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Persuasive Landscapes: Representations of Victoria Falls and Colonial Migration in the Mid-Nineteenth Century

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Persuasive Landscapes: Representations of Victoria Falls and Colonial Migration in the Mid-Nineteenth Century 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. <https://collections.britishart.yale. edu/catalog/tms:62325> [accessed 8 April 2021]. Following the abolition of slavery in Missionary Travels and several John Thomas Baines, born in Norfolk later.11 Both men documented their 1833, the civilising mission became the paintings of Victoria Falls by Thomas in 1820, sailed to Cape Town two years observations in great detail; Baines means to maintain control and power Baines can be analysed through these after Livingstone following a five- through a series of detailed sketches of in the African colonies by bringing lenses to explore how they sought to year apprenticeship as an ornamental Victoria Falls and Livingstone through religion, medicine, and education to fulfill these desires. This article will painter.5 His talent as an artist and Missionary Travels and Researches in those in the ‘dark continent.’ This study the works of Thomas Baines and cartographer enabled him to join a South Africa and later, A Popular Account 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 VIDES 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 / 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 VIDES 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 / 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.
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