Which object is named after D Livingston. David Livingstone: A Journey Through Africa
Message quote David Livingstone - tireless Englishman, African traveler
Africa! The dark continent, on the geography of which the Creator took special pains! Here are the greatest deserts, and highest mountains, covered with glaciers, and the famous Rift Valley, which split Africa from the Red Sea to Mozambique, and the craters of volcanoes, unlike their counterparts in other parts of the world, filled to the brim not with the ashes of past terrifying deeds, but with lush jungles, and finally the ancient Nile, carrying its waters from the great freshwater Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea today as well as in the time of Pharaoh Ramses... Every country in Africa has some kind of natural wonder!
It is characteristic of the destinies of truly great people that over time their names do not fade. On the contrary, interest in them is growing, and not so much in their affairs, but in their life and personality.
How many people can you name who “made themselves”? Well, Lomonosov, that’s understandable... And what else? Are you at a loss? I want to tell you about the famous traveler David Livingstone, a tireless explorer of Africa. 
The story of his life is very well known - a century and a half is not such a long time for its contours to blur. The canonical embodiment of the Victorian spirit, which is Dr. David, is still easily absorbed in our consciousness, and we do not often think how strange this lanky figure must have seemed to the inhabitants of Kuruman, Mabotse, Kolobeng, Linyanti - his missionary outposts in Africa. He did not become a “European African”: his legendary adherence to the archetypal suit of an impeccable gentleman, even in situations where it could not be called appropriate, is by no means an eccentricity, but a natural personality trait. But still changes were happening latently. A young man possessed of good intentions came from England to Africa. In Africa he became a figure of the era, a symbol and driving force of dialogue - in all its forms. Kind and arrogant, truly useful and, in truth, destructive, everything in which the European was really ahead of his Negro contemporary, and everything that seemed superior - everything was contained in the figure of Livingston. 
David Livingstone is a Scottish missionary who devoted his life to the study of Africa. He went down in history as a man who filled in many blank spots on the map of this continent, and as a tireless fighter against the slave trade, who enjoyed great love and respect from local population.
"I will discover Africa or die."
(Lingvinston)
Livingston David
(March 19, 1813 – May 1, 1873)
Livingston devoted most of his life to Africa, traveling mainly on foot over 50 thousand km. He was the first to decisively speak out in defense of the black population of Africa.
British physician, missionary, eminent African explorer
He explored the lands of Southern and Central Africa, including the Zambezi River basin and Lake Nyasa, discovered Victoria Falls, lakes Shirva and Bangweulu, and the Lualaba River. Together with Henry, Stanley explored Lake Tanganyika. During his travels, Livingston determined the position of more than 1000 points; He was the first to point out the main features of the relief of South Africa, studied the Zambezi River system, and initiated the scientific study of the large lakes Nyasa and Tanganyika.
The cities of Livingstonia in Malawi and Livingston (Maramba) in Zambia, as well as waterfalls in the lower reaches of the Congo and mountains in the north are named after him. east coast Lake Nyasa. Blantyre, The largest city Malawi, with a population of more than 600,000 people, was named after Livingstone's hometown. 
Life story
David Livingstone was born into a very poor Scottish family and, at the age of ten, experienced much of what befell Oliver Twist and other children in Dickens's books. But even grueling work in a textile factory for 14 hours a day could not prevent David from attending college.
Having received medical and theological education, Livingston entered the service of the London Missionary Society, whose leadership sent him as a doctor and missionary to South Africa. Since 1841, Livingstone lived at a mission in the mountainous region of Kuruman among the Bechuanas. He quickly learned their language, which belongs to the Bantu language family. This was very useful to him later during his travels, since all Bantu languages are similar to each other, and Livingston could easily do without a translator.
In 1843, nearby, in the Mabotse Valley, Livingston, together with native assistants, built a hut for a mission station. During a hunt for lions, which often devastated the area around the village, Livingstone was attacked by a wounded animal. Due to an improperly healed fracture, Livingston had difficulty shooting and swimming for the rest of his life. It was by the crushed shoulder joint that Livingston’s body was identified and brought to England. 
Livingston's traveling companion and assistant in his work was his wife Mary, the daughter of a local missionary and explorer of South Africa, Robert Moffett. The Livingston couple spent 7 years in the Bechuana country. During his travels, David combined his work as a missionary with the study of nature in the northern regions of the Bechuana land. Listening carefully to the stories of the native inhabitants, Livingston became interested in Lake Ngami. To see it, in 1849 he crossed the Kalahari Desert from south to north and described it as a very flat surface, cut through by dry river beds and not as deserted as was commonly believed. Semi-desert is a more appropriate description for the Kalahari.
In August of the same year, Livingstone explored Lake Ngami. 
It turned out that this reservoir is a temporary lake, filled with the waters of the large Okavango River during the rainy season. In June 1851, Livingstone traveled northeast from the Okavango Swamp through tsetse fly-infested territory and for the first time reached the Linyanti River, the lower reaches of the Kwando, a right tributary of the Zambezi. In the large village of Sesheke, he managed to establish good relations with the leader of the powerful Makololo tribe and receive help and support from him. 
In November 1853, Livingstone began a boat trip along the Zambezi. A flotilla of 33 boats, on which 160 blacks of the Makololo tribe were located, moved up the rapids river through a vast plain - a typical savannah of South Africa. As the rapids were overcome, Livingston sent black sailors and warriors home. By February 1854, when very few people remained, the expedition ascended the river to the upper right tributary of Chefumage. Walking along its valley to the watershed, Livingston saw that behind it all the streams flowed in a northerly direction. These rivers turned out to be part of the Congo system. Turning west, the expedition reached the Atlantic Ocean near Luanda.
Having followed the short Bengo River to its headwaters, in October 1855 Livingston walked to the upper section of the Zambezi and began rafting down the river. After passing Sesheke, he discovered a majestic waterfall 1.8 km wide.
When local natives took him to the waterfall and showed him 546 million liters of water, which every minute crashes into a 100-meter abyss, David Livingston was so shocked by what he saw that he immediately christened it after Queen Victoria.
In 1857, David Livingstone wrote that in England no one could even imagine the beauty of this spectacle: “No one can imagine the beauty of the spectacle in comparison with anything seen in England. The eyes of a European had never seen such a thing before, but the angels must have admired such a beautiful sight in their flight!”
“Crawling with fear towards the cliff, I looked down into the huge crack that stretched from bank to bank of the wide Zambezi, and saw how a stream thousands of yards wide plunged down a hundred feet and then suddenly contracted in a space of fifteen to twenty yards... I was witness the most wonderful spectacle in Africa!” 
Statue of David Livingstone on the Zambian side of Victoria Falls
This waterfall, named Victoria in honor of the queen, is now known as one of the most powerful in the world. Here the waters of the Zambezi rush down from a ledge 120 m high and flow like a stormy stream into a narrow and deep gorge. 
The falls, named Livingston Victoria in honor of the British queen, are a stunning sight: gigantic masses of water fall into a narrow gap in the basalt rocks. Breaking into myriads of spray, they form thick white clouds, illuminated by rainbows and emitting an incredible roar. 
A continuous veil of refreshing spray, an iridescent rainbow, a tropical forest, constantly shrouded in a ghostly haze of fog. Delight and boundless surprise cover anyone who happens to see this miracle. Below the waterfall, the Zambezi flows through a narrow gorge with rocky banks. 
view of the Zambezi River
Gradually going down the river through mountainous country with many rapids and waterfalls, on May 20, 1856, Livingston reached the Indian Ocean near the port of Quelimane. Thus the crossing of the African continent was completed.
In 1857, having returned to his homeland, Livingston published the book “Travel and Research of a Missionary in South Africa,” which in a short time was published in all European languages and made the author famous. Geographical science has been replenished with important information: tropical Central Africa south of the 8th parallel “turned out to be an elevated plateau, slightly lower in the center, and with crevices along the edges along which rivers run down to the sea... The place of the legendary hot zone and burning sands was taken by a well-irrigated area resembling its freshwater lakes North America, and with its hot, humid valleys, jungles, ghats (highlands) and cool high plateaus, India.” 
Wild Africa discovered by an English explorer
Over the decade and a half he lived in South Africa, Livingston fell in love with local residents and became friends with them. He treated his guides, porters, and rowers as equals, and was frank and friendly with them. The Africans responded to him in full reciprocity. Livingston hated slavery and believed that the peoples of Africa could achieve liberation and independence. The English authorities took advantage of the high reputation of the traveler among the blacks and offered him the post of consul in Quelimane. Having accepted the offer, Livingston abandoned missionary activity and began to work closely on research. In addition, he promoted the penetration of English capital into Africa, regarding this as progress. 
But the traveler was attracted by new routes. In May 1858, Livingstone arrived in East Africa with his wife, young son and brother Charles. At the beginning of 1859, he explored the lower reaches of the Zambezi River and its northern tributary, the Shire. They discovered several rapids and Murchison Falls. 
In the spring, Livingston discovered and described Lake Shirva in the basin of this river. In September, he examined the southern shore of Lake Nyasa and, having made a series of measurements of its depth, obtained values of more than 200 m (modern data brings this value to 706 m). In September 1861, Livingston returned to the lake again and, together with his brother, advanced along the western shore to the north for more than 1,200 km. It was not possible to penetrate further due to the hostility of the aborigines and the approach of the rainy season. Based on the survey results, Livingston compiled the first map of Nyasa, on which the reservoir stretched almost along the meridian for 400 km (according to modern data - 580 km). 
Cape Maclear on Lake Nyasa, which David Livingstone discovered and named after his friend the astronomer Thomas Maclear.
On this journey, Livingston suffered a heavy loss: on April 27, 1862, his wife and faithful companion, Mary Moffett-Livingston, died of tropical malaria. The Livingston brothers continued their journey. At the end of 1863, it became clear that the steep shores of Lake Nyasa were not mountains, but only the edges of high plateaus. Next, the brothers continued the discovery and study of the East African fault zone, that is, a giant meridional system of fault basins. In England in 1865, the book “The Story of the Expedition to the Zambezi and its Tributaries and the Discovery of Lakes Shirva and Nyasa in 1858–1864” was published.
Lake Nyasa 
When David Livingston, during his next expedition to Africa, discovered Lake Malawi, he asked local fishermen about the name of this impressive body of water. To which they answered him - “Nyasa.” Livingston named this lake that way, not realizing that the word “Nyasa” in the language of the local residents means “lake”. Lake Malawi (as it is called today) or Lake Nyasa (as it continues to be called in Tanzania and Mozambique to this day) plays a very important role in the lives of Africans. Several tens of thousands of tons of fish are caught here every year. 
The ninth largest in the world, Lake Malawi is about 600 km long and up to 80 km wide. Maximum depth 700 meters, height above sea level 472 meters, water surface area approximately 31,000 square meters. km. The state borders of three countries pass through the waters of the lake. The main part of the lake and coastline(western and southern) belong to the state of Malawi, the northeastern part belongs to Tanzania, and a relatively large part of the eastern coast is under the jurisdiction of Mozambique. The two most large islands, Likoma and Chizumulu, as well as the Taiwan Reef, are located in the waters of Mozambique, but belong to the state of Malawi. 
Lake Nyasa, one of the deepest lakes in the world
In 1866, Livingstone, having landed on the eastern coast of the continent opposite the island of Zanzibar, walked south to the mouth of the Ruvuma River, and then, turning west and rising to its upper reaches, reached Nyasa. This time the traveler walked around the lake from the south and west. During 1867 and 1868, he examined in detail the southern and western shores of Tanganyika. 
Traveling through tropical Africa is always fraught with dangerous infections. Livingston did not escape them either. For many years, suffering from malaria, he became weak and so emaciated that he could not even be called a “walking skeleton,” because he could no longer walk and moved only on a stretcher. But the stubborn Scot continued his research. To the southwest of Tanganyika, he discovered Lake Bangweulu, whose area periodically varies from 4 to 15 thousand square meters. km, and the Lualaba River. Trying to find out whether it belonged to the Nile or Congo system, he could only assume that it might be part of the Congo.
In October 1871, Livingstone stopped for rest and treatment in the village of Ujiji on the east coast of Tanganyika. 
At this time, Europe and America were concerned about the lack of any news from him. Journalist Henry Stanley went on a search. He completely accidentally found Livingstone in Ujiji, and then together they walked around the northern part of Tanganyika, finally making sure that the Nile did not flow from Tanganyika, as many thought. 
Stanley invited Livingston to go with him to Europe, but he limited himself to transferring diaries and other materials with the journalist to London. He wanted to finish his exploration of Lualaba and went to the river again. On the way, Livingston stopped in the village of Chitambo, and on the morning of May 1, 1873, his servants found him dead on the floor of the hut. The Africans, who adored the white defender, embalmed his body and carried his remains on a stretcher to the sea, covering almost 1,500 km. The great Scot was buried in Westminster Abbey. In 1874, his diaries, entitled The Last Voyage of David Livingstone, were published in London. 
To a young man pondering his life, deciding who to make his life with, I will say without hesitation - make it with David Livingston!
After D. Livingston's travels in the 70s. In the 19th century, when the London Geographical Society published the book “The Land of Kazembe” (1873), they also drew attention to discoveries in the area made by a Portuguese reconnaissance detachment led by Major José Maiteiro.
Coming from a very poor Scottish family, from the age of 10 he worked in a weaving factory and managed to attend college with a fourteen-hour working day. Due to lack of funds, he entered the service of the London Missionary Society and was sent as a doctor and to. Since 1841, Livingston lived at a mission in the mountainous region of Kuruman - the country of the Bechuanas. He learned their language (the Bantu family) well, and this helped him during his travels, since the Bantu languages are close to each other and he generally did not need a translator. He married Mary Moffett, daughter of local missionary Robert Moffett, the first explorer of the huge; and his wife became his faithful assistant. Livingston spent seven years in the country of the Bechuanas. Under the pretext of organizing a missionary station in the northern regions of the territory under their control, he made his travels.
In 1849, Livingstone became interested in African stories about the “beautiful and vast” Lake Ngami. He crossed the Kalahari from south to north, establishing that it has a flat surface, cut by dry river beds, and is not at all as deserted as previously thought. In August, Livingstone explored Ngami, which turned out to be a temporary lake fed by the waters of the great Okavango River during the rainy season. In June 1851, having walked northeast from the Okavango Swamp through territory infested with the tsetse fly, he first reached the Linyanti River (the lower reaches of the Kwando, the largest right tributary of the Zambezi) and in the village of Sesheke (near 24° E) he enlisted help leader of the powerful Makololo tribe. In November 1853, with a party of 160 Aboriginals in 33 boats, Livingstone began sailing up the flat, covered plain, occasionally negotiating rapids. He let most of the people go along the way. By February 1854, with a small detachment, he ascended the river to its upper right tributary Shifumazhe and along its valley moved to a barely noticeable watershed at 11 ° S. sh., behind which all the streams flowed not in the southern direction, as before, but in the northern direction. (It later turned out that these were rivers of the system.) Turning west, he reached Luanda in mid-1854. From there Livingstone followed the Bengo River to its upper reaches, in October 1855 he took a new route to the upper section of the Zambezi and began rafting along the river. Somewhat below Sesheke, on November 18, he opened a majestic, 1.8 km wide, one of the most powerful in the world. From a ledge 120 m high, the waters of the Zambezi fall into a narrow and deep gorge. Below it descended very slowly, since the river crosses a mountainous country and has a number of rapids and waterfalls. On May 20, 1856, Livingston reached Quelimane (a port north of the mouth of the Zambezi), thus completing the crossing of the mainland.
Returning to his homeland, Livingston in 1857 published a book that deservedly glorified him - “Travel and Research of a Missionary in the South,” translated into almost all European languages. And he made a very important generalizing geographical conclusion: tropical
The biography of David Livingson (1813-1873), a Scottish traveler and explorer of Africa, is summarized in this article.
David Livingston biography briefly
The future traveler David Livingstone was born on March 19, 1813 in Blantyre in the family of a tea merchant. At the age of 10 he went to work in a textile factory. He trained as a doctor at Glasgow University and, joining a missionary society in London, headed to South Africa.
Since then, David Livingston, an English explorer of Africa since 1841, spent 7 years in Kuruman, in the country of the Bechuanas, where he organized missionary stations. While in Africa, Livingston decided to study the country's rivers in order to find new waterways deep into the continent.
On January 2, 1845, he married Mary Moffett, daughter of Robert Moffett. She constantly accompanied her husband on his travels and bore him 4 children.
In 1849, he began to explore the Kalahari Desert, or rather its northeastern part. The traveler explored the nature of the desert landscape and discovered Lake Ngami. In the period from 1851-1856 he traveled along the Zambezi River.
Livingstone was the first European to cross the mainland and found his way to the African east coast at Quelimane.
In 1855, he discovered Victoria Falls - one of the most powerful in the world.
In 1856, he returned to his homeland and published a book entitled Travels and Research of a Missionary in South Africa. For his achievements he received a gold medal from the Royal Geographical Society, and two years later received the post of consul in Quelimane.
In the period from 1858-1864, David Livingstone explored the Shire, Zambezi and Ruvuma rivers; lakes Nyasa and Chilwa, eventually publishing a book about this journey.
Since 1866, the traveler discovered lakes Bangwelu and Mveru and searched for the sources of the Nile. But during this expedition, Livingston got lost and there was no news of him. African explorer G. Stanley was sent to search for the scientist, who found David on November 3, 1871 in the village of Ujiji. He was sick with fever. Refusing to return to Europe, Livingstone died May 1, 1873 in the village of Chitambo, located near Lake Bangweulu.
Pabout medical education. In 1840 he was sent by the London Missionary Society to South Africa, in 1841-52 he lived among the Bechuanas in the Kalahari region, which he explored from the south. to the north. In 1849 he first reached the lake. Ngami and in 1851. Linyanti, lower reaches of the Kwando (right tributary of the Zambezi). From its mouth, Livingston rose up the river in 1853–54. Zambezi to its upper tributary Chefumage; beyond the lake Dilolo, at 11° S. sh., opened the watershed between the upper reaches of the Zambezi and the river. Kasai (Congo system) and, turning west, reached the Atlantic Ocean near Luanda. In 1855 he returned to the upper reaches of the Zambezi, followed the entire course of the river to the delta, discovered (1855) Victoria Falls and reached the Indian Ocean near the city of Quelimane in May 1856, thus completing the crossing of the mainland.
Returning to Great Britain, Livingston published the book Travels and Research of a Missionary in South Africa in 1857; for this journey the Royal Geographical Society awarded him a gold medal. Livingston was appointed English consul in Quelimane and head of the government research expedition, which arrived in the Zambezi Delta in May 1858. In 1859 he discovered the lake. Shirva and visited the lake. Nyasa (discovered by the Portuguese G. Bocarro in 1616); in 1860 he climbed the Zambezi to the river. Linyanti, completed the discovery of the lake in 1861. Nyasa. Livingstone returned to Great Britain in 1864; in 1865, a book written together with his brother and companion Charles, “The Story of a Travel along the Zambezi and Its Tributaries,” was published.
In 1866 he again arrived in East Africa and soon lost contact with Europe. In 1867–71 he explored the southern and western shores of the lake. Tanganyika, discovered a lake to the southwest of it. Bangveulu and the large river flowing to the north.
Lualaba (upper Congo, but Livingstone did not know about this). Seriously ill, he turned back and stopped in Ujiji, on the eastern shore of the lake. Tanganyika, where G. Stanley found him in October 1871.
Together they explored the northern part of the lake. Tanganyika and became convinced that this lake was not connected to the Nile. In February 1872, Livingston sent his materials from Stanley to Great Britain, and in August 1872 he moved to the river. Lualaba to continue her research. Died in Chitambo, south of the lake. Bangweulu; Livingstone's remains were brought to Britain and buried in Westminster Abbey. In 1874, his notes from 1865–72 were published under the title “The Last Diaries of David Livingstone in Central Africa.” During his travels, Livingston determined the position of more than 1000 points; He was the first to point out the main features of the relief of South Africa and studied the river system. Zambezi, laid the foundation for the scientific study of the large lakes Nyasa and Tanganyika. A city in Zambia, mountains in East Africa, and waterfalls on the river are named after L. Congo (Zaire). Livingston was a staunch humanist, condemned and fought against the slave trade. In Scotland, near Glasgow, there is
“The entire mass of water flows entirely over the edge of the waterfall; but, ten feet or more below, the whole mass becomes like a monstrous curtain of blizzard-driven snow. Water particles are separated from it in the form of comets with flowing tails, until this entire snow avalanche turns into myriads of forward, flying water comets" (David Livingstone, Charles Livingstone. Travels along the Zambezi. 1858-1864).
By the middle of the 19th century. the interior of Africa was still a mystery to Europeans. Thanks to numerous travels, a rough idea of the north-west of the continent was formed, but everything that is south and east of Lake Chad remained a huge blank spot. Surely the slave traders who undertook raids deep into Africa had some information, but they, understandably, were in no hurry to share their knowledge: it was more expensive for themselves. Its great rivers were considered the “golden key” to the secrets of Africa, but the trouble is that they themselves sometimes posed unsolvable riddles for researchers. Back in the 18th century. James Bruce explored all the way to the headwaters of the Blue Nile, that branch of the great African river that originates in Ethiopia. At the same time, the sources of the second half - the White Nile - were lost somewhere in Central Africa. For more than 30 years, it was difficult to deal with Niger. And then there was the Congo and the Zambezi, about which Europeans knew only where they flowed.
In 1841, missionary David Livingstone landed at Algoa Bay in the far south of Africa. He was born in 1813 in Scotland, near the city of Blentyre on the River Clyde. The family was not rich, and at the age of 10 David began working in a factory. I worked all day and studied in the evening. Having studied Latin, he could read the classics fluently. After this, already in Glasgow, Livingston attended the Faculty of Medicine, studied Greek and theology. He decided to devote himself to missionary work and in 1838 became a candidate for the London Missionary Society. Thanks to this, Livingston was able to continue his medical education. In November 1840, he received his medical degree and was planning to go to China. But the first “opium” war began, and he had to go to Africa.
In July 1841, Livingstone arrived at a mission station in the Tswana (Bechuana) country, created by Robert Moffat. He quickly learned the Tswana language, walked around their villages, and treated the sick. Friendly to Africans, a skilled doctor and simply a wise man, he quickly won their respect. For his own station he chose a valley 300 km away northeast of the station Moffat, built himself a house, and in 1844 married Moffat's daughter Mary. In 1846, the family moved north to Chonuan, to the lands of the Kwena tribe. A year later, Livingstone followed the tribe to Kolobeng (west of Chonuane).
In 1849, Livingstone, accompanied by African guides and two English hunters, was the first European to cross the Kalahari Desert and explore Lake Ngami. He decided to move to Ngami, but on the way the children fell ill with a fever. Not wanting to put his family at risk any longer, Livingston sent his wife and children to England in April 1852. And already in June he moved north again.
The traveler reached the Zambezi basin and in May 1853 entered Linyanti, the main village of the Kololo (Makololo) tribe. Livingstone managed to make friends with Sekeletu, the leader of the tribe. And when Livingston went on a trip to the west, he sent 27 people with him. The leader also pursued his own interests: he was not averse to establishing a trade route between his land and the Atlantic coast. The traveler climbed up the Zambezi and its tributaries, and then, moving overland, reached Lake Dilolo, crossed several rivers, including the large Kwango, and on May 11 reached Luanda on the Atlantic coast. From there, Livingston sent a report to Cape Town about his discoveries and calculations of the coordinates of the points he visited. After resting in Luanda, receiving medical treatment and replenishing equipment, Livingston headed back. In September 1854 the expedition reached Linyanti. Livingston was the first to explore the river network of this part of Africa and found the divide between the rivers flowing north and the Zambezi basin. For the first time, the Scot saw people being hunted. After this, he decided to devote his life to the fight against the slave trade.
Livingston was determined to find a route to the Indian Ocean. In November 1855, he set out accompanied by a large detachment of Kololos led by Sekeletu. The leader, as a sign of special favor, decided to show Livingston a miracle of nature called “Roaring Smoke”. Towards the end of the second week of sailing along the Zambezi, a huge cloud of water dust appeared on the horizon, then a distant rumble was heard. Several powerful streams of water with a total width of 1800 m fell from a 120-meter height and crashed with a roar on the rocky bottom of the gorge. Livingston gave the name of the English Queen Victoria to this majestic waterfall.
In May 1856, the traveler, moving along the left bank of the Zambezi, reached its mouth. Livingston was the first European to cross Africa from the Atlantic to Indian Ocean, covering a total of 6430 km. He was the first to identify the main morphological feature of this part of the continent - its “saucer-shaped” appearance, that is, the elevation of the edge zones above the center. He traced the entire course of the Zambezi and described many of its tributaries.
Then Livingston went to England to talk about his discoveries and tell the world the terrible truth about the slave trade. He arrived in London on December 9, 1856. The President of the Royal Geographical Society called the journey along the Zambezi "the greatest triumph of geographical exploration of our age." Let us note that it was carried out without the help of the British authorities. Livingstone became famous, he was invited to give reports, and he used this opportunity to denounce the slave traders, trying to convey to everyone the idea of equality between Africans and Europeans. The public greeted his performances sympathetically, but nothing more.
Livingstone wrote the book Travels and Explorations of a Missionary in South Africa. She was a success, and Livingston decided to allocate part of the fee to organize a new trip. He made a proposal to equip an expedition up the Zambezi. The government, intending to use the missionary's authority for its own purposes, offered him the post of consul of the "eastern coast and independent regions of interior Africa" and provided him with a subsidy. In March 1858, Livingston went to Africa with his wife and youngest son Oswell. Livingstone's brother Charles, Dr. Kirk, as well as a geologist, artist and engineer took part in the expedition.
The Ma-Robert ship was built to survey the Zambezi. So, after the name of the first-born (“Robert’s mother”), the Tswana were called Mary Livingston. And she was already expecting her fifth child. From Cape Town, Mary and Oswell went to Kuruman to visit her father. Things didn't go well for the expedition from the very beginning. The Ma Robert, on which the travelers planned to ascend from the mouth of the Zambezi to Kafue, turned out to be unsuitable for navigation among the shallows. On top of that, Livingston did not have a good relationship with most of his companions. There are several reasons for this, but the main thing is that by character he was not a commander, not a boss, but a missionary.
Nevertheless, in September, “Ma-Robert” reached the village of Tete (450 km from the mouth), where guides from the Kololo tribe had been waiting for Livingstone for two and a half years: after all, he had promised to return. An attempt to explore the current above was unsuccessful: the expedition’s path was blocked by Cabora Bassa, a series of rapids and steps (cataracts). Livingstone then concentrated his efforts on studying the Shire, a northern tributary of the Zambezi. Having traveled up the river for about 350 km, the travelers stopped at a series of rapids and waterfalls, collectively called Murchison, and then moved on on foot. East of the waterfalls, the detachment discovered Lake Shirva (Chilva), and Shire led travelers to the huge Lake Nyasa.
During a forced break in research, Livingston and the Kololo people went west to the chief Sekelet. On the way, he learned that a detachment of slave traders was following them and was buying people on his behalf, Livingston. So Livingston unwittingly paved the way for the Portuguese, who had never been to these places before. He did not know that the results of his research would be used by European powers, including Britain, to conquer Africa.
At the beginning of 1861, a group of missionaries led by Bishop Mackenzie arrived in Africa. Livingston was to deliver her to Lake Nyasa, where it was planned to establish a mission. On the new ship "Pioneer", Livingstone tried to ascend the Ruvuma River, but then returned to the Shire. Here the expedition had to free Africans captured by slave traders, and also intervene in a war between tribes. Livingston always tried to settle everything peacefully, but here the situation was hopeless.
In January 1862, parts of another ship were delivered from England, which Livingston intended to use for sailing on Lake Nyasa. They called him that - “Lady Nyasa”. Mary Livingston also arrived, no longer wanting to be separated from her husband. Then came news of the death from illness of Mackenzie and one of his subordinates. And on April 27, Mary Livingston died of malaria... And yet the expedition continued to work. However, it’s hard to call it work: the attempt to climb up the Shira was complicated by the fact that many dead bodies were floating along the river and the paddle wheels of the ships had to be cleared of corpses. It was slave hunting season. The mission founded by Mackenzie was disbanded by the new bishop, and the Africans who were under its protection were left to their own devices. Livingston could only send old people and young orphans to Cape Town on the Pioneer. In July 1863, he received news that funding for the expedition had ceased: in England they were dissatisfied with the failure of the mission. Left without funds, Livingston set off on the Lady Nyasa to Bombay. There it was possible to sell the ship profitably, but nothing came of this venture. In June 1864 Livingstone returned to London. He needed funds for a new journey: the missionary was going to explore the Great Lakes and find out whether there was a connection between them and the Nile.
FIGURES AND FACTS
Main character
David Livingstone, Scottish missionary and traveler
Other characters
Robert Moffatt, missionary; Mary, wife of Livingston; Sekeletu, Chief Kololo
Time of action
Routes
Through the Kalahari Desert (1849); from Linyanti up the Zambezi, then to Luanda (1852-1854); from Linyanti to the mouth of the Zambezi (1855-1856); up the Zambezi and Shire to Lake Nyasa (1858-1864)
Goals
Exploration of unexplored territories, missionary activity
Meaning
The first crossing of Africa by a European, exploration of the Zambezi, discovery of large lakes and Victoria Falls
