David Livingstone Also by Meriel Buxton

LADIES OF THE CHASE THE PONY CLUB: Dream and Reality THE WORLD OF HUNTING David Livingstone

Meriel Buxton © Meriel Buxton 2001 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2001 978-0-333-74041-5 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2001 by PALGRAVE Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE is the new global academic imprint of St. Martin’s Press LLC Scholarly and Reference Division and Palgrave Publishers Ltd (formerly Macmillan Press Ltd). ISBN 978-1-349-40971-6 ISBN 978-0-230-28652-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230286528

This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Buxton, Meriel. David Livingstone / Meriel Buxton. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.

1. Livingstone, David, 1813–1873. 2. Explorers—Africa, Southern—Biography. 3. Explorers—Scotland—Biography. 4. Africa, Southern—Discovery and exploration. I. Title. DT1110.L58 B89 2001 916.704'23'092—dc21 [B] 00–065218

10987654321 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 To Jack without whom this book would never have been written This page intentionally left blank Contents

List of Plates ix List of Maps x Foreword by Dr David Livingstone Wilson xi Acknowledgements xiii A Note on Spelling xiv Chronology xv

1 Blantyre: the Boy 1 2 Glasgow, Chipping Ongar and London: the Student 8 3 Kuruman and Mabotsa: the Newcomer 23 4 Chonuane and Kolobeng: the Missionary 43 5 Lake Ngami, the River Zouga and Cape Town: the Traveller 58 6 To the West Coast of Africa: the Pioneer 75 7 Across Africa from West to East: Great Leader of Africans 88 8 Britain: National Hero 99 9 The Zambesi and Shire Rivers: Flawed Leader of Europeans 111 10 The Shire and Rovuma Rivers: the Husband 124 11 The Indian Ocean: Ship’s Captain 135 12 Britain: Author and Father 140 13 Lakes Nyassa, Tanganyika and Moero: the Explorer 151 14 Ujiji and Unyanyembe: Scoop 164 15 To Chitambo’s Village: the Dying Man 173

vii viii Contents

16 From Africa to Westminster Abbey: Venerated Leader 176 17 From Blantyre to Westminster Abbey: neither Saint nor Failure 181

Appendix: Livingstone’s Alleged Love Child 199 Notes 200 Bibliography 206 Index 208 List of Plates

1 The room at Blantyre where Livingstone lived with all his family 2 Shuttle Row, Blantyre, c.1870 3 Robert Moffat, Livingstone’s father-in-law 4 Mary, Livingstone’s wife 5 William Cotton Oswell, who discovered Lake Ngami and met Sebitoane with Livingstone 6 David Livingstone – this picture was taken in Cape Town in 1852 7 Livingstone and his family, 1857 8 Bishop Mackenzie, leader of the Universities Mission, who tragically died in 1862 9 Livingstone and his daughter Anna Mary, 1864 10 Henry Morton Stanley and his African protégé Kalulu 11 Susi, Horace Waller, Chuma, Agnes Livingstone, Mrs Webb, William F. Webb and Tom Livingstone at Newstead Abbey, 1874

All plates most generously provided by the David Livingstone Centre at Blantyre.

ix List of Maps

1 Livingstone’s early travels, 1841–56 69 2 The Zambesi expedition, 1858–63 115 3 Taking the Lady Nyassa from Quilimane to Bombay, 1864 137 4 Last journeys, 1866–73 155

x Foreword

David Livingstone has not lacked biographers throughout the century and a quarter since his death! The earlier biographies relied on his published works supplemented by recollections of some who knew or had worked with him. They portrayed the Victorian hero who inspired succeeding generations. Then in the mid-1900s came a number of scholarly studies by historians with different interests exploring various aspects of his life or particular journeys, as well as a series of expertly annotated collections of his correspondence and journals. These additional sources have in the last 25 years been used to analyse his life and character against the background of his times. Frequently such biographies have exposed and publi- cized his failures or character failings. So the Victorian hero acclaimed as a missionary, explorer and liberator has also been branded a failure. Of course he had his strengths and weaknesses, his failures as well as his successes. I worked for several years as a medical missionary living not far from one of my great-grandfather’s routes and more recently fol- lowed his last journey from his meeting with Stanley. Livingstone wanted the world to appreciate Africans as human beings whose potential could only be fulfilled through Christianity, commerce and civilization. He is far from forgotten in the countries he tra- versed and is especially remembered in Zambia where he died, not merely as a historical figure, but as the one who brought the Christian Gospel to their land. Even today in his own country people who may recall little about him are still interested in him. For the twenty-first century Meriel Buxton has undertaken a new biography – quite a daunting task. She has researched her subject thoroughly and ably guides the reader through Livingstone’s life story: the missionary who, unusually for his time, became deeply interested in the way of life and language of the Kwena tribe with whom he lived and worked, but then felt compelled to become a traveller and explorer through ten countries of modern Africa, and played a significant role in exposing the evils of the slave trade.

xi xii Foreword

Hers is an engrossing story of Livingstone who was neither a saint nor a failure – and paradoxically that is a positive, not a negative view.

David Livingstone Wilson Auchterarder March 2000 Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Dr David Livingstone Wilson, great-grandson of David Livingstone, for all the help he has given me by reading and commenting on the typescript and especially by writing the Foreword. He is a fund of information on every aspect of Livingstone’s life. Everyone at the David Livingstone Centre at Blantyre has gone out of their way to be helpful and encouraging. The Centre is a remarkable place, quite unlike any other museum, with an enthu- siastic team and a friendly atmosphere which cannot fail to engender an interest in Livingstone and his early life in the building now devoted to his memory. In particular, Karen Carruthers, the Prop- erty Manager, has arranged to provide all the illustrations for this book and has helped in innumerable different ways. The Centre was managed by the Scottish National Memorial to David Livingstone Trust, founded in 1926, until 1999, when management passed to the Scottish National Trust. Professor Jack Spence has been my mentor and guide throughout the writing of this book: without his sound advice, knowledge and encouragement it would never have been started, much less completed. I am also grateful to Anthony and Merrill Dawson Paul and to Jane Stanley for their help, to my son Hugh for all his technical assistance with the word processing, and to my daughter Rose and especially my husband James for all their encouragement, interest and support.

xiii A note on spelling

While Livingstone’s own spelling is far from consistent, I have at- tempted to adhere to the form most commonly used by him throughout. Many of the names are different from their modern equivalents. The Livingstone family, as mentioned in the text, spelt their own name without the ﬁnal ‘e’ until 1855 when David Livingstone’s father Neil asked all his children to revert to the original spelling with an ‘e’. I have used this form throughout except for quotations from letters.

xiv Chronology

1813 19 March born Blantyre, Lanarkshire. 1823 Started work as a cotton piecer. 1826 The only boy at the mills to continue learning Latin. 1832 Promoted to spinner. 1833 Abolition of slavery throughout British Empire. 1834 Read Karl Gutzlaff pamphlet concerning medical missionaries in China. 1836 Anderson’s College, Glasgow. 1838–9 Probationer of London Missionary Society at Chipping Ongar. 1840 Qualiﬁed in medicine. Ordained. Sailed to Africa. 1841 Kuruman. Bechuanaland with Edwards. 1842 Travelled. 1843 Founded mission at Mabotsa. Travelled with Captain Steele. Attacked by lion. 1844 Engaged to Mary Moffat. 1845 2 January married. Moved to Chonuane. 1846 Robert born. 1847 Moved to Kolobeng. Agnes born. 1848 Sechele’s conversion. 1849 Thomas born. To Lake Ngami with Oswell. 1850 Expedition with Mary and children. Elizabeth born and died. Mary had stroke. 1851 Visited Sebitoane. Oswell (Zouga) born. 1852 Cape Town. Mary and children sailed to England. Sack of Kolobeng. Kuruman. 1853 Returned to Makololo: Sekeletu now chief. Started for West coast. 1854 To Loanda then started back. 1855 To Sekeletu. Saw the Victoria Falls. 1856 To Quilimane. Sailed to England. 1857 Missionary Researches and Travels in South Africa published. 1858 Start of Zambesi Expedition. Anna Mary born at Kuruman. Bedingfeld left.

xv xvi Chronology

1859 Shire River and Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa. Baines and Thornton dismissed. 1860 Linyanti and back to deliver Makololo. Heard fate of Helmore mission. 1861 Pioneer arrived. Mackenzie’s mission to Shire Highlands. Explored Lake Nyassa. 1862 Arrival of Mary, missionary ladies and Lady Nyassa. Deaths of Mackenzie, Burrup and Mary. To Rovuma. 1863 Lady Nysassa launched. Thornton returned then died. Kirk and Charles left. Expedition recalled. DL walked 700 miles by Lake Nyassa. Tozer withdrew mission. 1864 Sailed Lady Nyassa to Bombay. Sailed to England. Death of Robert. 1865 Newstead. Completed Zambesi book. Mother died. To Bombay. 1866 Zanzibar. Expedition started from Mikidani along the Rovuma. False report of DL’s murder. 1867 Medicines stolen. Seriously ill and much delayed. To Lake Moero. 1868 Lake Bangweolo. 1869 Seriously ill. To Lake Tanganyika by litter. Reached Ujiji. 1870 Long stay at Bambarre. 1871 To Nyangwe. 15 July massacre. To Ujiji. Arrival of Stanley. Journey north. 1872 18 February Unyanyembe. 14 March Stanley left. August left Unyanyembe for Lake Tanganyika. 1873 1 May died in Ilala at Chitambo’s village. Body carried back to Zanzibar. 1874 18 April state funeral in Westminster Abbey.