'David Livingstone' (
19 March 1813 –
4 May 1873) was a
Scottish Presbyterian pioneer medical
missionary with the
London Missionary Society and
explorer in
central Africa. He was the first European to see
Victoria Falls, which he named in honour of the
reigning monarch. He is the subject of the meeting with
H. M. Stanley, which gave rise to the popular quotation, ''"Dr Livingstone, I presume?"''
Early life
David Livingstone was born on
March 19,
1813 in the village of
Blantyre,
Lanarkshire,
Scotland,
[1] into a Christian family believed to be descended from the
highland Livingstones, a
clan that had been previously known as the
Clan MacLea.
Influences on the young David Livingstone
David Livingstone's father Neil was very religious, a
Sunday School teacher and
teetotaller who handed out
Christian tracts on his travels as a
tea merchant, and who read books on
theology, travel and missionary enterprises. This rubbed off on the young David, who became an avid reader, but he also loved scouring the countryside for animal, plant and
geological specimens. Neil Livingstone had a fear of science books as undermining Christianity, but David instinctively felt that
religion and science were friendly to each other. When he read ''Philosophy of a Future State'' by the science teacher and
church minister Reverend Thomas Dick, he found the rationale he needed to combine the two, and apart from the
Bible this book was perhaps his greatest
philosophical influence.
The other great influences on his life were Thomas Burke, a Blantyre
evangelist; David Hogg, his Sunday School teacher; the missionary
Karl Gützlaff, whose "Appeal to the Churches of Britain and America on behalf of China" persuaded Livingstone to join the London Missionary Society (LMS); and
Robert Moffat, a fellow Scot and missionary in southern Africa (and whose daughter Mary he was later to marry).
A further great influence, though, was not a person, but a job. From the age of ten he worked in a factory as a
spinner to help support the family. The years of monotony gave him persistence, endurance, and a natural empathy with all who labour, as expressed by lines he used to hum from the
egalitarian Robbie Burns song: "When man to man, the world o'er / Shall brothers be for a' that".
His studies
Livingstone first studied
Latin,
medicine, theology at the
University of Glasgow. While there he read Gutzlaff's appeal and applied to join the LMS and was accepted subject to missionary training. He continued his medical studies in
London while training there to be a minister under the eye of the LMS. Despite his impressive personality, he was a poor preacher and would have been rejected by the LMS had not the Director given him a second chance to pass the course.
After the Kolobeng mission had to be closed due to drought, he explored the
African interior, in the period
1852–
56,and was the first European to see the Mosi-oa-Tunya ("the smoke that thunders") waterfall (which he renamed
Victoria Falls after his monarch,
Queen Victoria). Livingstone was one of the first Westerners to make a transcontinental journey across Africa. The purpose of his journey was to open the routes, while accumulating useful information about the African continent.
In particular, Livingstone was a proponent of trade and Christian missions to be established in central Africa. His motto, inscribed in the base of the statue to him at Victoria Falls, was "
Christianity,
Commerce and
Civilisation." At this time he believed the key to achieving these goals was the navigation of the
Zambezi River as a Christian commercial highway into the interior.
[2] He returned to Britain to try to garner support for his ideas, and to publish a book on his travels which brought him fame as one of the leading explorers of the age.
Believing he had a spiritual calling for exploration rather than mission work, and encouraged by the response in Britain to his discoveries and support for future expeditions, in 1857 he resigned from the London Missionary Society.
Zambezi expedition
The British government agreed to fund Livingstone's idea and he returned to Africa as head of the
Zambezi Expedition to examine the natural resources of southeastern Africa and open up the River Zambezi. Unfortunately it turned out to be completely unnavigable past the
Cabora Bassa rapids, a series of
cataracts and
rapids that Livingstone had failed to explore on his earlier travels.
The expedition lasted from March 1858 until the middle of 1864. Livingstone was an inexperienced leader and had trouble managing a large-scale project. The artist
Thomas Baines was dismissed from the expedition on charges (which he vigorously denied) of theft. Livingstone's wife Mary died on
29 April 1863 of
malaria, but Livingstone continued to explore, eventually returning home in
1864 after the government ordered the recall of the Expedition. The Zambezi Expedition was castigated as a failure in many newspapers of the time, and Livingstone experienced great difficulty in raising funds further to explore
Africa. Nevertheless, the scientists appointed to work under Livingstone,
John Kirk, Charles Meller, and Richard Thornton did contribute large collections of botanic, ecological, geological and ethnographic material to scientific institutions in the UK.
By discovering the Mosi-oa-Tunya waterfall he provided another water source in Africa and by being the first man to make a transcontinental journey across Africa he established new trading posts and also saw most of Africa and later reported his findings. Livingstone also saved some lives and started abolition movements because of what he saw slave traders were doing to Africans. Livingstone was also able to produce more accurate maps of what Africa was like which helped future explorers.
Source of the Nile
In March
1866, Livingstone returned to Africa, this time to
Zanzibar (which is currently part of
Tanzania), where he set out to seek the source of the
Nile.
Richard Francis Burton,
John Hanning Speke and
Samuel Baker had (although there was still serious debate on the matter) identified either
Lake Albert or
Lake Victoria as the source (which was partially correct, as the Nile "bubbles from the ground high in the mountains of
Burundi halfway between
Lake Tanganyika and
Lake Victoria"
[3]). Finding the
Lualaba River, which feeds the
River Congo , Livingstone decided that this river was in fact the "real" Nile.
Livingstone and slavery
“''And if my disclosures regarding the terrible Ujijian slavery should lead to the suppression of the East Coast slave trade, I shall regard that as a greater matter by far than the discovery of all the Nile sources together''” — Livingstone in a letter to the editor of the New York Herald.[4]
Livingstone’s letters, books and journals
[5] did stir up public support for the abolition of slavery.
[6] However he became humiliatingly dependent for assistance on the very slave-traders whom he wanted to put out of business. Because he was a poor leader of his peers, he ended up on his last expedition as an individualist explorer with servants and porters but no expert support around him. At the same time he did not use the brutal methods of maverick explorers such as
Stanley[7] to keep his retinue of porters in line and his supplies secure. For these reasons from 1867 onwards he accepted help and hospitality from Mohamad Bogharib and Mohamad bin Saleh (also known as Mpamari), traders who kept and traded in
slaves, as he recounts in his journals. They in turn benefited from Livingstone’s influence with local people, which facilitated Mpamari's release from bondage to
Mwata Kazembe.
Livingstone was also furious to discover some of the replacement porters sent at his request from Ujiji were slaves.
Illness, pain and death
Henry Morton Stanley meets David Livingstone
Livingstone completely lost contact with the outside world for six years and was ill for most of the last four years of his life. Only one of his 44 letter dispatches made it to
Zanzibar.
Henry Morton Stanley, who had been sent in a publicity stunt to find him by the ''
New York Herald'' newspaper in
1869, found Livingstone in the town of
Ujiji on the shores of
Lake Tanganyika on
November 10,
1871,
[8] greeting him with the now famous words "Dr Livingstone, I presume?"
Some in
Burundi claim the famous meeting took place 12 km south of
Bujumbura at the spot marked by the
Livingstone-Stanley Memorial, Mugere, but that marks a visit they made 15 days after their first meeting - see linked article for references - on their joint exploration of the north end of Lake Tanganyika, which ended when Stanley left in March the next year.
Despite Stanley's urgings, Livingstone was determined not to leave Africa until his mission was complete. His illness made him confused and he had judgment difficulties at the end of his life. He explored the Lualaba and failing to find connections to the Nile, returned to
Lake Bangweulu and its swamps to explore possible rivers flowing out northwards.
He died in that area in Chief Chitambo's village at Ilala southeast of Lake Bangweulu in
Zambia, on
4 May 1873 from
malaria and internal bleeding caused by
dysentery. (His journal indicates that the date of his death would have been 1 May, but his attendants noted the date as 4 May, which they carved on a tree and later reported; this is the date on his grave.
) Livingstone's heart was buried under a Mvula tree near the spot where he died, now the site of the
Livingstone Memorial. His body together with his journal was carried over a thousand miles by his loyal attendants
Chuma and Susi, and was returned to Britain for burial in
Westminster Abbey.
Livingstone’s legacy
By the late 1860s Livingstone’s reputation in Europe had suffered owing to the failure of the missions he set up, and of the Zambezi Expedition; and his ideas about the source of the Nile were not supported. His expeditions were not models of order and organisation.
His reputation was rehabilitated by Stanley and his newspaper,
and by the loyalty of Livingstone's servants whose long journey with his body inspired wonder. The publication of his last journal revealed stubborn determination in the face of suffering.
He had made geographical discoveries for European knowledge. He inspired abolitionists of the slave trade, explorers and missionaries. He opened up Central Africa to missionaries who initiated the education and health care for Africans, and trade by the
African Lakes Company. He was held in some esteem by many African chiefs and local people and his name facilitated relations between them and the British.
Partly as a result, within fifty years of his death, colonial rule was established in Africa and white settlement was encouraged to extend further into the interior.
On the other hand, within a further fifty years after that, two other aspects of his legacy paradoxically helped end the colonial era in Africa without excessive bloodshed. Livingstone was part of an evangelical and nonconformist movement in Britain which during the 19th century changed the national mindset from the notion of a divine right to rule ‘lesser races’, to ethical ideas in foreign policy which, with other factors, contributed to the end the British Empire.
[9] Secondly, Africans educated in mission schools founded by people inspired by Livingstone were at the forefront of national independence movements in central, eastern and southern Africa.
[10]
Family Life
While Livingstone had a great impact on British Imperialism, he did so at a tremendous cost to his family. In his absences, his children grew up fatherless, and his wife Mary (daughter of Mary and
Robert Moffat) eventually died of malaria trying to follow him in Africa. His one regret in later life was that he did not spend enough time with his children.
[11]
Places named in his honour and other memorials
In Africa
★ The
Livingstone Memorial in Ilala,
Zambia marks where he died.
★ The city of
Livingstone, Zambia which includes a memorial in front of the
Livingstone Museum and a new statue erected in 2005.
[[http://www.times.co.zm/news/viewnews.cgi?category=6&id=1132264497 ''The Times of Zambia'' online: "David Livingstone remembered", November 15, 2005 - November 23, 2005. Website accessed 26 April 2007.]
★ David Livingstone Teachers Training College, Livingstone, Zambia
★ The David Livingstone Memorial statue at
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, erected in 1954 on the western bank of the falls.
★ A new statue of David Livingstone was erected in November 2005 on the Zambian side of Victoria Falls.
★ A plaque was unveiled in November 2005 at Livingstone Island on the lip of Victoria Falls marking where Livingstone stood to get his first view of the falls.
★ The town of Livingstonia, Malawi.
★ Livingstone Falls on the River Congo.
★ The city of Blantyre, Malawi is named for his birthplace in Lanarkshire, Scotland, and includes a memorial.
★ A memorial in Ujiji commemorates his meeting with Stanley.
★ A stone in Mugere, Burundi marks a spot which Livingstone and Stanley visited on their exploration of Lake Tanganyika, mistaken by some as the first meeting place of the two explorers.
★ There is a memorial to Livingstone at the ruins of the Kolobeng Mission, 40 km west of Gaborone, Botswana.
In Scotland
★ A statue stands near the base of the Scott Monument in the Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, Scotland.
★ The David Livingstone Centre in Blantyre, Scotland is a museum in his honour.
★ David Livingstone Memorial Primary School in his birthplace, Blantyre, Lanarkshire, Scotland.
★ David Livingstone Memorial Church of the Church of Scotland, in Blantyre, Lanarkshire, Scotland.
★ A bust of David Livingstone is among those of famous Scotsmen in the William Wallace Memorial near Stirling, Scotland.
In London
★ His grave is marked in Westminster Abbey, London.
★ The Royal Geographic Society has a statue of Livingstone in the hall of their London headquarters.
★ David Livingstone Primary School, Thornton Heath, Croydon
★ Livingstone Primary School, New Barnet, London
In Canada
★ David Livingstone Elementary School, Vancouver
★ David Livingstone Community School, Winnipeg
★ Bronze bust in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
In USA
Livingstone College, Salisbury, North Carolina
In popular culture
★ In the film Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Arthur Dent dresses up as Dr Livingstone at a costume party.
★ In 1939, a popular film called ''Stanley and Livingstone'' was released, with Cedric Hardwicke as Livingstone and Spencer Tracy as Stanley, portraying the works Livingstone did in Africa.
★ "Dr Livingstone, I Presume" is a song on the 1968 Moody Blues album, ''In Search of the Lost Chord''.
★ ''Mountains of the Moon'' is a 1990 film in which Livingstone is portrayed by Bernard Hill.
★ "''What about Livingstone''" is a song by Swedish pop group ABBA on the album "''Waterloo''".
★ Livingstone appears on the album cover for The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The cover was a collage made by artist Peter Blake. Livingstone appears in the third row.
★ "Doctor Livingstone" is a song by Crowded House which is on their ''Afterglow'' album (1999).
See also
★ David Livingstone Centre (museum in Blantyre, Lanarkshire, Scotland)
★ Thomas Baines
★ John Kirk
★ Livingstone Inland Mission
★ The Historical Background to Church Activities in Zambia
External links
★
★
★ ''Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa''
★
★ ''A Popular Account of Dr Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi and its Tributaries''
★
★ ''The Personal Life of David Livingstone''
★ A Brief Biography of David Livingstone
★ David Livingstone Biography
★ The Life of David Livingstone
References
1. The National Trust for Scotland: ''David Livingstone Centre, Birthplace Of Famous Scot'', website accessed 22 April 2007.
2. Tim Holmes: "The History" in: ''Spectrum Guide to Zambia''. Camerapix International Publishers, Nairobi. 1996
3. 'Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone' (2003), Martin Dugard
4. Stanley Henry M., How I Found Livingstone; travels, adventures, and discoveries in Central Africa, including an account of four months' residence with Dr. Livingstone. 1871.
5. David Livingstone & Horace Waller (Ed): The Last Journals of David Livingstone in Central Africa from 1865 to his Death. Two Volumes. John Murray, London, 1874.
6. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/livingstone_david.shtml BBC.co.uk/History Historic Figures: "David Livingstone" accessed on 1 February 2007
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Morton_Stanley Wikipedia article on Henry Morton Stanley accessed 1 February 2007
8. ''Northern Rhodesia Journal'' online: "David Livingstone chronology." Vol V, No. 3 (1963). Note that Livingstone records the date as 24 October since he was by then 16 days out in his date reckoning. Accessed 23 March 2007.
9. Corelli Barnett: The Audit of War: The Illusion and Reality of Britain as a Great Nation (Macmillan, 1986)
10. Richard Seymour Hall: “Kaunda, founder of Zambia”. Longman, 1967.
11. Niall Ferguson: “Empire: The rise and demise of the British world order and the lessons for global power”. Basic Books, 2003.
Other sources
★ Holmes, Timothy. ''Journey to Livingstone: Exploration of an Imperial Myth''. Edinburgh: Canongate Press, 1993.
★ Livingstone, , Tim, Jeal, Heinemann, 1973, ISBN 0-434-37208-0
★ Martelli, George. ''Livingstone's River: A History of the Zambezi Expedition'', 1858-1864. London: Chatto & Windus, 1970.
★ Ross, Andrew C. ''David Livingstone: Mission and Empire''. London and New York: Hambledon and London, 2002.
★ Nourbese Philip, Marlene. ''Looking for Livingstone: An Odyssey of Silence'', Toronto: The Mercury Press, 1991.
★ Livingstone, David. ''Dernier Journal''. Arléa, 1999 – ISBN 2-86959-449-6
★ Eynikel, Hilde. ''Mrs. Livingstone: een biografie''. Davidsfonds, 2005, 487 pages - – ISBN 90-5826-347-9
★ Journeys in South Africa (or Travels and Researches in South Africa, , David, Livingstone, The Amalgamated Press Ltd., 1905,
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