Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa

From the opening

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.

A short sample. Read the whole book

More to read

• A Belated Guest (from Literary Friends and Acquaintance)William Dean HowellsHistory19 pages
• A Bit of Old ChinaCharles Warren StoddardHistory17 pages
• A Book of Remarkable CriminalsH. B. IrvingHistory341 pages
• A Book of ScoundrelsCharles WhibleyHistory202 pages
• A Brief History of the Internet The Bright Side: The Dark SideMichael HartHistory59 pages