattle. It is heartbreaking when 
mothers and children are separated.”57 
51 Ignacij Knoblehar, “Misijonska naznanila prečastitega gospoda provikarja Dr. Ignacija Knobleharja do kardinala 
Franconija – vodja v Rimski propaganda,” Zgodnja Danica, 11. 12. 1856. Available at http://www.dlib.si/stream/
URN:NBN:SI:DOC-XQVFSFK1/5502804d-45f2-4318-a11d-7f87e85d32a1/PDF.
52 Unsigned (probably translated by Luka Jeran from the letters of Josef Gostner and Anton Ueberbacher), “Iz 
srednje Afrike,” Zgodnja Danica, 31. 1. 1856, 17. Available at http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-
JT6FQXTF/15c39d1c-b428-47be-8d9f-f3c7d0ccbdee/PDF.
53 Janez Klančnik, “Iz pisma Janeza Klančnika od Sv. Križa pri Beli reki,” Zgodnja Danica, 16. 7. 1857, 116. Available at 
http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-49C67DM2/38a8d4e4-4fac-4ba7-91a8-a59bed1636e4/PDF.
54 Janez Klančnik, “Iz pisma Janeza Klančnika od Sv. Križa pri Beli reki,” Zgodnja Danica, 9. 7. 1857, 112. Available at 
http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-FUDULRIC/812ebe98-c9fa-4ee4-a9de-edd3e049c4a5/PDF 
55 Asja Nina Kovačev, “Nacionalna identiteta in slovenski avtostereotip,” Psihološka obzorja Vol. 6, Nr. 4 (1997): 
59. Available at https://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-9TA88HA6/815fa898-0128-4bca-8714-
607a93ea4f68/PDF
56 Oton Trabant, “Pismo misijonarja Otona Trabanta do prečestitega grova Lavantinskega,” Zgodnja Danica, 9. 6. 
1853, 95. Available at https://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-6VCDF60N/1d375854-01b7-43a3-
87f3-e87232116a92/PDF.
57 Janez Kocijančič, “Pisma gospod Kocijančiča, misijonarja v Hartumu VIII,” Zgodnja Danica, 19.  5.  1853, 81. Available 
at http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-PWRUNMFK/2aaf925f-1440-4e75-967c-f4a6fa0c19b0/PDF
21Anja Polajnar: The Portrayal of Africa in the Newspaper Zgodnja Danica from 1849 to 1859
“Superstition”
Catholic missionaries were completely convinced that only their religion represen-
ted “the way, truth, and life.”58 The disregard for the local African religions is evident, 
as the missionaries referred to them as superstitions and characterised them with pro-
foundly negative adjectives such as “stupid”, “ugly”, “delusional”, and even “dangerous”. 
“Many people may have been amazed by such stupid and ugly ‘zamur’ superstitions: let us 
believe that there is no shortage of such idiots among us who ascribe strength to moderate 
people. However, are such men not much blacker than unbelieving fools who, in the light of 
the holy faith, nevertheless attribute the power of God to man? Shame on you, the ugly enemy 
who steals the glory of God and a good name for men! Woe to you, the ugly fellow who blinds 
people against the first commandment of God with superstition and empty religions.” The 
failure to recognise the importance of rain men, a highly esteemed position among 
Africans – “The ‘zamurec’ is superstitious and pays dearly for his imaginary rain-men,”59 
– turned against the missionaries in time of drought, as they started to be blamed for 
the lack of rain.60 
The missionary press kept publishing invitations to Slovenians to join the mission 
in Central Africa. The predominant belief was that only conversion to the Catholic 
faith and consequently the acceptance of the European way of life could lift Africans 
out of “poverty”, “underdevelopment”, and the so-called “spiritual darkness”: “Pray 
that God may have mercy on your black sisters and send devout women to this land who 
can educate the poor girls; otherwise, they will not learn anything. They do not know how to 
pray. They do not knit, they do not sew, they do not wash; they are also practically without 
any clothes, even when they grow up.”61
Writing about Africa from Home – Indirect Experience
Several articles about Africa, published in the Zgodnja Danica newspaper, were 
written by people who never set foot on the African continent. These texts reveal the 
collective imagination about Africa and Africans, seen as “exotic” by the Europeans62 
of the mid-19th century. It was typical of these texts that the missionaries were glorified 
58 Paul Gundani, “Views and Attitudes of Missionaries Toward African Religion in Southern Africa During the 
Portuguese Era,” Religion and Theology, Vol 11, Issue 3–4 (2004): 300. https://doi.org/10.1163/157430104X00140.
59 Unsigned (probably translated by Luka Jeran from the letters of Josef Gostner and Anton Ueberbacher), “Iz 
srednje Afrike,” Zgodnja Danica, 31. 1. 1856, 17. Available at http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-
JT6FQXTF/15c39d1c-b428-47be-8d9f-f3c7d0ccbdee/PDF.
60 Frelih, Sudanska misija, 15. 
61 Janez Kocijančič, “Pisma gospod Kocijančiča, misijonarja v Hartumu VIII,” Zgodnja Danica (Ljubljana: Jožef 
Blaznik, 1853b), 66. Available at http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-DTAJWZQN/6e349b00-4fee-
4f78-be3a-3ed18559db32/PDF.
62 For more about the 19th century “human zoos” and the way in which people were put on display as a form of enter-
tainment in many cities across the “Western” world as well as in Trieste, which was part of the Habsburg Monarchy, 
see the article by Daša Ličen, “Razstaviti drugega/Saidin prihod v Trst,” Glasnik Slovenskega etnološkega društva = 
Bulletin of the Slovenian Ethnological Society, Nr. 1/2 (Ljubljana: Slovensko etnološko društvo, 2018): 5–15.
22 Prispevki za novejšo zgodovino LXI – 2/2021
and portrayed as people who left the territory of today’s Slovenia to “pull out the thorns 
in a foreign land”.63 Missionaries were seen as “heroes” who sacrificed their lives by 
travelling to a “dangerous faraway land” full of dangerous animals to help the “poor” 
Africans by leading them to “salvation”. Generally, the “indirect” articles presented 
Africans as a homogenous entity and “an unfortunate clan that believed in terrible super-
stitions and was sold into slavery in distant lands.”64 Africans were mainly presented as 
“unhappy, ignorant poor black fools”,65 “abandoned, savage, indecent, cruel, inhuman, 
neglected in soul and body.”66
63 See more in Unsigned, “Slovenilka the poem,” Zgodnja Danica, 5. 2. 1852, 21. Available at https://www.dlib.si/
stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-OUE3LWQC/a2dfae4b-1c88-496d-89cf-0b535b94351b/PDF.
64 Jožef Partel, “Sužnji Kamov rod in ladija rešenja,” Zgodnja Danica, 8. 4. 1852, 57. Available at https://www.dlib.si/
stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-FCRTC2X5/8f0449b9-666e-4612-8460-a27d0876ed96/PDF.
65 Unsigned (probably translated by Luka Jeran from the letters of Josef Gostner and Anton Ueberbacher), “Ogled 
po Slovenskim,” Zgodnja Danica, 2. 7. 1857, 108. Available at http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-
GR0AYXOW/a4f8e19a-9e1e-4701-9f1b-678f6bb994e2/PDF.
66 Unsigned (probably written by the editor Luka Jeran), “Kerst dveh zamorskih dekličev v Škofji Loki,” Zgodnja 
Danica, 23. 4. 1857, 65. Available at 
 http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-TALFSTUO/884cadc6-5126-49b0-9cd9-aa3b29de3d0e/PDF.
Mission Announcements 
from Central Africa  
by Janez Kocijančič  
in Zgodnja Danica
Source: Zgodnja Danica,  
9. 10. 1851, https://www.dlib.
si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-
OCKF4MTL/152dd4c4-6594-
4232-8675-b269502702c0/PDF, 
pridobljeno 27. 10. 2021
23Anja Polajnar: The Portrayal of Africa in the Newspaper Zgodnja Danica from 1849 to 1859
Conversely, the land of today’s Slovenia was presented as “free, full of light, joyful” 
because of the “light of our faith, which is the only right thing.” This is why Slovenians 
should “show mercy to the poor ‘zamurci’ and help them from their mental and physical 
slavery”.67 Slovenians saw missionary activities as “charitable acts” and their actions 
(donation actions) as benevolent help to Africans. Simultaneously, several donation 
actions, poems, and a theatre play encouraging people to “help the Africans” represen-
ted an integral part of Zgodnja Danica. 
The request for “gracious donations for the African mission” together with a list of 
people who have donated money, tools, books, and liturgical objects was regularly 
published in Zgodnja Danica.68 
The editor of Zgodnja Danica, Luka Jeran, started the action “Redemption of 
an African child” (Odkup zamorčka), where Slovenians raised money to purchase 
African children from the slave markets in Khartoum and Cairo to be raised in the 
Catholic faith.69 The “godfather” could give a young African a new name, often typi-
cally Slovenian; for example, Jožef Kranjski,70 because “this is how more benefactors can 
experience the joy of adopting a ‘zamorček’ child.”71 The theatre play focused on whether 
it was better to help locally or in a “faraway land”. “I want to say that there are many such 
67 Unsigned (probably written by Luka Jeran), “Kerst v ljubljanski nunski cerkvi in ubogi zamorski otročiči,” Zgodnja 
Danica, 23. 11. 1856, 187. Available at http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-BSGFGCP3/1dadf897-
d701-4a73-8268-f58139d1577b/PDF.
68 Unsigned (probably translated by Luka Jeran from the letters of Josef Gostner and Anton Ueberbacher), 
“Mili darovi,” Zgodnja Danica, 21. 4. 1853, 68. Available at http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-
DTAJWZQN/6e349b00-4fee-4f78-be3a-3ed18559db32/PDF. 
69 Andrej Studen, “Jožef Kranjski in drugi Jeranovi zamorčki,” Slovenska kronika XIX. stoletja. 1800–1860 (Ljubljana: 
Nova revija, 2001), 429, 430. 
70 Janez (in bralec Danice), “Zamurček Jožef Kranjski,” Zgodnja Danica, 14. 7. 1853, 116. Available at http://www.dlib.
si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-W15KGZ5R/7823391a-2ce7-43d7-b72b-af9802bfb28d/PDF.
71 “Luka Jeran,” Ognjišče. Available at https://revija.ognjisce.si/revija-ognjisce/27-obletnica-meseca/1837-luka-jeran.
Gracious donations for  
the African mission  
in Zgodnja Danica
Source: Zgodnja Danica,  
31. 10. 1850, https://www.dlib.
si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-
OOW95BWE/89976a47-bd7c-
4542-8231-f50556be861a/PDF, 
pridobljeno 27. 10. 2021
24 Prispevki za novejšo zgodovino LXI – 2/2021
beggars who are lazy and spend money on drinking. Therefore, it is ten times better to give 
the money to the ‘zamurcik’”.72
Zgodnja Danica reported about Sudanese children brought to the lands of today’s 
Slovenia to become missionaries and nuns themselves and later spread the Catholic 
faith among the local people.73 A series of four front-page articles about the broa-
dly attended baptism rites of African children shows the importance of the event 
for Slovenians. After baptism, the Sudanese children were supposed to become “our 
(Slovenian) brothers and sisters.” However, they were still perceived as “the Other” 
among Slovenians, probably because of the colour of their skin.74
The excitement of Slovenians about Africa can be summed up with the continuous 
reports about church bells transported to Gondokoro: “New bells for Khartoum are 
definitely near Alexandria. God give them luck on the way.” On the other hand, Africans, 
who were most probably never asked about what they wish, showed what they thought 
of the missionaries’ activities by hanging the bells from Ljubljana “on a tree, so they 
(Africans) could ring them.”75
Conclusion
The Zgodnja Danica newspaper was the most important medium for generating 
representations and stereotypes about Africa and Africans in the mid-19th century in 
the territory of what is nowadays Slovenia. The analysed articles include the missio-
naries’ descriptions of the habits and customs in the African societies living along the 
Nile at the time, which – in the context of the mission and in combination with the 
ethnographic collection kept in the Slovenian Ethnographic Museum – can be regar-
ded as a valuable source about Sudan and South Sudan. Moreover, they represent the 
Slovenian heritage that can also be an excellent source for understanding the mindset 
of the authors, collectors, and “Slovenians” in general about “the Other” during the 
decade under consideration. The popularity of stories from Central Africa went hand 
in hand with the continuous donation actions, while the broadly attended baptism 
rites of African children in Ljubljana might exhibit elements of contemporaneous “sen-
sationalism” and propaganda in favour of the mission.   
72 See “Jožef Krajnski,” in: Zgodnja Danica, 21. 7. 1853, 119. Available at 
 http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-2CL9UWFE/e1bf9b34-4fcf-4fbb-ac17-7de0f97aa875/PDF.
73 For a detailed description of the baptism rite, see: Unsigned, “Kerst ljubljanski nunski cerkvi in ubogi zamorski 
otročiči,” Zgodnja Danica, 9. 11. 1856, 178. Available at 
 http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-Y1CS97C8/f030342b-d2c5-4e1d-8ba6-d0c287fb6f33/PDF.
74 Frelih, Sudanska misija, 18. 
75 Unsigned, “Ogled po Slovenskim,” Zgodnja Danica, 2. 7. 1857, 109. Available at 
 http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-GR0AYXOW/a4f8e19a-9e1e-4701-9f1b-678f6bb994e2/PDF.
25Anja Polajnar: The Portrayal of Africa in the Newspaper Zgodnja Danica from 1849 to 1859
To summarise, the missionaries presented people living along the Nile as “good 
savages”. They described them with favourable characteristics such as skilful, bright, 
kind, agile, and therefore as people who had the potential to become good Christians. 
However, their mission had to address the characteristics perceived as unfavourable: 
belligerence, laziness, ignorance, and the lack of tools to cultivate the land along the 
Nile that the missionaries glorified. Therefore, the readers of Zgodnja Danica got an 
impression that Africa was far away in the physical as well as cultural sense, compared 
to Slovenian culture. The presentation of various (sometimes also dangerous) animals 
and plants, unhealthy climate, and recurring illnesses created a stereotype of Africa as 
a dangerous land. Perhaps this even enhanced the appreciation of the territory that is 
nowadays Slovenia, consolidating and enhancing the emerging national aspirations 
of Slovenians. On the one hand, the missionaries presented the various African soci-
eties living along the White Nile and therefore not creating a homogeneous sociolo-
gical category, while at the same time, they homogenised these people by referring 
to them as uncivilised savages. We can focus on the detailed descriptions of everyday 
life, habits, accommodations, and rituals of the people living along the Nile, keeping 
in mind that the texts in question were written in the context of the missionary ide-
ology and the Western perception of development and progress. Authors who never 
set foot in Africa portrayed it in an even more patronising way, emphasising the stere-
otype about the helpless African living on a dark continent where poor, unhappy, and 
abandoned people lived so far away. With the Catholic population in the majority, the 
Slovenian lands were portrayed as the exact opposite of Africa: as the land of the “true” 
faith. Africa, on the other side, was depicted as the home of uncivilised and helpless 
“savages” who could become “civilized” and “developed” only with the assistance and 
support from Slovenian/European Catholics. The front-page reports about baptisms 
of young African children, the continuous fundraising for the Central African mis-
sion, the action to redeem an African child (Odkup zamorčka), and the continuous 
following of the Slovenian church bells on their way to Gondokoro indicate the mass 
interest of Slovenians in “helping” the “poor Africans”.
Perhaps besides describing Africans, the articles reveal even more about Slovenians 
themselves at that time. The formation of the Slovenian nation and the first claims 
to the Slovenian entity “needed” “the Others” and therefore created a heterostere-
otype about Africans as the complete opposite to the autostereotype of Slovenians 
as diligent, cultivated, white, hard-working people. The period under consideration 
coincided with the 1848 revolution and the subsequent neo-absolutist. Perhaps the 
popularity of reports from Africa and the recurring donation actions of Slovenians 
“to help the poor Africans” was one of the elements contributing to the process of the 
Slovenian national perception, which could be, in a way, also constructed around the 
identity of those who “benevolently help” the “poor ‘zamorci’.”
26 Prispevki za novejšo zgodovino LXI – 2/2021
Sources and Literature
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Zgodnja Danica, 1850–1857.
1850
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 https://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-YUYXR7SX/e2e7c63f-364b-4244-894e-
a7bc7dd74a29/PDF.
•  "Darila za čast. misijonarja g. Dr. Ignacja Knobleherja," 31. 10. 1850. Available at:
 https://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-OOW95BWE/89976a47-bd7c-4542-8231-
f50556be861a/PDF.
1851
• "Zgodnja Danica," 1851, naslovnica. Available at: 
 https://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-VHTO993P/be2ff442-ddb9-498c-b995-
b45dd7771468/PDF.
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b269502702c0/PDF.
1852
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družbe na Dunaju.« Zgodnja Danica, 19. 7. 1852. Available at 
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6979d298fc24/PDF.
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na Dunaju.« Zgodnja Danica, 1. 7. 1852. Available at 
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992994a593ce/PDF.
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a27d0876ed96/PDF.
• Trabant, Oton. »Iz pisma misionarja gospotla Otona Trabanta iz Hartuma.« Zgodnja Danica, 
7. 11. 1852. Available at 
28 Prispevki za novejšo zgodovino LXI – 2/2021
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skiga kneza in škofa.« Zgodnja Danica, 17. 6. 1852. Available at 
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c00983de8d66/PDF.
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1853
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dnja Danica, 14. 7. 1853. Available at http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-
W15KGZ5R/7823391a-2ce7-43d7-b72b-af9802bfb28d/PDF.
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f4a6fa0c19b0/PDF.
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Zgodnja Danica, 9. 6. 1853. Available at https://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-
6VCDF60N/1d375854-01b7-43a3-87f3-e87232116a92/PDF.
• Unsigned. »Mili darovi.«  Zgodnja Danica, 21. 4. 1853, 68. Available at http://www.dlib.si/
stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-DTAJWZQN/6e349b00-4fee-4f78-be3a-3ed18559db32/PDF. 
• Unsigned. »Naročevanje na Zgodnjo Danico.« Zgodnja Danica, 16. 6. 1853. Available at 
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5d0e14264e55/PDF.
1854
• Gostner, Jožef. »Pismo gosp. Misijonarja Jožefa Gostnerja iz Hartuma.« Zgodnja Danica, 18. 5. 
1854. Available at https://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:doc-3FI1HQ6R/da3f28cb-295c-
425c-ab21-cbf36960dd81/PDF.
• Klančnik, Janez. »Iz Hartuma. Nekoliko iz pisma, ki ga je pisal rokodelec Janez Klančnik vrisoko-
castitemu g. J. Volču, duhovnemu vodniku v ljubljanski duhovsnici.« Zgodnja Danica, 6. 4. 1854. 
Available at http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-MVJEBMUT/2ec3c006-97a1-
4627-9991-026a53fd66dc/PDF.
1855
• Unsigned. »Z Bele reke v srednji Afriki.« Zgodnja Danica, 25. 1. 1855. Available at 
 http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-EPH0AEZH/14bdb8c5-c2ec-475e-8138-
1c450999a179/PDF.
1856
• Knoblehar, Ignacij. »Misijonska naznanila prečastitega gospoda provikarja Dr. Ignacija Knoble-
harja do kardinala Franconija- vodja v Rimski propagandi.« Zgodnja Danica, 11. 12. 1856. Avai-
lable at http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-XQVFSFK1/5502804d-45f2-4318-
a11d-7f87e85d32a1/PDF.
29Anja Polajnar: The Portrayal of Africa in the Newspaper Zgodnja Danica from 1849 to 1859
Anja Polajnar
PRIKAZ AFRIKE V ČASOPISU ZGODNJA DANICA  
OD LETA 1849 DO 1859
POVZETEK
Ignacij Knoblehar, rojen v Škocjanu na Dolenjskem (danes del Slovenije), je v 
desetletju 1849–1858 vodil katoliški misijon v Srednji Afriki med ljudmi, ki so živeli 
ob Belem Nilu v današnjem Sudanu in Južnem Sudanu. Knoblehar in njegovi sodelavci 
so v omenjenem desetletju redno pisali pisma, poročila in pesmi, v katerih so opisovali 
svoje poglede na tamkajšnje razmere in ljudi. Pisma so bila redno objavljana v časopisu 
Zgodnja Danica, urednik Luka Jeran pa jih je cenzuriral. To obdobje sovpada z desetle-
tjem po prelomnem letu 1848, ko so Slovenci začeli graditi svojo državo in zahtevali 
avtonomijo kot del avstrijskega cesarstva. V tem desetletju je slovenska prizadevanja 
za uveljavitev naroda zatrl neoabsolutistični režim, poleg tega pa sta bila dovoljena le 
dva časopisa v slovenskem jeziku s pretežno konservativno in katoliško vsebino. Eden 
od njiju je bil časopis Zgodnja Danica, ki je zato takrat verjetno predstavljal redno 
branje med Slovenci in Slovenkami. Analiza razkriva razliko med članki, ki temeljijo 
na neposredni izkušnji iz Afrike, in tistimi, ki so jih napisali avtorji, ki na tej celini 
• Unsigned. »Iz srednje Afrike.« Zgodnja Danica, 31. 1. 1856. Available at http://www.dlib.si/
stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-JT6FQXTF/15c39d1c-b428-47be-8d9f-f3c7d0ccbdee/PDF.
• Unsigned. »Kerst ljubljanski nunski cerkvi in ubogi zamorski otročiči.« Zgodnja Danica, 9. 11. 
1856. Available at http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-Y1CS97C8/f030342b-d2c5-
4e1d-8ba6-d0c287fb6f33/PDF.
• Unsigned. »Kerst v ljubljanski nunski cerkvi in ubogi zamorski otročiči.« Zgodnja Danica, 16. 11. 
1856. Available at http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-GAGSGQMX/f26a2981-
9f38-488d-ab10-31f4e2d9bc12/PDF.
• Unsigned. »Kerst v ljubljanski nunski cerkvi in ubogi zamorski otročiči.« Zgodnja Danica, 23. 
11. 1856. Available at http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-BSGFGCP3/1dadf897-
d701-4a73-8268-f58139d1577b/PDF.
1857
• Klančnik, Janez. »Iz pisma Janeza Klančnika od Sv. Križa pri Beli reki.« Zgodnja Danica, 9. 7. 1857. 
Available at http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-FUDULRIC/812ebe98-c9fa-4ee4-
a9de-edd3e049c4a5/PDF.
• Klančnik, Janez. »Iz pisma Janeza Klančnika od Sv. Križa pri Beli reki. « Zgodnja Danica, 16. 7. 
1857. Available at http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-49C67DM2/38a8d4e4-4fac-
4ba7-91a8-a59bed1636e4/PDF.
• Unsigned. »Ogled po Slovenskim.« Zgodnja Danica, 2. 7. 1857. Available at http://www.dlib.si/
stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-GR0AYXOW/a4f8e19a-9e1e-4701-9f1b-678f6bb994e2/PDF.
• Unsigned. »Kerst dveh zamorskih dekličev v Škofji Loki.« Zgodnja Danica, 23. 4. 1857. Available at 
http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-TALFSTUO/884cadc6-5126-49b0-9cd9-
aa3b29de3d0e/PDF.
30 Prispevki za novejšo zgodovino LXI – 2/2021
nikoli niso bili, a so kljub temu pisali o njej. Misijonarji so deželo in ljudi, ki so živeli 
ob Belem Nilu, predstavljali z zahodne perspektive, pri čemer so omenjali »nezdrave« 
podnebne razmere, izjemno vročino, nevarne živali, bolezni in odročnost.
Po eni strani so ljudi, živeče na ozemlju, ki je danes Sudan in Južni Sudan, predsta-
vljali kot bistre, lepe, prijazne, srečne in spretne. Po drugi strani pa so bili opisani tudi 
kot leni, nerazviti, necivilizirani in bojeviti. Nekatera besedila so opisovala ljudi kot 
nečloveške in omalovaževala njihovo vero, ki so jo imenovali »vraževerje«. Članki ne 
homogenizirajo celine v eno samo enoto, temveč opisujejo različna ljudstva, ki živijo 
ob Nilu, in jih imenujejo z njihovimi izvirnimi imeni. 
Drugi del analize se osredotoča na besedila, igre in pesmi avtorjev, ki niso nikoli 
stopili na afriško celino. Ta besedila konstruirajo in homogenizirajo ljudi, ki živijo v 
Afriki, in jim pripisujejo lastnosti, kot so »nemoč« in »revnost«, življenje v »temni« 
deželi, po drugi strani pa poveličujejo misijonarje, ki so po njihovem mnenju žrtvo-
vali svoja življenja, zapustili dom in odpotovali »daleč« v »nevarne« kraje, da bi 
»pomagali« »revnim« Afričanom. Nasprotno pa so ljudje in področje, kjer je danes 
Slovenija, prikazani kot »razsvetljeni«, »civilizirani« in »razviti«. Dobrodušni 
Slovenci naj bi »pomagali« Afričanom s sodelovanjem pri različnih »donatorskih« 
akcijah, s katerimi so po eni strani zbirali sredstva za Srednjeafriško katoliško misijo, 
po drugi strani pa med slovenskim prebivalstvom širili velik ugled misije. Slovenci so 
poleg tega vsebine, ki so se nanašale na Afriko in Afričane ter Afričanke, dojemali kot 
»fascinantne« in najverjetneje tudi zato kupovali revijo. Analizirana besedila kažejo, 
da so se prebivalci Slovenije videli kot pravo nasprotje Afričanov in Afričank, zato so 
želeli in znali pomagati tistim, za katere so menili, da živijo v »slabših« razmerah. 
Nekateri stereotipi in predsodki o Afriki in Afričanih ter Afričankah iz 19. stoletja so 
še dandanes občasno del medijskega diskurza. Razumevanje njihovega izvora lahko 
pomaga pri njihovem premagovanju, saj preprečuje reprodukcijo v sodobnem javnem 
diskurzu.