Description
History of David Livingston
David Livingstone pursued training in medicine and missionary work before moving to Africa in 1841. He crossed the continent from east to west and would ultimately come across many bodies of water previously uncharted by Europeans, including the Zambezi River and Victoria Falls. He was a staunch abolitionist after witnessing the horrors of the African slave trade, and returned to the region twice after his initial voyage.
Early Life and Training
David Livingstone was born on March 19, 1813, in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, and grew up with several siblings in a single tenement room. He started working at a cotton mill company as a child and would follow his long work schedule with schooling during evenings and weekends. He eventually studied medicine in Glasgow before going on to train with the London Missionary Society for a year. He completed his medical studies at various institutions in 1840 in London, England.
Explorations of Africa
In the official role of a “medical missionary,” he set forth to Africa, arriving in Cape Town, South Africa in March of 1841. A few years later, he married Mary Moffat; the couple would have several children.
Livingstone eventually made his way north and set out to trek across the Kalahari Desert. In 1849, he came upon Lake Ngami and, in 1851, the Zambezi River. Over the years, Livingstone continued his explorations, reaching the western coastal region of Luanda in 1853. In 1855, he came across another famous body of water, the Zambezi falls, called by native populations “Smoke That Thunders” and which Livingstone dubbed Victoria Falls, after Queen Victoria.
By 1856, Livingstone had gone across the continent from west to east, arriving at the coastal region of Quelimane in what is present-day Mozambique.
Celebrated in Europe
Upon his return to England, Livingstone received accolades and, in 1857, published Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa. The following year, Livingstone was appointed by British authorities to lead an expedition that would navigate the Zambezi. The expedition did not fare well, with squabbling among the crew and the original boat having to be abandoned. Other bodies of water were discovered, though Livingstone’s wife, Mary, would perish from fever upon returning to Africa in 1862.
Brenthurst Press, Houghton. [0 909079 26 9] [1985], From a limited edition of 850 copies. (4to) Fine in near fine dust jacket. 255pp. Ribbon page markers, 4 maps, 67 monochrome and color plates, vignette illustrations, appendices, select bibliography, index. Dust Wrapper slight, slight tear top of spine, covered in a protective cover, easily removed, no sticky tape. Publisher series: Brenthurst Second Series 1. Locale:. (History–Africa, Explorers–Africa).
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.