Africa! The black continent, over the geography of which the Creator especially worked! Here are the greatest deserts, and the highest mountains covered with glaciers, and the famous Rift Valley, which split Africa from the Red Sea to Mozambique, and the craters of volcanoes, in contrast to their counterparts in other parts of the world, filled to the brim with ashes of past frightening deeds, but violent jungle, and finally the ancient Nile, carrying its waters from the great freshwater lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea today, as well as during the time of Pharaoh Ramses ... In every country in Africa there is a miracle of nature!

  The fate of truly great people is characterized by the fact that over time their names do not fade. On the contrary, interest in them is growing, and not even so much in their affairs, but in their life and personality.

How many can you name people who "made themselves"? Well, Lomonosov, this is understandable ... And also? Do you have difficulty? I want to tell you about the famous traveler David Livingston, a tireless explorer of Africa.

The story of his life is very well known - a half century is not such a long time to blur its contours. The canonical embodiment of the Victorian spirit, which Dr. David is, is still easily absorbed by our consciousness, and we do not often wonder how strange this lanky figure must have seemed to the inhabitants of Kuruman, Mabotse, Kolobeng, Lignanti - his missionary outposts in Africa. He did not become a “European African”: his legendary commitment to the archetypal costume of an impeccable gentleman, even in situations where he cannot be called appropriate, is by no means an eccentricity, but a natural personality trait. But all the same, the changes were secretly taking place. From England to Africa came just a well-intentioned young man. In Africa, he became the Worker of the era, a symbol and driving force of dialogue - in all its forms. Kind and arrogant, truly useful and, to tell the truth, destructive, everything that the European really got ahead of his Negro contemporary at that time, and everything that only seemed to be superior, all fit in the shape of Livingston.


David Livingston is a Scottish missionary who dedicated his life to the study of Africa. He went down in history as a person who filled many white spots on the map of this continent, and as a tireless fighter against the slave trade, who enjoyed great love and respect from the local population.
  "I will discover Africa or perish."
   (Lingwinston)

  Livingstone david
  (March 19, 1813 - May 1, 1873)
  Livingston devoted Africa most of his life, having walked predominantly on foot over 50 thousand km. He was the first to strongly advocate for the black people of Africa.
   British physician, missionary, distinguished researcher in Africa
  He explored the lands of South and Central Africa, including the Zambezi River Basin and Lake Nyasa, discovered Victoria Falls, Lakes Shirva and Bangweulu, and the Lualaba River. Together with Henry Stanley explored Lake Tanganyika. During travels, Livingston determined the position of more than 1,000 points; he first pointed out the main features of the relief of South Africa, studied the Zambezi river system, laid the foundation for the scientific study of the large lakes Nyasa and Tanganyika.
   The cities of Livingstone in Malawi and Livingston (Maramba) in Zambia, as well as waterfalls in the lower reaches of the Congo and mountains on the northeastern shore of Lake Nyasa, are named after him. Blantyre, Malawi's largest city with a population of over 600,000, was named after Livingston's hometown.

   The history of life

  David Livingston was born into a very poor Scottish family and at the age of ten experienced a lot of what fell on Oliver Twist and other children from Dickens books. But even the grueling work at the weaving mill for 14 hours a day could not stop David from attending college.

After receiving a medical and theological education, Livingston entered the service of the London Missionary Society, the leadership of which directed him as a doctor and missionary to South Africa. Since 1841, Livingston lived with a mission in the mountainous Kuruman area among the Bechuan. He quickly learned their language, belonging to the Bantu language family. This was very useful to him later on during his travels, since all Bantu languages \u200b\u200bare similar to each other, and Livingston was free to do without an interpreter.
In 1843, not far away, in the Mabotse Valley, Livingston, together with the native assistants, built a hut for the mission station. During the raid on the lions, which often devastated the surrounding countryside, a wounded beast attacked Livingston. Due to an incorrectly fused fracture, Livingston was hardly given shooting and swimming until the end of his life. It was through a fragmented shoulder joint that Livingston's body delivered to England was identified.


  Livingstone’s travel companion and work assistant was his wife, Mary, the daughter of Robert Moffet, a local missionary and explorer in South Africa. The Livingston couple spent 7 years in the country of the Bechuan. During his wanderings, David combined the activities of a missionary with the study of nature in the northern regions of the Bechuan land. Listening carefully to the stories of the natives, Livingston became interested in Lake Ngami. To see him, in 1849 he crossed the Kalahari desert from south to north and described it as a very flat surface, cut by dry river beds and not as deserted as was commonly believed. Semi desert is a more suitable definition for Kalahari.
  In August of that year, Livingston explored Lake Ngami.






  It turned out that this reservoir is a temporary lake, in the rainy season it is filled with the waters of the large Okavango River. In June 1851, Livingston proceeded to the north-east of the Okavango swamp through the territory infected with the tsetse fly, and for the first time reached the Linyanti River - the lower reaches of Quando, the right tributary of the Zambezi. In the large village of Seshek, he managed to establish good relations with the leader of the powerful tribe of the macololo and get help and support from him.

  In November 1853, Livingston began a water trip through the Zambezi. A flotilla of 33 boats, on which 160 Negroes of the macololo tribe were located, moved up the rapids through a vast plain - a typical savannah of South Africa. As the thresholds were overcome, Livingston let the black sailors and warriors go home. By February 1854, when there were very few people left, the expedition climbed the river to the upper right tributary of the Shefumage. Walking along its valley to the watershed, Livingston saw that behind him all the streams flowed northward. These rivers were included in the Congo system. Turning west, the expedition reached the Atlantic Ocean near Luanda.

Having traced the short Bengo River to its headwaters, in October 1855, Livingingston went to the upper section of the Zambezi and began to rafting down the river. Passing Seszek, he discovered a magnificent waterfall 1.8 km wide.
When local natives led him to the waterfall and showed 546 million liters of water, which every minute crashing into the 100-meter abyss, David Livingston was so shocked by what he saw that he immediately christened Queen Victoria's name.
  In 1857, David Livingston wrote that in England no one can even imagine the beauty of this spectacle: “No one can imagine the beauty of a spectacle in comparison with anything seen in England. The eyes of a European have never seen such a thing before, but angels in their flight must have admired such a beautiful sight! ”

  “Crawling with fear to the cliff, I looked down into a huge crack that stretched from coast to coast of the wide Zambezi, and saw a stream thousands of yards wide down a hundred feet and then suddenly contracted in the space of fifteen to twenty yards ... I was witness the most wonderful sight in Africa! ”





Statue of David Livingston on the Zambian side of Victoria Falls

This waterfall, named Victoria in honor of the Queen, is now known as one of the most powerful in the world. Here the waters of the Zambezi are overthrown from a ledge 120 m high and leave a rapid stream into a narrow and deep gorge.








  The waterfall, named Livingston Victoria in honor of the British Queen, is a stunning sight: gigantic masses of water fall into a narrow gap in basaltic rocks. Breaking into a myriad of splashes, they form thick white clouds, illuminated by rainbows and emitting an incredible roar.




  A continuous veil of refreshing spray, an iridescent rainbow, a rainforest, constantly covered by a ghostly haze of fog. Delight and boundless surprise embrace anyone who has seen this miracle. Below the waterfall, the Zambezi flows through a narrow gorge with rocky shores.






  view of the Zambezi river
  Gradually going down the river through a mountainous country with many rapids and waterfalls, May 20, 1856 Livingston went to the Indian Ocean at the port of Kelimane. So the crossing of the African mainland was completed.

In 1857, upon returning to his homeland, Livingston published the book Traveling and Researching a Missionary in South Africa, which in a short time was published in all European languages \u200b\u200band made the author famous. Geographical science was replenished with important information: tropical Central Africa south of the 8th parallel “turned out to be an elevated plateau, somewhat lower in the center, and with crevices along the edges along which the rivers run to the sea ... The well-irrigated area resembling the legendary hot zone and burning sands reminiscent of with their freshwater lakes, North America, and with their hot moist valleys, jungle, ghats (elevated edges) and cool high plateaus of India. ”








Wild Africa discovered by an English explorer
  For the one and a half decades lived in South Africa, Livingston fell in love with local people and became friends with them. He treated his guides, porters, rowers as equals, was frank and friendly with them. The Africans answered him in full reciprocity. Livingston hated slavery and believed that the peoples of Africa could achieve liberation and independence. The British authorities took advantage of the high reputation of the traveler with the blacks and offered him the post of consul in Keliman. Accepting the offer, Livingston refused missionary work and came to grips with research work. In addition, he contributed to the penetration of English capital into Africa, regarding it as progress.


  But the traveler was attracted by new routes. In May 1858, Livingston arrived in East Africa with his wife, young son and brother Charles. In early 1859, he explored the lower reaches of the Zambezi River and its northern tributary, the Shire. Several thresholds and the Murchison Falls were opened to them.





  In the spring, Livingston discovered and described Lake Shirva in the basin of this river. In September, he examined the southern shore of Lake Nyasa and, after a series of measurements of its depth, obtained values \u200b\u200bof more than 200 m (modern data bring this value to 706 m). In September 1861, Livingston returned to the lake again and, along with his brother, advanced more than 1,200 km along the west coast. It was not possible to penetrate further due to the hostility of the natives and the approach of the rainy season. Based on the survey results, Livingston compiled the first map of Nyasa, on which the reservoir stretched almost 400 km along the meridian (according to modern data - 580 km).


Cape Macleer on Lake Nyasa, which David Livingston discovered and named in honor of his friend, the astronomer Thomas Macleer.
Livingstone suffered a heavy loss on this journey: on April 27, 1862, his wife and faithful companion Mary Moffet-Livingston died from tropical malaria. The Livingston brothers continued the journey. At the end of 1863, it turned out that the steep banks of Lake Nyasa were not mountains, but only the edges of high plateaus. Further, the brothers continued the discovery and study of the East African fault zone, i.e., the giant meridional system of fault basins. In England, in 1865, the book "The Story about the Expedition to the Zambezi and its tributaries and the discovery of the lakes Shirva and Nyasa in 1858-1864."
   Nyasa Lake




  When David Livingstone, during his next expedition to Africa, discovered Lake Malawi, he asked local fishermen about the name of this impressive reservoir. To which they answered him - Nyasa. Livingston just called this lake, unaware that the word "Nyasa" in the language of local residents and means "lake". Lake Malawi (as it is called today) or Lake Nyasa (as it continues to be called in Tanzania and Mozambique to this day) plays a very important role in the life of Africans. Several tens of thousands of tons of fish are caught here annually.


  The ninth largest in the world, Lake Malawi is about 600 km long and up to 80 km wide. The maximum depth is 700 meters, the height above sea level is 472 meters, the surface area of \u200b\u200bthe water is approximately 31,000 square meters. km In the water area of \u200b\u200bthe lake are the state borders of the three countries. The bulk of the lake and coastline (western and southern) belong to the state of Malawi, the northeastern belongs to Tanzania, and a relatively large part of the east coast is under the jurisdiction of Mozambique. The two largest islands, Likoma and Chizumulu, as well as the reef of Taiwan, are located in the waters of Mozambique, but belong to the state of Malawi.


  Nyasa Lake, one of the deepest lakes in the world
  In 1866, Livingston, landing on the eastern shore of the continent opposite the island of Zanzibar, went south to the mouth of the Ruvuma River, and then, turning west and rising to its upper reaches, went to Nyasa. This time the traveler went around the lake from the south and west. For 1867 and 1868, he examined in detail the southern and western shores of Tanganyika.


Traveling through tropical Africa is always fraught with dangerous infections. Livingston also did not escape them. For many years, suffering from malaria, he weakened and was so thin that he could not even be called a “walking skeleton,” because he could no longer walk and only moved on a stretcher. But the stubborn Scot continued research. To the south-west of Tanganyika, he discovered Lake Bangweulu, whose area periodically varies from 4 to 15 thousand square meters. km, and the river Lualaba. Trying to find out whether it belongs to the Nile or Congo system, he could only assume that it might be part of the Congo.
  In October 1871, Livingston stopped for rest and treatment in the village of Ujiji on the east coast of Tanganyika.


  At this time, Europe and America were worried about the absence of any news from him. Journalist Henry Stanley went in search of. He accidentally found Livingston in Ujiji, and then they together went around the northern part of Tanganyika, finally making sure that the Nile did not flow out of Tanganyika, as many thought.


  Stanley called Livingstone with him to Europe, but he limited himself to transmit diaries and other materials with a journalist to London. He wanted to finish the exploration of Lualaba and again went to the river. On the way, Livingston stopped in the village of Chitambo, and on the morning of May 1, 1873, the servants found him dead on the floor of the hut. The Africans, who adored the white defender, embalmed his body and carried the remains on a stretcher to the sea, covering almost 1,500 km. The great Scot was buried in Westminster Abbey. In 1874, his diaries, entitled "The Last Journey of David Livingston," were published in London.


To a young man who is pondering life, deciding whether to make life with anyone, I will say without hesitation - do it with David Livingstone!

100 great travelers [with illustrations] Igor Muromov

David Livingston (1813–1873)

David Livingston

Scottish explorer of Africa. Thinking of devoting himself to missionary work among Africans, he studied theology and medicine. He made a number of long trips to South and Central Africa (since 1840). He explored the Kalahari Depression, the Kubango River, the Zambezi River Basin, Lake Nyasa, discovered Victoria Falls, Lake Shirva, Bangweulu and the Lualaba River; together with G. Stanley investigated Lake Tanganyika.

David Livingston was born March 19, 1813 in the family of a street tea vendor. After graduating from a village school, a boy from the age of ten worked at a weaving mill near Glasgow. With a fourteen-hour working day, in his spare time, David studied a Latin textbook, which he acquired for his first salary. In addition, from 20 to 22 hours he studied in evening school.

In the twentieth year in Livingston's mental life, a change occurred that had an impact on his entire destiny. He decided to devote himself to the service of God. And after reading the appeal of missionary Guzlaf, who addressed the English and American churches regarding the Christian enlightenment of China, David had a dream to become a missionary.

In 1836, Livingston saved up some money to pay for a course of study. In Glasgow, he began attending lectures on medicine, theology and ancient languages. A scholarship from the London Missionary Society enabled him to continue his education. Deeply religious, like his father, he had long decided that he would go as a missionary to China. But the so-called opium war between Great Britain and China prevented this intention. Just at this time, the young doctor met the missionary Robert Moffet, who worked in South Africa. He painted Livingston an attractive picture of the country of Bechuan (Tswana), adding that in those parts there was not a single messenger of the faith of the Lord.

In 1840, Livingston departed for the Cape Colony. During the voyage, the ship's captain taught him astronomical determination of the coordinates of various points on the Earth. Livingston achieved such perfection in this that later on his topographic surveys were compiled the very best maps of South Africa.

In July 1841, he reached Moffet’s mission in Kuruman, located on the banks of the eponymous river south of the Kalahari Desert, the farthest point of advancement of the messengers of the Christian faith. After some time, Livingston realized that Africans were not very interested in religious sermons. But the locals immediately appreciated the medical knowledge of the young missionary, willingly learned to read and write from him, tried to adopt new methods of farming for them. In the country of Bechuan, he learned their language (Bantu family), and this helped him a lot while traveling, since the Bantu languages \u200b\u200bare close to each other. He married Mary Moffet, daughter of the first explorer of the vast Kalahari semi-desert; his wife became his faithful assistant. Livingston spent seven years in the country of the Bechuan. Under the pretext of organizing mission stations, he made, most often in winter, a series of trips.

In 1849, Livingston, fascinated by the stories of Africans about the "beautiful and vast" Lake Ngami, along with elephant hunters Oswell and Murray, local guides and a hundred pack animals, was the first European to cross the Kalahari desert from south to north. He first established the true nature of the landscape of this area, which Europeans considered a desert. “Kalahari,” Livingston wrote, “is by no means devoid of vegetation and population, since it is covered with grass and numerous creeping plants; in addition, in some places there are bushes and even trees. Its surface is remarkably even, although in different places the channels of ancient rivers cut through it. ”

These areas, monotonous and far from fertile, were inhabited by the Bushmen and the so-called Kalahari people, the Tswana aliens who entered the desert. The former led a truly nomadic way of life, earning their livelihood by collecting bulbous plants and being content with scanty prey on the hunt. The second lived settled, raised goats, raised melons and pumpkins, traded the skins of jackals and other desert animals. Owning cattle was tantamount to wealth. And Livingston was often asked how many cows Queen Victoria had.

When travelers north of Kalahari reached the gallery forests that grew along the banks of the rivers, Livingston had the idea of \u200b\u200bexploring all the rivers of South Africa to find natural passages inland, to bring there the ideas of the gospel and to establish equal trade. Livingston soon entered the history of Africa's discovery as the “Seeker of the River.”

The measurements of heights convinced Livingston that the Kalahari was in a cup shape; he first described its steppe regions. Livingston performed a study of the Ngami Lake discovered by him, which turned out to be a temporary lake that feeds during the rainy period with the waters of the great Okavango River, through the drying branches of its swampy delta.

From Kolobeng, a settlement he founded on the southern border of the desert, Livingston again attempted to travel north in 1850 and 1851. But the first attempt ended almost to no avail, as members of his family became seriously ill with a fever. The second journey led him along with Oswell to the Zambezi.

A new route was laid a little to the east - through the low ridge Bamangvato and along the northern coast of Zouga. Travelers reached the Chobe River (Lignyanti) - the lower reaches of the Kwando, the right tributary of the Zambezi. Further Livingston and Oswell headed north-east and at the end of June 1851 “were rewarded by opening the Zambezi River in the center of the mainland. This was a matter of great importance, because the existence of this river in Central Africa was not known before. All Portuguese maps represent her rising east far from where we were now. ”

Despite the dry season, the river reached 300–600 meters wide and was quite deep. The friendly representatives of the macololo tribe, accompanying the researcher during the passage through the plain, covered with giant hills-termite mounds and overgrown with mimosa thickets, told how the river looks in the rainy season. Then its level rises by six meters, and water floods a space with a width of 20 English miles. Perhaps this mighty stream is a tributary of the Nile, or does it carry its waters towards Congo? David Livingston believed that he had found what he dreamed of while traveling to Lake Ngami.

At the end of May 1853, the Englishman arrived in Lignanti, the capital of Macololo, where he was warmly received by the new leader, Sceleta.

A month later, Livingstone, in the company of Sekeletu, undertook a reconnaissance trip to the country of the Baroce people (Lozi), located in the Zambezi Valley above the area of \u200b\u200bsettlement of the macololo. The Liambier River, as the locals called it, turned out to be rapids, but still accessible for swimming on pies; the most serious obstacle was the Gonya Falls, which had to be circumvented by land. The expedition climbed up Liambier (Zambezi) to the confluence of its two branches: Cabompo and Liba.

Upon returning to Linyanti, Livingston developed a plan for a new expedition, the decision to organize which was made at the general meeting of macololo. Its practical purpose was to establish a direct trade link between the country of macololo and the Atlantic coast, bypassing intermediaries - wandering merchants from Angola who bought ivory for nothing.

On November 11, 1853, with a detachment of 160 macololo on 33 boats, Livingston began sailing up the Zambezi through a flat, savanna-covered plain, sometimes overcoming rapids. He let go of most of the people along the way. The expedition route ran from the southern regions of today's Zambia to Luanda in Angola. The expedition's equipment was only 20 pounds of beads, the necessary scientific instruments, a projector (“magic lantern”), with which Livingston showed the audience pictures of biblical life, and only three guns.

Travelers sailed in boats down the winding Chobe, bypassing water rapids and dodging angry hippos. And meeting with aggressive crocodiles was a concern. Residents of the surrounding villages hurried towards the expedition, provided it with meat, milk, butter. Livingston's sermons were so popular here that prisoners of war were released at his request. At the beginning of 1854 they reached the empire of Lund. It was an early feudal formation led by a military aristocracy. Livingstone found distinct traces of matriarchy: women were the leaders.

By February 1854, with a small detachment, Livingston climbed the river to its upper right tributary, Shefumage, and along its valley passed to a slightly noticeable watershed, behind which all streams flowed not in the south direction, as before, but in the north. (Later it turned out that these were the rivers of the Congo system.)

Up to Lake Dilolo, located on the expedition's open watershed between the Congo and Zambezi basins, Livingston was delighted with the well-cultivated fields and highly developed smelting, as well as the extremely hospitable welcome it received. On the other side of the lake, the expedition found itself in areas where slave traders had visited more than once and where they were used to plucking caravans that had passed by. Cassava was traded here for each tuber, and greedy leaders before enrichment made unthinkable demands, sometimes threatening reprisals. Livingston, who did not have any valuable goods with him, showed exceptional courage, which hit the leaders, and everything was done without the use of weapons.

Continuing to go in a general direction to the west-north-west, a small detachment of Livingston crossed the Kasai Valley and other rivers of its system - Chiumbe, Lwashimo, Chikapi, Kvilu. In early April, he crossed the Kwango, Kasai's largest left tributary, flowing in a very wide and deep valley, and soon reached Kasange, the easternmost Portuguese settlement in Angola. Having crossed the Tala Mugongo Mountains, which bound the Kwango Valley from the west, the expedition entered the Kwanzaa basin. The further route to the ocean passed already through places quite well-known to Europeans, however, even here the researcher corrected and clarified the existing maps in many ways.

Absolutely exhausted, exhausted by hunger and malaria, a small detachment at the end of May 1854 reached the Atlantic Ocean near Luanda. But Livingston does not leave the thought to penetrate the east coast. Maybe in this direction Zambezi is navigable all over? His intention was supported by both the Portuguese authorities and the clergy, for they were very interested in exploring the areas between Angola and Mozambique.

The return journey to the main macololo settlement on the Lianti River, begun in September 1854, took 11 months. Along the way, Livingston examined the middle course of Kwanzaa, and then, again crossing the territory of the state of Lund, collected a lot of information about it and the areas located north of it.

In the capital, Macololo, the researcher found all his property safe and sound. The expedition, whose goal was to trace the course of the Zambezi to the Indian Ocean, became possible only thanks to the help of the leader Sekelet. Indeed, Livingston's salary, as well as a small allowance of the London Geographical Society and the goods received in Angola, were long ago spent. The leader of the African tribe financed the crossing of the continent by the European. The journey was continued in October 1855. Szekleto personally conducted an expedition to the majestic 120-meter waterfall in Zambezi, which was called "Mozi-oa-tunya" - "Roaring smoke" ("Steam makes a noise" here).

Livingston, the first of the Europeans, saw him on November 18. This waterfall, with a width of 1.8 kilometers, is one of the most powerful in the world. Five huge pillars of smoke were already visible from afar. They looked like a fire in the steppe and merged with clouds. Of course, the scientist understood that this was sprayed water rising up above a stream falling down from a height of about 120 meters. Victoria Falls, so named after the Queen of England, forever remained for Livingstone the most wonderful sight in Africa. Today, his monument can be seen from the so-called Devil's Waterfall on the river, along which he moved with such dedication.

In December 1855, the expedition crossed by boats through the large left tributary of the Zambezi - Kafue and along it again reached the Zambezi. The further way down the river valley led Livingstone to the mouth of its other left tributary - Lwangwa, beyond which began places that had long been known to the Portuguese.

In March 1856, they reached Tete, the first outpost of European civilization, in the vicinity of which the effects of the slave trade were clearly felt. The expedition abandoned further exploration of the main channel of the Zambezi, which was already mapped, and on May 20, 1856, with its northern sleeve reached the Indian Ocean, completing the journey in the coastal town of Keliman (a port north of Zambezi). Thus, for the first time a European crossed the African continent.

Returning to his homeland, Livingston in 1857 published a book that he deservedly glorified him - "Travel and research missionary in South Africa." The book has been translated into almost all European languages. Livingston made a very important generalizing geographical conclusion: tropical Central Africa south of the parallel “turned out to be an elevated plateau, somewhat lowering in the center, and with crevices along the edges along which rivers run to the sea ... The well-irrigated area took the place of the legendary hot zone and burning sands, reminiscent of North America with its freshwater lakes, and India with its hot moist valleys, jungle, ghats (elevated edges) and cool high plateaus. ”

The Royal Geographical Society surrounded him with honors and awarded a gold medal, the publication of travel notes brought him a fortune. The British bourgeoisie not only showed affection for the missionary, but also provided him with political support. Queen Victoria herself assigned an audience to him. When David Livingston returned to Zambezi in May 1858, he was no longer a missionary, but a British consul in Mozambique. The government instructed him to explore the deep regions of the continent, establish contacts with local rulers and persuade them to engage in cotton growing. Becoming a consul, Livingston took up research work. His goal was to prove that Liambier and Zambezi are one and the same river.

Together with his wife, son and brother Charles Livingston, on a small steamboat delivered to the Zambezi mouth in unassembled form from England, he set off up the river. This time the expedition was generously funded by the British government. The squad also included John Kirk, a nerd and a doctor, Richard Thornton, a geologist, Thomas Baines, an artist, and several other Europeans.

In Aunt Livingstone met again with the faithful macololo. True, 30 of them died from smallpox during this time, but the rest set off again with him. The expedition hardly moved up the river, but soon disappointment came. The rapids of Kebrabas turned out to be insurmountable, and the ship turned on the Shire, the northern tributary of the Zambezi. Locals said that the Shire flows from a huge lake, which even in high-speed boats can be crossed in only a day and a half. But then the waterfalls again blocked the way. In honor of the president of the Geographic Society, Livingston called them Mercison Falls. He walked around the obstacle and on April 18, 1859 discovered Lake Shirva among the high mountains, which had no runoff. Of course, this was not the body of water that he was told about, but the supply of provisions came to an end, and the expedition was forced to turn back.

Four months later, Livingston again headed to the upper Shire. On September 16, 1859, the expedition reached Lake Nyasa, reaching 500 kilometers in length and more than 50 kilometers in width. Livingston found out that the lake has a depth of more than 200 meters (according to the latest data - up to 706 meters). It was the same lake that Livingston was told about in the Zambezi. But this time he managed to see only his southern tip. Unfortunately, the steamer, the bottom of which flowed, was clearly not suitable for sailing on the lake, where storms often occur. Therefore, Livingston, along with the macololo, who decided to return home, sailed up the Zambezi.

The British government equipped the Pioneer and Lady Nyasa steamboats in order to establish missionary settlements on the plateaus around Lake Nyasa. On these ships, Livingston in March 1861 and then in September 1862 explored the Ruzuma River flowing into the Indian Ocean at the northern border of the colony, since it was assumed that the river had a connection with Lake Nyasa. In the second voyage, Livingston and his companions climbed about 250 kilometers along the Ruvum, until the rocky threshold blocked the ship’s path.

In September 1861, Livingston again visited Lake Nyasa and walked along the west bank. His brother Charles followed a boat along the same coast. According to the results of the survey, Livingston compiled the first relatively correct map of Nyasa: the reservoir stretched almost 400 kilometers along the meridian (the true length was much longer - 580 kilometers).

David Livingston engaged in the study of the southern and western shores of Lake Nyasa.

On April 27, 1862, Mary Moffet-Livingston died, suffering from tropical malaria. Brother Charles, who had been involved in the expedition until then, was forced to return due to prolonged dysentery. The Seeking River seems to have been in wait for failure. Still, Livingston continued the journey until the end of 1863 and found out: the steep banks of the lake, which seemed mountains, in reality represent the edges of high plateaus.

Since the Shire was still not full enough for a return trip, Livingston decided to use the coming months for a new expedition to the western shore of Lake Nyasa. From there he moved inland, as he heard that there are many lakes from which mighty rivers originate. Indeed, the plateau west of Nyasa turned out to be a watershed. The question whether the rivers flowing north would lead to the Nile or the Congo remained unanswered. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs unequivocally announced that the salary of the expedition members would be paid only until the end of 1863. In January 1864, Livingston left the Shire at the Pioneer and in April-May at the assembled Lady Nyasa crossed from Zanzibar to Bombay.

The geographic results of the expedition were great. Livingston photographed previously unobserved sections of the Zambezi current and finally proved that this is the same river, which in the upper reaches is known as Liambier. Lake Nyasa and the Shire River, Shirva Lake, the lower reaches of the Ruvuma were accurately plotted on the map.

In 1865, Livingston published the book "The Story of an Expedition to the Zambezi and its Tributaries and the Discovery of the Lakes Shirva and Nyasa in 1858-1864." In London, he was pleased to hear his lectures on the mind and hard work of Africans. However, he had to look for funds for a new expedition himself.

Livingston sold Lady Nyasa and spent most of his fortune on equipping a new expedition. In January 1866, Livingston again set foot on African soil, however, contrary to his former habits, he did not make himself felt for a year, and already in 1867 he was considered missing.

But the scientist at that time with a large caravan of porters (Indian and Arab merchants contributed their share to the enterprise) had already visited the valley of the Ruvuma River, circled Lake Nyasa from the south and west, then, taking a direction to the north-west, crossed two major rivers: Lvangvu and Chambesh, separated by the mountain range of Muching. Locals told him that Chambeshi was pouring into a "very large lake."

On April 1, 1867, he reached the south coast of Tanganyika (the local name is Llemba). The lake, 650 kilometers long with azure-colored water, is part of the Central African volcanic fault, which includes the lakes Nyasa, Kivu, Eduard and Mobutu Sese-Seko. The expedition reached it in the place where the expanse of water is surrounded by lush forests, sharply contrasting with gray and red sandstone rocks. Over the lake on the then maps of Africa began extensive "white spots".

The entire transition from the coast to Tanganyika was full of difficulties and setbacks. Indian sepoy soldiers refused to go into the unknown depths of Africa. Some porters escaped, taking with them various expeditionary equipment, including a medicine box, which was a real disaster for the traveler. Livingston was forced to resort to the help of Arab-Swahili merchants slaves and ivory. For many years, Livingston suffered from malaria, and by this time was so weak and emaciated that most of his journey had to be carried in bed. Nevertheless, he continued the study.

On November 8, 1867, Livingston discovered Lake Mveru with many islands, and July 18, 1868, south of Tanganyika - Lake Bangweulu (Bangweolo).

In February 1869, Livingston went to Lake Tanganyika, this time closer to its middle. It took exactly a month to sail in boats, first along the western coast of Tanganyika, and then straight across the lake to Ujiji. There, Livingston waited for letters and various supplies sent to him with passing caravans from Zanzibar. True, most of the goods addressed to him got stuck on the road or was stolen.

In July 1869, he left Ujiji, again crossing Tanganyika. It was only at the end of March 1871 that Livingston finally came out to Lualaba at the trading village of Nyangwe. “This is a mighty river,” he wrote in his diary, “at least three thousand yards wide and deep everywhere.” Nowhere and at any time of the year can you ford her ... The river flows here to the north at a speed of about two miles per hour. " On the way to Lualaba, Livingston got acquainted with her right-hand tributary of Lwama; he also learned about the existence of its left tributaries - Lomami and Lveka, but the information about them was too vague.

The plumbing of Lualaba indisputably proved that Livingston opened one of the largest hydrographic arteries in Central America. He did not clearly understand to which system - the Nile or the Congo - this large river belongs, and could not tackle such a complex issue: his state of health noticeably worsened. The researcher found only that a mighty stream moves north, but is located at an altitude of about 600 meters. This hypsometric position of Lualaba incited him to think that it “in the end” might turn out to be the Congo River. Scientists were not yet convinced that Lake Victoria, discovered by John Speke, was indeed the source of the Nile. But Livingston was right in some ways: the Luapula River (Lovua), flowing near Lake Bangweulu, and Lualaba belong to the basin of the upper reaches of the Congo.

Turning back to Tanganyika, Livingston switched by boat from the west bank to the east, to the village of Ujiji, and in October 1871 he stopped there for rest and treatment. The mystery of Lualaba remained unresolved.

In Europe and America for several years they did not know where Livingstone was and whether he was alive. Several expeditions were sent to search for him. One of them, led by Henry Stanley, found him in Ujiji.

Together with Stanley, the seriously ill Livingston at the end of 1871 examined the northern corner of Tanganyika and made sure that the lake had no runoff to the north, therefore, was not the source of the Nile, as was previously assumed. He refused to return with Stanley to Europe, because he wanted to finish the study of Lualaba, the thought of which haunted him. Through Stanley, he sent diaries and other materials to London.

In 1873, he again went to Lualaba and stopped on the road in the village of Chitambo, south of Lake Bangweulu. On the morning of May 1, 1873, Livingston's servants found him dead in a cabin on the floor by a bunk.

The ashes of Livingston were taken to London and buried in Westminster Abbey - the tomb of the kings and prominent people of England. His diaries, entitled "The Last Journey of David Livingston," were published in London in 1874.

Livingston David (1813 - 1873) Scottish explorer of Africa. Thinking of devoting himself to missionary work among Africans, he studied theology and medicine. He made a number of long trips to South and Central Africa (since 1840). Explored Kalahari Basin, River