EXPLORERS

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Great Explorers: Africa

Despite having contact with northern Africa for millennia, European knowledge of the continent’s sub-Saharan region was minimal at best until the early 19th Century. Despite accomplishments during the Age of Discovery, little was known about the vast continent. A number of eager explorers from all over the world became drawn to it, enticed by its untapped potential, with their exploits triggering the controversial Scramble for Africa as various European powers contested for territorial colonisation.

Richard Francis Burton

One of Britain’s most iconic and individualistic explorers, Richard Francis Burton was a true polymath. Known for his immense linguistic capabilities, he was believed to have been able to speak 29 different languages. Truly fascinated by other cultures, he was known for conducting detailed examinations on a number of different societies with which he engaged. Major feats of his included a translation of iconic text ‘One Thousand and One Nights’ and a journey to Mecca at a time when this was forbidden to Europeans. He is perhaps best known as being, along with John Hanging Speke, the first European to travel to the Great Lakes of Africa. Funded by the Royal Geographical Society, he arrived in Zanzibar in 1856 on a search for the source of the River Nile. 

Despite contending with disease and exhaustion, the two explorers surveyed a wealth of lakes including Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika. Burton and Speke fell out following this journey over credit and debt issues. Burton was known as a maverick and sometimes controversial figure, known for rejecting the standard stances on colonialism and British ethnocentrism. He was also known for his interest and purported participation in a number of taboo sexual acts, particularly those of foreign cultures. One of the most unique figures in the canon of European explorers, he was a true outlier.

John Hanning Speke

An associate turned rival of Burton, John Hanning Speke’s career and life were defined by his three expeditions to discover the source of the River Nile. Taking part on Burton’s expedition, he broke out on his own following their joint discovery of Lake Tanganyika in 1858. He discovered Lake Victoria during this detour and put forward the view that this was indeed the source of the Nile, which Burton rejected and the Royal Geographic Society regarded with disbelief. 

Speke conducted two more expeditions. He found himself eclipsed by the accomplishments of the more charismatic and popular Burton. The two were scheduled for a debate regarding the source of the Nile. However, Speke was killed in a hunting accident the day before by his own gun. Historians are divided as to whether it was the result of an accident or suicide. Most favour the former although a still-spiteful Burton promoted the latter. After his death, Morton Stanley proved that Speke’s hypothesis was indeed correct.

David Livingstone

Arguably Britain’s definitive African explorer, David Livingstone has a high position amongst the icons of exploration, enjoying an almost mythical status amongst his contemporaries. Born and raised in Scotland to a working class family, he moved to London to study medicine and became enamoured with the prospect of travelling as a missionary to Africa. Known for his Christian values, keen scientific mind and vehement opposition to slavery, religion was a major motivating factor in Livingstone’s exploration of Africa. He felt it was his purpose in life to expound the teachings of Christianity. 

During his travels in the mid-19th Century, he played an instrumental role in consolidating and expanding western knowledge of African geography, discovering and naming Victoria Falls and becoming the first European to traverse the width of Southern Africa. Upon his return he was greeted as a hero, with many appreciating his accomplishments and his rags-to-riches narrative. 

He continued his explorations of Africa whilst dedicating his time to criticisms of the barbaric slave trade and attempting to find the source of the Nile. He ultimately died on his final expedition, encountering fellow explorer Henry Morton Stanley when near his death.

Henry Morton Stanley

Picking up where the iconic Livingstone left off was the Welsh-American Henry Morton Stanley. Known for his iconic greeting: ‘Dr Livingstone I presume?’, Morton Stanley was a vaunted explorer in his own right, albeit a far more controversial one. Born and raised in Wales before making a name for himself as a soldier during the American Civil War, he then became a journalist for the New York Herald. Made famous for his successful search for Livingstone, he went on to become a major African explorer. 

He charted much of Central Africa and saw the potential of the Congo region as a colony, a proposition rejected by the British. He played a major role in its annexation by King Leopold II of Belgium and was known for his brutal techniques of coercive labour. Although he was knighted and found success later in life, retrospective views of Stanley have been far less flattering. Critics draw attention to his cruelty and racist views of Africans. He is believed to be an inspiration in Joseph Conrad’s iconic novel ‘Heart of Darkness’.

And as always have a chilled day from the Viking