David Livingstone

By Callum Murray

Victoria Falls.

David Livingstone was a famous explorer and doctor, he also discovered the Victoria Falls

Victory Falls

David's Childhood David Livingstone was born at Blantyre Scotland, eight miles south of

Glasgow on the 19 March 1813. At the age of ten he was put to work in the mills, which swallowed him up from six in the morning to eight at night. He had to attend night school, most where so tired they could do little but sleep. But David studied hard and would continue with his lessons far into the night. At the age of twenty three years of age before he was able to start medicine classes at the Anderson college in Glasgow. He studied through the winter returning to the mills in the summer. When he sufficiently far advanced in his studies of medicine and theology he applied to the London Missionary society.

Where David Livingstone lived

David livingstone centre

During this period he attended a meeting addressed by a fellow Scot, Dr Robert Moffat, who was home on leave from the mission station at Kuruman, some 500 miles north of Cape Town. This was as far as missionaries had penetrated into the 'dark continent' of Africa; at that time, apart from parts of the north and south, only the coastline of this huge continent was know to the outside world. After listening to Dr Moffat speaking of the vast, untouched regions of Central Africa, and the 'smoke of a thousand villages' where the gospel had never been preached, Livingstone rather shyly asked him whether he thought he would do for Africa. The outcome was that the London Missionary Society agreed he should go and, in 1840, Livingstone sailed for Africa on board the sailing ship, George.

The smoke of a thousand villages

In Africa, Livingstone made his way, mainly by ox-wagon, to Kuruman, where he was to learn the ways and workings of a mission station before setting of northwards to establish new stations. His stay at Kuruman was not a particularly happy one; he was impatient to be off to those untouched regions and critical, too, that Dr Moffat should confine his work to the area around Kuruman, when the needy north was neglected: there was so much to be done and so few people to do it. For several months Livingstone isolated himself in a native village miles away from Kuruman so that he might more quickly learn the language and understand the ways of the Africans. He made several early journeys of exploration, but the purpose of these was to find healthy sites for mission stations - sites that were free from the terrible malaria which made large areas of Africa impassable for Europeans. To a great extent, this was the object of all his later explorations and, although he was to become the greatest geographer Africa had never known, he had never lost sight of his true purpose - to deliver the Christian message whenever the opportunity offered.

While at Kuruman, Livingstone met Dr Moffat's daughter, Mary, and, although he had believed until then that he could best accomplish his work as a bachelor, Mary altered his point of view and they were married in 1845. Their first home was at Mabotsa, north of Kuruman, where Livingstone had already opened a mission station and built a house. It was here that Livingstone was attacked by a lion which crunched his shoulder so that he never regained full use of his left arm. Later, the Livingstones moved forty miles further on to Chonuane, into the country of the Bakwains, and again founded a station. Here they met Chief Sechele who, after three years' instruction, was converted to Christianity. However, another move was necessary when the supply of water dried up; this time they moved to Kolobeng, just east of the great Kalahari Desert. Chief Sechele and his tribe moved there, too, and Livingstone built a third house.

David Livingstone being attacked by a Lion

These were probably the happiest years of his life - spent with his young family. In addition to his usual missionary work, Livingstone studied the geology and natural history of the surrounding countryside. At Kolobeng, Livingstone heard rumours of fertile plains north of the Kalahari, which were teeming with population; but the desert which blocked the way was difficult and waterless. Taking the family with him, he made several trips northwards. On one of these expeditions he was accompanied by a hunter friend, W. Cotton Oswell, and together they discovered Lake Ngami. As hardships increased, Livingstone's concern for the welfare and education of his family made him decide they must go to Britain; they travelled to Cape Town where Mrs Livingstone and the children boarded ship. Then Livingstone returned to Kolobeng, northwards across the Kalahari, so that he might carry the Christian message further; and from this point on he became increasingly an explorer.

David Livingstones family

So far, Livingstone had not come into direct contact with the slave trade. The Act of Abolition, passed in 1833, had stopped this on the west coast but it persisted in the east. On this journey, as he neared Linyanti in the very heart of the continent, Livingstone encountered a party of Arab slave traders driving their captive Africans, like cattle, to the slave markets on the coast. Livingstone said he was 'so appalled by this terrible trafficking in human life' that he determined to put a stop to it. He decided that, if easier routes could be found by which honest merchants could travel to the interior and establish trade with the Africans, then the slave trade could not survive. The cure lay in commerce and Christianity, in that order, and to this end the discovery of such routes became the immediate object of his quest.

Slave Trade

Commerce and Christianity

Here they met Chief Sechele who, after three years' instruction, was converted to Christianity. However, another move was necessary when the supply of water dried up; this time they moved to Kolobeng, just east of the great Kalahari Desert. Chief Sechele and his tribe moved there, too, and Livingstone built a third house. These were probably the happiest years of his life - spent with his young family. In addition to his usual missionary work, Livingstone studied the geology and natural history of the surrounding countryside. At Kolobeng, Livingstone heard rumours of fertile plains north of the Kalahari, which were teeming with population; but the desert which blocked the way was difficult and waterless. Taking the family with him, he made several trips northwards. On one of these expeditions he was accompanied by a hunter friend, W. Cotton Oswell, and together they discovered Lake Ngami. As hardships increased, Livingstone's concern for the welfare and education of his family made him decide they must go to Britain; they travelled to Cape Town where Mrs Livingstone and the children boarded ship. Then Livingstone returned to Kolobeng, northwards across the Kalahari, so that he might carry the Christian message further; and from this point on he became increasingly an explorer.

The journey to Luanda took several months; they arrived there - in May, 1854 - a sorry party. Livingstone himself was ragged and emaciated, suffering from dysentery and with his mind so fogged that he could hardly remember his surname. Kindly Portuguese officials nursed him back to health, and a passage home was offered him in a British vessel in port at that time. the temptation must have been great, but this route was clearly no 'highway to the interior'; they must return to Linyanti.

Africa from West to East

The outward journey had been bad but the return journey, by almost the same route, was even worse. Torrential rain, malaria and rheumatic fever sapped Livingstone's energy, and tribes whose country he passed through were hostile; but the party pressed on until at least Linyanti was reached. After only a brief stop, and again with the help of Chief Sekeletu, Livingstone set out once more, heading eastwards following the valley of Zambesi. This time the going was much less difficult, and shortly Livingstone made what was perhaps the most spectacular discovery. Two years earlier, when he had first reached Sesheke, he had heard of a giant waterfall which the Africans called 'Mosi-oa-tunya' (the smoke that thunders). On 17 November 1855, Livingstone had his first sight of the grandeur of the falls as the waters of the Zambesi tore headlong over the 1,600-metre-wide ledge, down into the chasm over 100 metres below. This was one of the few times that Livingstone put any name other than African ones on his map; he named the falls the 'Victoria Falls'. The long journey from there to the coast, although not uneventful, was safely accomplished; most of the way the party followed the Zambesi. Livingstone became so certain that this was a navigable river which would provide a highway to the interior that at one point he made a diversion to reach the coast more quickly, and in so doing missed out that part of the river which he was later to find barred from navigation by the Kebrabasa Rapids.

Africa's great rivers might prove to be what Livingstone called 'the highway to the interior', and so from Linyanti he set out northwards with a party of twenty-seven Makalolo carriers furnished for him by Chief Sekeletu. At Sesheke, Livingstone had his first sight of the great Zambesi River and, turning northwest, began the hazardous trek which would bring them ultimately to the port of Luanda on the Atlantic Coast. To show that it was a journey of goodwill, shields were left behind and only spears were carried; a minimum amount of baggage and no stores were taken, except for a small quantity of tea, coffee and sugar. From the outset it was an unfortunate journey. Livingstone, for the first time, fell victim to malaria (as did most of his companions) - a disease which was to hamper him for the rest of his life.

Having crossed Africa from west to east, a journey of some 4,300 miles, mostly of foot - Livingstone was the first European to have done this - he set out by ship for England, reaching home in 1856. The reception he received would surely have turned the head of a lesser man. Honours were conferred upon him, and no one was too distinguished to seek his friendship. Although reluctant to do so, Livingstone was persuaded to write a book. He put together his diaries and published them under the title Missionary Travels; the book was an immediate best-seller.

Africa and its people had now become so much a part of him that Livingstone was impatient to return and continue the work he had begun. At every opportunity, and there were many, Livingstone pleaded the cause of Africa; he was anxious that Africans should benefit from European civilisation, and tried hard to persuade others to join in his work. He was particularly anxious to see the ordinary tradesmen - carpenters, builders, farmers and the like - go there as teachers pass on their skills, so that the Africans might learn new techniques in building better houses and raising better crops, and be able to enter the world's commercial markets. These first sixteen years in Africa had been under the auspices of the London Missionary Society but, while there was no great rift in the relationship, there was no doubt that some felt Livingstone had recently become too preoccupied with exploration to carry out the society's scheme of work. Hence Livingstone felt free to accept appointment as leader of a government-sponsored expedition to explore the Zambesi and its tributaries.

of Livingstone's great shortcomings was his inability as a leader of this expedition; he had worked too long with Africans as his companions - men whose instinct told them that they could trust in his judgement - and he had not let them down. With his fellow Europeans, however, there soon arose a feeling of discontent; they did not want instructions without preliminary consultation and discussion. But Livingstone, always the 'dour Scot', did not seem to appreciate this, and expected too much of their initiative without always making the task, or the purpose of it, clear to them. Charles Livingstone, his brother, came in for more criticism than he deserved from other members of the party, who considered him incompetent but shown favouritism by his elder brother.

Even the one good thing that seemed to have been achieved - the discovery of Lake Nyasa - had a sting to its tail. Livingstone realised that this inland sea was one of the centres of the slave trade, and he set about overcoming this by having a boat specially constructed, at Partick on the Clyde, which he planned to put on the lake to promote 'honest trade'. The boat was built, using all the money Livingstone had - mostly the revenue from his book - but although the Lady Nyassa, as she was called, had been built in sections for easy transportation, the further discovery of the Murchison Cataracts proved an insurmountable obstacle which was then added to by the recall of the expedition by the British Government. There was nothing else for it but to return.

Lady Nyasa

The Lady Nyassa could not be disposed of in Africa for fear she would fall into the hands of the slave traders. Livingstone decided, therefore to sail this frail craft to Bombay; it had been built only for inland waters, but after careful and painstaking preparation Livingstone, acting as his own navigator, set sail for India. He timed the voyage to take advantage of the best conditions, and remained close inshore until only the shortest crossing of the ocean was necessary, but the weather turned against him. First he was becalmed and then storm-tossed on this remarkable voyage which lasted for four months before he reached Bombay, where the Lady Nyassa was sold. Even that was not the end of his troubles: the money realised was put into an Indian Bank which failed shortly afterwards.

From Bombay, Livingstone returned to England, arriving in London on 23 July 1864, and staying just long enough to put together his second book - The Zambesi and its Tributaries. He spent as much time as he could with his children, but when the opportunity to return to Africa presented itself, he readily accepted it. In August 1865, Livingstone sailed, for the third and last time, for Africa. This journey, which lasted for seven years, had much greater appeal to him. The Royal Geographical Society had asked him to explore the great African watersheds - especially the sources of the Nile - but this time he would be alone and not hampered by restrictions.

From Zanzibar he made his way up the Ruvuma River and on to the Lake Tanganyika and round the country of the great lakes of Mweru and Bangweulu. But this was country devastated by the slave traders, and Livingstone was frequently held back by suspicious and hostile tribes who mistook him for a slave trader. It demanded great courage to face these people in their angry mood; even his own followers were often mutinous and unfaithful. At one point, Livingstone's drugs were stolen, leaving him nothing to counteract fever and dysentery, yet still he carried on. The map of Africa was no longer just a coastline; slowly but surely light was beginning to fall on the 'dark continent', as hills and valleys, rivers and lakes were carefully plotted. Even the supposedly 'negative'

discoveries of the Kebrabasa Rapids and Murchison Cataracts, which had seemed to contribute to the failure of the second expedition, were clearly indicated on maps so that others who followed might be aware of what lay ahead and could choose their route. The age-old mystery, the source of the Nile, seemed close to being solved, and Livingstone became obsessed with the idea of accomplishing this but, although frequently convinced that he was on the verge of success, he always remained baffled. Eventually, with his few faithfuls - Susi, Chuma and the others - he made his way back to Ujiji. Just a few days after arriving in Ujiji,

Susi came running to tell him of the approach of 'a white man' - Stanley, the journalist who had been sent by his paper, the New York Herald, to find Livingstone. Stanley's arrival was welcome; he had brought with him stores and medicines, news and letters from home, and although Stanley was only just over half Livingstone's age, the two men quickly developed a great respect for each other during the brief four months of Stanley's stay at Ujiji. Livingstone felt greatly refreshed; Stanley tried to persuade him to return home, or at least to the coast for medical attention and supplies, but Livingstone would not give in.

David Livingstone I presume

After Stanley left him, he set out again, travelling South down the east bank of Lakes Tanganyika and Bangweulu, but torrential rains and swampy conditions sapped his energy. His followers eventually had to carry him in a litter, but he was determined to go on until, at Ilala, his followers realised that Livingstone had neither the strength nor the will to urge them on. At the village of Chief Chitambo they built a hut for him to rest in, knowing well that the end was near. At four o'clock on the morning of 1 May 1873, they found him kneeling by his bedside having died in prayer. In accordance with their beliefs, Livingstone's heart was buried under a Mvula tree near the spot where he died; but his body had to go back to Britain and so Susi, Chuma, Jacob Wainwright and others set out on the remarkable epic journey which ultimately brought them to the coast at Bagamoyo. The body reached England on board the steamer Malwa, and on 18 April 1874 - a day of national mourning - Livingstone was buried in Westminster Abbey.

This is my Family tree

David Livingstone is my 5 uncle

By Callum Murray