Meyerbeer resumed work on "L'Africaine" (the original working title) in 1841 and completed the first draft and a piano score of the first two acts in 1843, after which he again set the project aside. The original story was set in Spain during the reign of Philip III. The protagonist was a naval officer by the name of Fernand (based on Ferdinand de Soto), who buys Sélika as a slave. While sailing for Mexico in Act 3, his ships are forced to seek shelter on the coast of Sélika's kingdom in Africa on the Niger River.