curiousa2z
Be patient till the last.
On this day in 1871, journalist Henry Morton Stanley begins his famous
search through Africa for the missing British explorer Dr. David
Livingstone.
In the late 19th century, Europeans and Americans were deeply
fascinated by the "Dark Continent" of Africa and its many mysteries.
Few did more to increase Africa's fame than Livingstone, one of
England's most intrepid explorers. In August 1865, he set out on a
planned two-year expedition to find the source of the Nile River.
Livingstone also wanted to help bring about the abolition of the slave
trade, which was devastating Africa's population.
Almost six years after his expedition began, little had been heard
from Livingstone. James Gordon Bennett, Jr., editor of the New York
Herald, decided to capitalize on the public's craze for news of their
hero. He sent Stanley to lead an expedition into the African
wilderness to find Livingstone or bring back proof of his death. At
age 28, Stanley had his own fascinating past. As a young orphan in
Wales, he crossed the Atlantic on the crew of a merchant ship. He
jumped ship in New Orleans and later served in the Civil War as both a
Confederate and a Union soldier before beginning a career in
journalism.
After setting out from Zanzibar in March 1871, Stanley led his caravan
of nearly 2,000 men into the interior of Africa. Nearly eight months
passed--during which Stanley contracted dysentery, cerebral malaria
and smallpox--before the expedition approached the village of Ujiji,
on the shore of Lake Tanganyika. Sick and poverty-stricken,
Livingstone had come to Ujiji that July after living for some time at
the mercy of Arab slave traders. When Stanley's caravan entered the
village on October 27, flying the American flag, villagers crowded
toward the new arrivals. Spotting a white man with a gray beard in the
crowd, Stanley stepped toward him and stretched out his hand: "Dr.
Livingstone, I presume?"
These words--and Livingstone's grateful response--soon became famous
across Europe and the United States. Though Stanley urged Livingstone
to return with him to London, the explorer vowed to continue his
original mission. Livingstone died 18 months later in today's Zambia;
his body was embalmed and returned to Britain, where he was buried in
Westminster Abbey. As for Stanley, he returned to Africa to fulfill a
promise he had made to Livingstone to find the source of the Nile. He
later damaged his reputation by accepting money from King Leopold II
of Belgium to help create the Belgian-ruled Congo Free State and
promote the slave trade. When he left Africa, Stanley resumed his
British citizenship and even served in Parliament, but when he died he
was refused burial in Westminster Abbey because of his actions in the
Congo Free State.
search through Africa for the missing British explorer Dr. David
Livingstone.
In the late 19th century, Europeans and Americans were deeply
fascinated by the "Dark Continent" of Africa and its many mysteries.
Few did more to increase Africa's fame than Livingstone, one of
England's most intrepid explorers. In August 1865, he set out on a
planned two-year expedition to find the source of the Nile River.
Livingstone also wanted to help bring about the abolition of the slave
trade, which was devastating Africa's population.
Almost six years after his expedition began, little had been heard
from Livingstone. James Gordon Bennett, Jr., editor of the New York
Herald, decided to capitalize on the public's craze for news of their
hero. He sent Stanley to lead an expedition into the African
wilderness to find Livingstone or bring back proof of his death. At
age 28, Stanley had his own fascinating past. As a young orphan in
Wales, he crossed the Atlantic on the crew of a merchant ship. He
jumped ship in New Orleans and later served in the Civil War as both a
Confederate and a Union soldier before beginning a career in
journalism.
After setting out from Zanzibar in March 1871, Stanley led his caravan
of nearly 2,000 men into the interior of Africa. Nearly eight months
passed--during which Stanley contracted dysentery, cerebral malaria
and smallpox--before the expedition approached the village of Ujiji,
on the shore of Lake Tanganyika. Sick and poverty-stricken,
Livingstone had come to Ujiji that July after living for some time at
the mercy of Arab slave traders. When Stanley's caravan entered the
village on October 27, flying the American flag, villagers crowded
toward the new arrivals. Spotting a white man with a gray beard in the
crowd, Stanley stepped toward him and stretched out his hand: "Dr.
Livingstone, I presume?"
These words--and Livingstone's grateful response--soon became famous
across Europe and the United States. Though Stanley urged Livingstone
to return with him to London, the explorer vowed to continue his
original mission. Livingstone died 18 months later in today's Zambia;
his body was embalmed and returned to Britain, where he was buried in
Westminster Abbey. As for Stanley, he returned to Africa to fulfill a
promise he had made to Livingstone to find the source of the Nile. He
later damaged his reputation by accepting money from King Leopold II
of Belgium to help create the Belgian-ruled Congo Free State and
promote the slave trade. When he left Africa, Stanley resumed his
British citizenship and even served in Parliament, but when he died he
was refused burial in Westminster Abbey because of his actions in the
Congo Free State.
