| It was 1870, and
Livingstone and Stanley explored the region together until Livingstone set out separately
to reach the source of the Nile River. In 1871, he died in a native village, and, although
his remains are interred in Westminster Cathedral, his followers, upon his death in
Africa, buried his heart beneath a tree at the spot where he succumbed. He was greatly
respected by African tribes for his devotion to Africa and its people, including his
disgust of the slave trade that still permeated the continent even after it had been
outlawed. Livingstone was considered one of the pioneers in its final demise. The exploration of Africa allowed the world to view the abundance of natural resources that ultimately resulted in the conquest of its inhabitants and the colonization of its land by European settlers. The continent was literally carved up by the European nations, particularly England and France; establishing new country boundaries that foolishly disregarded tribal homeland perimeters, causing tribal wars, dissension, and anxieties that have perplexed Africans ever since. [Back] [Next] [Up] [New Search] 'Black History' segment written in June, 1998 |
Excerpted
from a speech given by Reverend David Livingstone, L.L.D. in Edinburgh, Scotland,
September, 1857. THEY PURCHASE SLAVES "As it would not be much profit to have come home and made myself only a nine days' wonder, I wish to give you a little information, so that your sympathies may be drawn out more effectually to the land from which I have come. I am thankful to see so many assembled and to see the sympathy manifested to me as the representative of that land from which I have come. In going back to that country my object is to try and get a permanent path into the central region, from which most of the slaves have always been drawn. The native slave-drivers go into the centre of the country and carry our manufactures there and with a few yards of cloth they purchase slaves and then they take them to the sea coast. The people are so anxious to get a little of our manufactures that, in return for them, they part, not with their own children, but with children kidnapped from other tribes. Now, I hope to be able to make a path by the Zambesi into the central country, and then, if we can supply the people with our goods for lawful commerce, I think we have a fair prospect of putting a stop to the slave-trade in a very large tract of country." |