White man vs. an entire empire

Some IG wall description:

In Muslim West Africa in the 1800s, millet was far more than just a type of food. As the German traveler Heinrich Barth discovered soon after crossing the Sahara Desert, it was also a sign of hope, rite of passage, a currency, and a diplomatic gift from Shaykh ‘Umar to Queen Victoria…

Reply:

This is such a white saviour description which you don’t even realize you’re complicit in. Honestly. Why is it about “discovery” always? Who’s great here? An entire West African empire or one man? Could this description be written from the west African POV? And can “discovered” be dropped altogether? Try “learned” or something like that. It’s a thought.

Wall description rewritten (take 1, but needs huge re-work!)

In Muslim West Africa in the 1800s, millet was far more than just a type of food. It was also a sign of hope, rite of passage, and even a currency. A German traveler, Heinrich Barth learned about this great empire and was later befriended by Shaykh ‘Umar, leader of the Kanem-Bornu Empire. A few years later, Barth helped organize a delegation for Shaykh ‘Umar and Queen Victoria, where she was gifted millet…