Persuasive landscapes: representations of Victoria Falls and colonial migration in the mid-nineteenth century
CHALA DODDS This article studies the representations of Victoria Falls through David Livingstone’s descriptions in Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa and Thomas Baines’ colour lithograph, The Falls from the Western End of the Chasm, exploring how the portrayal of the landscape through text and image encouraged migration to the colony.
Figure 1. Thomas Baines, 1865, The Falls from the Western End of the Chasm, Zambezi River, colour lithograph, 36.5 x 56.2 cm. Yale Center for British Art, Gift of Renée and Geoffrey Hartman, Yale PhD 1953.
approach meant that a number of David Livingstone, analysing their few expeditions. As a war artist, he of Dr. Livingstone’s Expedition to the PERSUASIVE LANDSCAPES missionaries and explorers continued representations of Victoria Falls, the documented the bloody events of the Zambesi and Its Tributaries: And of the to operate in Africa, as they had intentions behind the works and how Eighth Frontier War before joining Discovery of Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa. before the abolition of the slave trade, they were likely to be received back in Augustus Gregory’s 1855-1857 working in and exploring Southern Britain. expedition across Northern Australia, David Livingstone’s detailed yet Africa and relaying their findings as the official artist.6 His experience emotive descriptions appeal to those through journals, sketches and David Livingstone, born to ‘poor, led him to be selected by Livingstone seeking a gripping and informative paintings back to the motherland. honest, God-fearing parents’ in to be the artist and storekeeper for view into the Southern African CHALA DODDS / VIDES Not only did these findings expand Blantyre, Scotland on 19th March 1813, his Zambesi expedition in 1858.7 The ecosystem. As he nears his first glimpse their scientific knowledge of the first set sail to Cape Town from England goal of this expedition was ‘to open of Victoria Falls, he describes the regions, but the tales of adventure and in 1840.3 In David Livingstone: The up the Zambesi River for navigation ‘columns of vapour’12 that rise above descriptions of this beautiful, exciting, Weaver Boy who became a Missionary, from Indian Ocean to the Victoria Falls the landscape. He describes these five fertile, and unpopulated world became published in 1874, Henry Adams to act as a conduit for commerce and columns ‘bending in the direction of a tool to maintain control over, and describes Livingstone’s aim as ‘to colonisation.’8 However, the expedition the wind, they seem placed against continue building, a successful colony minister to the temporal and spiritual failed on many counts. Baines was the lower ridge covered with trees; the by encouraging migration to Southern wants of the benighted millions in that falsely accused of theft and left the party tops of the columns at this distance Africa.1 David Livingstone’s activities far land, - to heal the sick, as far as under a cloud.9 Despite this, his desire to appear to mingle with the clouds.’13 The fulfilled the desires of three different human means could do so,- and at the explore the interior of Southern Africa attention that Livingstone gives to his audiences back in Britain. The scientific same time to direct them to the Great continued and he joined trader-explorer descriptions reveal a desire to invite community demanded ‘accurate Physician who alone could cleanse James Chapman on an expedition to his readers to experience this scene observations of the geography, flora them from the leprosy of sin, - this Victoria Falls in 1861.10 Livingstone through his words, and to appreciate its and fauna’, the general audience was the work which he had set before was the first European man to discover beauty as he does. Livingstone reports was riveted by tales of adventure and him for which he was now pursuing Victoria Falls on the 16th of November that ‘the banks and islands are adorned danger in this unknown continent, the study of medicine and divinity.’4 1855 and Baines was the first artist to with sylvan vegetation’ and that ‘... and finally there was the audience who In order to achieve this, he studied see and illustrate the Falls seven years several trees were spangled over with sought to gain information ‘to enable medicine and divinity at Glasgow
the exploitation of Africa for either University. 5 E. Liebenberg, ‘Thomas Baines’s Contribution to 19th Century South African Cartography’, Terrae Incognitae commercial gain or evangelizing 51.1 (2019): 36-59. Web.p. 39. purposes.’2 Both Livingstone’s 6 Ibid., p. 39. 7 Ibid., p. 40. 1 John McAleer, Representing Africa: Landscape, Exploration and Empire in Southern Africa, 1780-1870 (Man- 8 Ibid., p. 41. chester: Manchester University Press, 2010), p. 161. 9 Ibid., p. 41. 2 L. C. Henderson, ‘David Livingstone’s Missionary Travels in Britain and America: Exploring the Wider Circulation of a Victorian Travel Narrative.’ Scottish Geographical Journal 129.3-4 (2013): 179-93, p. 182. 10 E. Liebenberg, p. 42. 11 Ibid., p. 42. 3 H. G. Adams, David Livingstone: The Weaver Boy who became a Missionary, New and Enlarged ed. Lon- don: Hodder and Stoughton, 1874. p5. 12 Livingstone, p. 519. 4 Ibid., p. 4. 13 Ibid., p. 519.
61 62 blossoms.’14 His observations, compact experience. He often compared what he gulf, and forced there to change its ‘dense white cloud’ where a ‘great jet with decorative verbs and adjectives, saw to landscapes at home; this allowed direction, and flow from the right to of vapour rises’21 and in the foreground seek to personify the vegetation in his audience to feel closer to this other the left bank, and then rush boiling the rainbow that Livingstone discusses. front of him. ‘Towering over all…’ he world. Without these comparisons, the and roaring through the hills, he may The focal point of Baines’s artwork have some idea of what takes place at describes ‘...the great burly baobab, portrayal of this landscape could easily is the white foam that rises from the this, the most wonderful sight I had each of whose enormous arms would be too far removed from a typical British chasm which Livingstone describes as a witnessed in Africa.19
form the trunk of a large tree, beside reader’s experience to be real. These ‘snow-white sheet [which] seemed like PERSUASIVE LANDSCAPES groups of graceful palms, which with descriptions give enough familiar myriads of small comets rushing on in Livingstone contrasts the Zambezi their feathery-shaped leaves depicted information to intrigue the reader and one direction, each of which left behind River to the Thames, manipulating its on the sky, lend their beauty to the encourage them to understand that the its nucleus rays of foam.’22 movements to describe to his audience scene.’15 Livingstone gives no scientific landscape he describes is more beautiful in familiar images how the view before information on individual species of than what can be found at home. He In ‘The Great Victoria Falls in Africa,’23 his eyes can in no way be compared to flora or fauna, which certainly creates explained, ‘some trees resemble the an article by Baines published in famous English landscapes such as the the image of a beautiful, fertile, great spreading oak, others assume The London Journal in 1864, Baines
CHALA DODDS / VIDES Thames. mysterious, and unknown world. A the character of our own elms and gives his own remarkably similar world that those in Britain can only chestnuts; but no one can imagine account of this scene. He describes It is difficult to picture exactly what reach through his writing unless they the beauty of the view from anything this body of water rushing ‘forward Livingstone saw and impossible to are so enraptured by these descriptions witnessed in England.’18 Livingstone’s with so much violence as to break up share in that experience without visual that a select few may be able to follow connections between England and the whole into a fleecy, snow-white, representations. Hence why it was so his lead and seek out this adventure for foreign landscapes become more irregularly seething torrent with its important to have an artist like Baines on themselves. persuasive as he asks his reader to: lighter particles glittering and flashing such expeditions. The colour lithograph like myriads of living diamonds in the The Falls from the Western End of the In Representing Africa, John McAleer [imagine] the Thames filled with sunlight.’24 Baines also describes the low, tree-covered hills immediately Chasm ( Figure 1) by Baines was created discusses the use of landscape to ‘lighter particles’ of water forming into beyond the tunnel, extending as from sketches he did on site during encourage the migration of Europeans ‘comet or rocket-like trains of spray far as Gravesend, the bed of black his expedition with James Chapman. to the colonies. He explains that ‘as and vapour…’25 These descriptions, basaltic rock instead of London mud, Although they are not illustrations soon as formal British control had been paired with Baines’s artwork, reveal and a fissure made therein from one of Livingstone’s descriptions, the established in Southern Africa, British a scene out of this world; a landscape end of the tunnel to the other down similarity is undeniable. In Baines’s travellers were seeing landscapes as of abundance where water glitters through the keystones of the arch, work we see ‘the falls are bounded on places to be filled by settlers.’16 In order and prolonged from the left end of the like diamonds and flies like comets; three sides by ridges 300 or 400 feet in to do this, ‘...it was helpful to represent tunnel through thirty miles of hills, a landscape that has to be seen to be height, which are covered with forest, landscape as something pleasant, the pathway being 100 feet down believed and designed to encourage with the red soil appearing among the usefully picturesque, or in some way from the bed of the river instead of migration to the colonies where lay the trees.’20 In the background we see the related to what prospective settlers were what it is, with the lips of the fissure from 80 to 100 feet apart, then fancy familiar with at home.’17 Livingstone 19 Ibid., p. 520. the Thames leaping bodily into the was aware of his audience and their 20 D. Livingstone, p. 520. 21 Ibid., p. 521. 14 Ibid., p. 519. 22 Ibid., p. 521. 15 Ibid., p. 519. 23 Baines, T.. “The Great Victoria Falls in Africa” The London Journal, and Weekly Record of Literature, Sci- 16 McAleer, p. 157. ence, and Art, Mar. 1845-Apr. 1906 40.1036 (1864): 397-98. Web. 17 Ibid., p. 159. 24 Ibid., pp. 397-98. 18 D. Livingstone, p. 519. 25 Ibid., pp. 397-398.
63 64 possibility of experiencing them in the The selection of paintings that depict who brought the Christian message flesh. a beautiful, established community The works of David Livingstone, paired to Southern Africa believed that the imply that it would be more appealing with images like Thomas Baines’s, landscape encoded the work and Advertised in exhibitions, fairs and for viewers of the artworks to see a appealed to this audience and were provided evidence of the perfection of a publications, images of Africa were landscape which was immediately widely circulated. Baines’s artworks divine creator.’34 This influence is seen designed ‘to portray the colonies… as accessible and a life which they could were published as colour lithos and clearly in Livingstone’s descriptions of
worthy of investment, as places where easily identify with. made into lantern slides. This meant Victoria Falls. He states that, ‘[Victoria PERSUASIVE LANDSCAPES civilised society had been firmly planted that they could be copied, distributed Falls] had never been seen before by and taken root, and where the scientific Although The Falls from the Western End of and easily accessible for the ‘civilised European eyes; but scenes so lovely and technological advancements of the Chasm does not fall into the category society’ that they were intended for. must have been gazed upon by angels nineteenth-century Europe were of a ‘pretty homestead’, Baines was The conversion of works such as this in their flight.’35 In this description, he being deployed for the benefit of the very aware of what his market wanted into lantern slides revealed a market appeals to both evangelists and those settlers.’26 and this conveniently unpopulated, that desired to be submerged in this hungry for adventure: who would not fertile, idyllic view of Victoria Falls, imagined world and experience it in be tempted to share this experience fit CHALA DODDS / VIDES The Great Exhibition of 1851 was one of abundant with flora and fauna would be their own homes, if not in the real for angels? many platforms that the colonies used appealing to his audience. Both Baines landscape itself. to showcase their landscapes to the and Livingstone can be seen to fulfill Livingstone describes the rainbows European public.27 There is no doubt these requirements in the portrayal Livingstone’s Missionary Travels, over the falls as ‘the abode of Deity.’36 that, as an artist, Baines was aware of of this beautiful landscape and the published by John Murray in 1857, had He explains that some of the Makololo the use of suggestive landscapes which comparisons with landscapes and flora 12,000 advance subscriptions and it who travelled with him looked up at held the promise of a better life in the that the European audience would be was not long before 30,000 copies of the scene with the same awe. When the colonies, he saw these images as tools familiar with. the guinea edition were printed. This rainbow is seen in the sky it is called to actively encourage migration to the was achieved in a time where travel ‘motse oa barimo’- the pestle of the colonies. Baines displayed many of his The missionary movement played a narratives rarely sold over 10,000 gods. Regardless of religion, Livingstone works in Alexandra Palace, London, as key part in the migration of Europeans copies and highlighted how sought describes this as a holy place. Baines well as in the Paris Exhibition of 1867. to form settler colonies in Southern after Livingstone’s accounts were.32 cultivates this same heavenly scene However, he was disappointed by the Africa.29 The abolition of the slave Looking back to his early life and his in his artwork, highlighted by the artworks selected for display, claiming trade ‘was the first evangelical success initial reasons for choosing his career presence of the rainbow or ‘pestle of that ‘...they chose all the pretty in terms of orientating Britain’s path, Henry Adams explains that, ‘with the gods’37 in the right-hand corner of homesteads that would encourage relationship with the wider world a deep sense of the responsibility of his artwork. However, Livingstone goes immigrants to go to the Cape, and to Christian principles espoused at his holy calling, [Livingstone] had left on to say that although the Makololo not my best pictures.’28 Baines seems home.’30 Consequently, ‘religion home and friends to go forth into the were aware of the presence of a God, to recognise that his ‘best pictures’ became fashionable and newsworthy, desolate places of the earth, for the they were not aware of his God. They were not the pretty homesteads, but and information about missionary salvation of souls.’33 With this in mind, were ‘...not aware of His true character, the dramatic, untamed landscapes. endeavours was highly sought after.’31 McAleer claims that ‘many of those they had no admiration of the beautiful
26 McAleer, pp.170, 171. 32 Henderson, p. 179. 27 Ibid., p.164. 33 Adamas, p. 11. 28 Ibid., p.167. 34 McAleer, p. 134. 29 McAleer, p. 138. 35 Livingstone, p. 519. 30 Ibid., p. 133. 36 Ibid., p. 524. 31 Ibid., p. 133. 37 Ibid., p. 524.
65 66 and good in their bosoms. They did not what is there, whilst hinting at what imitate His benevolence, for they were a is missing and can only be found by bloody, imperious crew.’38 Livingstone witnessing it in the flesh. The wild, emphasises the need for missionaries untamed landscape, with its heavenly in this part of the world, to educate beauty made it attractive to both those about his God and to emulate His adventurers and those who wanted to
ways. Furthermore, he highlights the be closer to God and take part in the PERSUASIVE LANDSCAPES importance of resident missionaries ‘civilizing mission.’ in civilizing local tribes and nurturing this fertile, unpopulated paradise to its The undeniable similarities in full potential. In A Popular Account of Dr. both Baines’ and Livingstone’s Livingstone’s Expedition to the Zambesi representations of the landscape, albeit and Its Tributaries: And of the Discovery their differing disciplines, suggest an of Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa, published individual fascination and awe of the CHALA DODDS / VIDES in 1875, Livingstone explains how the environment, as well as an awareness ‘hippopotami had destroyed the fruit of a shared wonderment and intrigue trees’ that he had planted on his first that would be felt by the recipients of visit, claiming that ‘...when a tribe their artworks and publications. takes an interest in trees, it becomes more attached to the spot on which they were planted, and they prove one of the civilizing influences.’39
Thomas Baines’s artworks of Victoria Falls, accompanied by David Livingstone’s descriptions give us insight into the power that the representation of Southern African landscapes had in encouraging migration to the colony. The abundance of flora, fauna and unpopulated fertile land made it appealing to those who sought a life of adventure, exploration and the potential wealth and status that populating a relatively small, new community promised. Livingstone and Baines reveal enough in their detailed portrayals of the landscapes to show
38 Ibid., p. 524. 39 D. Livingstone, and C. Livingstone, A Popular Account of Dr. Livingstone’s Expedition to the Zambesi and Its Tributaries, pp. 259-260.
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