Thomas F. (hardtack) -
This was an very depressing and often disturbing biography. Many people think of Henry Morton Stanley as a courageous individual who overcame great odds to locate Dr. Livingston in Africa, when he had been "missing" for several years. But that's only part of the man.
Considering what the author of this book states, and is also stated on Stanley's Wikipedia page, it might have been better for a great many people if Stanley had been drowned at birth.
Despite supposedly being opposed to the slave trade in Africa, Stanley often treated the people who worked for him---black and white---as slaves. His gross mistreatment and often uncaring attitude for their physical condition makes you wonder how black a heart he had. And what he did to native villages which wouldn't sell him food was despicable.
Stanley was a fraud and scammer from almost the beginning of his life. In fact, Henry Morton Stanley wasn't even his real name. Even his story of how why he assumed that name may be a lie. His entries in his diaries often contradict what he published in his books. Eventually, he was scammed himself when he went to work for King Leopold of Belgium. The king used Stanley to created a "Congo Free State" that inflicted such horrors on the natives in that area that they probably weren't surpassed until the rise of the Nazis in Europe.
What did interest me is the author's description of the Arab slave trade in Africa. Not many people know this, but---and I have read of this in other books---for every black slave European slave traders killed or sold in their slave trading, the Arab slave traders did far worse, often ten times worse. The Arab slave traders essentially destroyed African civilizations in east and central Africa. If they had a "slave train" of 2,000 people, they underfed them on their way to the slave markets. If 1,000 died on the way, why worry, as there were many more to take later. In fact, the author of this book, in his final chapters, states one of the benefits Stanley brought to Africa was to open it up to Western control which limited the Arab slave trade before it depopulated central Africa.
Considering what the author of this book states, and is also stated on Stanley's Wikipedia page, it might have been better for a great many people if Stanley had been drowned at birth.
Despite supposedly being opposed to the slave trade in Africa, Stanley often treated the people who worked for him---black and white---as slaves. His gross mistreatment and often uncaring attitude for their physical condition makes you wonder how black a heart he had. And what he did to native villages which wouldn't sell him food was despicable.
Stanley was a fraud and scammer from almost the beginning of his life. In fact, Henry Morton Stanley wasn't even his real name. Even his story of how why he assumed that name may be a lie. His entries in his diaries often contradict what he published in his books. Eventually, he was scammed himself when he went to work for King Leopold of Belgium. The king used Stanley to created a "Congo Free State" that inflicted such horrors on the natives in that area that they probably weren't surpassed until the rise of the Nazis in Europe.
What did interest me is the author's description of the Arab slave trade in Africa. Not many people know this, but---and I have read of this in other books---for every black slave European slave traders killed or sold in their slave trading, the Arab slave traders did far worse, often ten times worse. The Arab slave traders essentially destroyed African civilizations in east and central Africa. If they had a "slave train" of 2,000 people, they underfed them on their way to the slave markets. If 1,000 died on the way, why worry, as there were many more to take later. In fact, the author of this book, in his final chapters, states one of the benefits Stanley brought to Africa was to open it up to Western control which limited the Arab slave trade before it depopulated central Africa.
Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed Dark Safari : The Life Behind the Legend of Henry Morton Stanley on + 1184 more book reviews
I have been on a reading kick recently with books about African exploration. This book, Dark Safari has been on my shelves since it was originally published in 1990...I remember obtaining it through the History Book Club at that time. Finally got around to reading it after reading some other books about Africa including Into Africa which detailed Henry Morton Stanley's search to find Livingstone and Blood River about a modern day journey to duplicate Stanley's journey on the Congo River. Dark Safari is more of a general overall biography of Stanley and includes not only his quest to find Livingstone but also his subsequent explorations in Africa including his navigation and charting of the Congo River, his work to complete Livingstone's quest to find the source of the Nile, his work for King Leopold of Belgium to establish the Congo Free State, and his expedition to rescue Emin Pasha, governor of the Sudan's Equatorial Province who was standing against the Mahdi Mohammed Ahmed, the Ayatollah Khomeini of the time. Stanley endured many perilous circumstances in these exploits including malaria and other diseases, warring natives, cannibals, treacherous rivers and swamps, and nearly impassable jungles. Many of his crew died along the way or were subjected to horrors and starvation. One of his officers actually witnessed the killing of a young native girl who was then cut apart and eaten by cannibals. Many other atrocities also occurred including beatings and killings of the African porters by some of Stanley's men who were left behind at one point. These experiences as revealed upon Stanley's return were used as the basis for Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. "The horror, the horror!"
Stanley was far from being a perfect man. He often exaggerated his life and experiences in his books and other written accounts. He was harsh to his men who went with him on his expeditions. He was very shy around women and may have had a hard time communicating with them. He was jilted more than once by women who had promised to marry him. He was instrumental in establishing the Belgian Congo for King Leopold who exploited native workers and had over 3 million of them killed. But to the Victorians, he was the ultimate adventurer as he extended his conquest of the natural world. This was a very encompassing biography of Stanley and provides a lot of historical information from his young days as an outcast in Wales, to his time in the American West and the Civil War, to his exploits in Africa. Very engrossing reading.
Stanley was far from being a perfect man. He often exaggerated his life and experiences in his books and other written accounts. He was harsh to his men who went with him on his expeditions. He was very shy around women and may have had a hard time communicating with them. He was jilted more than once by women who had promised to marry him. He was instrumental in establishing the Belgian Congo for King Leopold who exploited native workers and had over 3 million of them killed. But to the Victorians, he was the ultimate adventurer as he extended his conquest of the natural world. This was a very encompassing biography of Stanley and provides a lot of historical information from his young days as an outcast in Wales, to his time in the American West and the Civil War, to his exploits in Africa. Very engrossing reading.
