David Livingstone Traverses the African Continent
Overview
David Livingstone (1813-1873) began exploring Africa in 1841 and spent most of the next 32 years there, until his death in 1873. In his travels he discovered or traced some of Africa's major rivers and lakes, elucidating much of the drainage system of the central and southern continent. As a missionary, he fought against the African slave trade and the exploitation of African natives, especially by the Portuguese and the Boers (Dutch settlers in South Africa). He also wrote extensively of his travels and discoveries, winning much acclaim and helping to influence Western attitudes toward Africa and its inhabitants.
Background
Africa had been known to Europeans since the time of the Greeks, who had built cities along the African coast. However, with the exception of a small distance along the Nile River, Europeans had little conception of the size of the continent until Bartholemeu Dias's voyage in 1487 and 1488 in which Africa's southern-most point was rounded for the first time. Over the next three centuries, although the coastline and some of the major African rivers were mapped, virtually nothing of the African interior was known.
Crucial to understanding the central and southern African interior was the pattern of lakes and rivers.
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