MISSIONARY TRAVELS AND RESEARCHES
IN SOUTH AFRICA.
Also called, Travels and Researches in South Africa;
or, Journeys and Researches in South Africa.
By David Livingstone
[British (Scot) Missionary and Explorer—1813-1873.]
[NOTE by the Project Gutenberg Contributor of this file:
This etext was prepared by Alan. R. Light To assure a high quality text,
the original was typed in (manually) twice and electronically compared.
Italicized words or phrases are CAPITALIZED.
David Livingstone was born in Scotland, received his medical degree from
the University of Glasgow, and was sent to South Africa by the London
Missionary Society. Circumstances led him to try to meet the material
needs as well as the spiritual needs of the people he went to, and while
promoting trade and trying to end slavery, he became the first European
to cross the continent of Africa, which story is related in this book.
Two appendixes have been added to this etext, one of which is simply
notes on the minor changes made to make this etext more readable, (old
vs. new forms of words, names, etc.); the other is a review from the
February, 1858 edition of Harper's Magazine, which is included both for
those readers who want to see a brief synopsis, and more importantly to
give an example of how Livingstone's accomplishments were seen in
his own time. The unnamed reviewer was by no means as enlightened as
Livingstone, yet he was not entirely in the dark, either.
The casual reader, who may not be familiar with the historical period,
should note that a few things that Livingstone wrote, which might be
seen as racist by today's standards, was not considered so in his
own time. Livingstone simply uses the terms and the science of his
day—these were no doubt flawed, as is also seen elsewhere, in his
references to malaria, for example. Which all goes to show that it was
the science of the day which was flawed, and not so much Livingstone.
I will also add that the Rev. Livingstone has a fine sense of humour,
which I hope the reader will enjoy. His description of a Makololo dance
is classic.
Lastly, I will note that what I love most about Livingstone's
descriptions is not only that he was not polluted by the racism of his
day, but that he was not polluted by the anti-racism of our own. He
states things as he sees them, and notes that the Africans are, like all
other men, a curious mixture of good and evil. This, to me, demonstrates
his good faith better than any other description could. You see, David
Livingstone does not write about Africa as a missionary, nor as an
explorer, nor yet as a scientist, but as a man meeting fellow men. I
hope you will enjoy his writings as much as I did.
Alan R. Light
Monroe, N.C., 1997.]
CONTENTS
[ Appendix.—Latitudes and Longitudes of Positions. ]
[a] Appendix.—Book Review in Harper's, February, 1858. ]
[a] Appendix.—Notes to Etext. ]