Great African Travellers

Great African Travellers: From Mungo Park to Livingstone and Stanley (1874)

This comprehensive historical account by William H. G. Kingston details successive African expeditions from the late eighteenth through mid-nineteenth centuries. The narrative chronicles Mungo Park's two journeys into West Africa, documenting his capture by Moorish forces, escape, and discovery of the Niger River; his subsequent drowning during a second expedition. It describes Denham and Clapperton's traversal of the Sahara to Lake Chad and Bornou, including military encounters and diplomatic exchanges with local rulers. Richard Lander's solo completion of Park's work and the subsequent Niger River descent by the Lander brothers comprise additional chapters. The volume extensively covers Dr. Barth's travels across North and Central Africa, including visits to Timbuctoo and the discovery of the Binue River. Final sections document Captain Speke's identification of Lake Victoria Nyanza as the Nile's source and his subsequent expedition with Grant confirming this finding through geographic survey and river navigation.