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Archive for the ‘ History ’ Category

John Traicos: Zimbabwean Cricketer

John Traicos

Chirundu.com would like to wish Athanasios John Traicos a happy birthday. He was born today (17 May) in 1947 in Zagazig, Egypt.

A former Zimbabwean cricketer who played in Zimbabwe’s first test match and also represented South Africa at international level. He was primarily an off spin bowler, and is one of a small number of cricketers to have played at the highest level for more than one country.

Whilst Traicos was born in Egypt, he grew up in Rhodesia (Now Zimbabwe) and played when Rhodesia was regarded as a “province” within the South African domestic cricket setup.

His father Tryphon Traicos was born in Lemnos (Greece) in 1900 and at the age of 12 he was sent to Egypt to work in his uncle’s business. A year after John was born the Traicos family migrated to Fort Victoria (now Masvingo) in Southern Rhodesia in September 1948. This obviously produced a major shift in their cultural influence and it was out with the tavli and in with the cricket.

Traicos started playing cricket, inspired by his cousin Peter and coached by Neil Jardine, a former rugby international and then at Natal University by the great South African all-rounder Trevor Goddard.

His progress as an off-spinner was rapid. He was selected for the South African Universities tour of England in 1967 and then made his first-class debut for Rhodesia against Transvaal B in Salisbury the following year.

South African Test Player
John Traicos made his Test match debut for the South African cricket team against Australia at Durban in February 1970.

There are many people who know a thing or two about cricket say that the South African side which destroyed Australia 4-0 in the 1969/1970 series was one of the finest of all-time. Great players included Barry Richards, Graeme Pollock, Eddie Barlow, Ali Bacher, Peter Pollock, Lee Irvine and Mike Procter.

Unfortunately for John, not long after his debut, South Africa were banned from international cricket because of the apartheid regime and this meant the end of his international career until 1980 when Rhodesia became Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwean Cricketer
Traicos continued to play for Zimbabwe after the country gained its independence, and appeared for them in the 1982, 1986 and 1990 ICC Trophy tournaments. He also represented Zimbabwe in the 1983 Cricket World Cup, and was an important part of the side which inflicted a shock defeat on Australia.

Zimbabwe were raised to Test status in 1992, and Traicos was selected for the country’s inaugural Test match which took place in Harare at the Harare Sports Club against India. So at the age of 45 years and 304 days, Traicos returned to Test cricket and he finished with great bowling figures of 5-86, his victims including Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammed Azharuddin and Kapil Dev.

The John Traicos File

  • Born: 17 May 1947 in Zagazig, Egypt
  • Tests: 7 in total,  3 for South Africa (1970) and 4 for Zimbabwe (1992-3)
  • Bowling: 18 wickets (avge 42.72)
  • Best: 5-86 v India, Harare 1993
  • ODIs: 27 for Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Amazon, have a bunch of Zim related cricket books, including “A History of the Rhodesia and Zimbabwe National Sides” by Jonty Winch who traces the history of cricket in this country (Zimbabwe) from the first recorded game played in 1890, through two World Wars and a guerilla war, to the comparative peace of post-independence and eventual world recognition in the 1980s when Zimbabwe was able to send a side to England to take part in the I.C.C. Trophy competition which it won.

There is also the Autobiography of another great Zimbabwean cricket coach Duncan Fletcher “Behind the Shades”

UK Shoppers USA: Amazon.com

Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.com

At the moment Amazon UK don’t have as wide selection as the US site, but I have ordered books from the US and had them delivered to the UK with no problems.

UK Shoppers UK: Amazon.co.uk
Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.co.uk

Iain Butchart: Zimbabwean Cricketer

Chirundu.com would like to wish Iain Peter Butchart a happy birthday as he was born today (9 May) in 1960 in Bulawayo

Iain Butchart played one Test for Zimbabwe against Pakistan in Harare at the age of 35 and was one of the key figures in the years immediately before Zimbabwe gained Test status. He also played in 20 One Day Internationals spread over twelve years for Zimbabwe.

He was an all-round player, a right-handed batsman and an often used medium pacer where he bowled more than 13 overs a match during his first class career.

In the one-day internationals his best batting performance was 54 off 70 balls against New Zealand at the 1987 World Cup, which took Zimbabwe from 104 for 7 to 221 for 8 chasing a total of 243 to win. But with four to get and three balls remaining, Butchart was run out, and New Zealand won by 3 runs. His best bowling figures were 3 for 57 – Aamer Sohail for 114, Inzamam-ul-Haq for 14 and Javed Miandad for 89 in a 53-run loss to Pakistan at the 1992 World Cup.

He also played in 9 matches in the ICC Trophy for Zimbabwe where he made 57 runs without being dismissed and taking 14 wickets, including four for 33 against Netherlands in the 1986 final, which Zimbabwe won by 25 runs.

After his playing days were over, he went on to coach the Zimbabwe Under-19 side.

Facts:

  • Full name Iain Peter Butchart
  • Born May 9, 1960, Bulawayo
  • Major teams Zimbabwe, Mashonaland Country Districts
  • Batting style Right-hand bat
  • Bowling style Right-arm medium
  • Education Plumtree School

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Amazon, have a bunch of Zim related cricket books, including “A History of the Rhodesia and Zimbabwe National Sides” by Jonty Winch who traces the history of cricket in this country (Zimbabwe) from the first recorded game played in 1890, through two World Wars and a guerilla war, to the comparative peace of post-independence and eventual world recognition in the 1980s when Zimbabwe was able to send a side to England to take part in the I.C.C. Trophy competition which it won.

There is also the Autobiography of another great Zimbabwean cricket coach Duncan Fletcher “Behind the Shades”

UK Shoppers USA: Amazon.com

Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.com

At the moment Amazon UK don’t have as wide selection as the US site, but I have ordered books from the US and had them delivered to the UK with no problems.

UK Shoppers UK: Amazon.co.uk
Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.co.uk

Zimbabwean History – April 1900

Rhodesian horse regiment

The Siege of Mafeking is probably the best known British action during the Second Boer War. It took place at the town of Mafeking (now Mafikeng) in South Africa, over a period of 217 days, from October 1899 to May 1900. But did you know that some forces involved in the siege were based in the new country of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).

The geography explains the situation as the Cape Colony and Natal were the main bases from which British troops could operate, but on the west of the two Boer Republics was Bechuanaland, and on the north, Matabeleland, in southern Rhodesia and it was of the greatest importance that these were well guarded.

Colonel Herbert PlumerColonel Herbert Plumer
Colonel Baden-Powel put Colonel Herbert Plumer in command of one regiment to operate in Southern Rhodesia where he immediately set about raising and organizing the Rhodesian Regiment and there is little doubt that if he had not kept watch and ward at Tuli during the earlier stages of the Boer war, there might have been a dangerous incursion of the boers into Rhodesia. Even so, a Boer commando appeared on the banks of the Crocodile River and exchanged shots with Plumer’s patrols. Subsequently Plumer moved his camp to Gaberones which led to his coming in still closer touch with the Boers, and on several occasions he was sharply engaged.

It was towards the end of the siege in April 1900, when the Boers were on the defensive and in retreat, the British began a major effort to relieve Mafeking. Two columns would converge on the town: one would march northwards from the British lines on the Modder River, while a second would strike south from Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), in conjunction with the Rhodesian Field Force commanded by Colonel Herbert Plumer of the 2nd Battalion, the York and Lancaster Regiment and later to become Field-Marshal Lord Plumer, Baron of Messines and Bilton.

The Rhodesian Field Force that was to march on Mafeking required reinforcements, particularly in artillery, before it could proceed. Luckily, “C” Battery, Royal Canadian Field Artillery, had recently arrived from Canada and was in the Cape Town area. Getting to Mafeking was no easy task. On 14 April, the battery, along with a squadron of Australian mounted rifles, boarded a ship bound for Beira in Portuguese East Africa (now Mozambique). This was followed by a five-hundred-kilometre journey by train westward to Marandellas (now Marondera) in Rhodesia and another five-hundred-kilometre trek to Bulawayo. From there, the gunners, augmented by mules and with Black South African drivers to draw the guns and ammunition wagons, set off again by rail, arriving at Ootsi, only 100 kilometres north of Mafeking, on 11 May. (The important contributions of these Black South African drivers has gone largely unnoticed for nearly a century.)

As we now know the British were victorious and the lifting of the Siege of Mafeking was a decisive victory for them and a crushing defeat for the Boers. The siege also turned the British Military Commander Colonel Baden-Powell, who went on to found the Scouting Movement, into a national hero.

Zimbabwean / Rhodesian Military History Books (before 1960):
Sunshine and Storm in Rhodesia

Sunshine and Storm in Rhodesia

By Frederick Courteney Selous (Author) is a firsthand account of the Second Matabele War (also known as the First Chimurenga). An unabridged reprint of the the 1896 edition.

Originalally published in 1896: Excerpt: CHAPTER III "Now this murder of a native policeman on the night of Friday, 20th March, was the first overt act of rebellion on the part of the Matabele against the Government of the British South Africa Company, and I will therefore relate exactly what occurred. On the evening of the aforementioned day, eight native policemen, acting on instructions of Mr. Jackson, arrived at the town of Umgorshlwini, situated in the hills near the Umzingwani river. Being accompanied by several boys carrying their blankets, etc., they formed quite a little party, and so camped outside the town. They were sitting talking over their fires after the evening meal, when a number of Matabele came up, and ranging themselves in a line in front of them, commenced to dance. These men all carried knob-kerries, and were led by a man named Umzobo, who had held a post of importance at Bulawayo in Lo Bengula’s time."

UK Shoppers Available on Amazon.co.uk

UK Shoppers Available on Amazon.com


No Insignificant Part: The Rhodesia Native Regiment and the East African Campaign of the First World War

No Insignificant Part: The Rhodesia Native Regiment and the East African Campaign of the First World War

The is the first history of the only primarily African military unit from Zimbabwe to fight in the First World War. Recruited from the migrant labour network, most African soldiers in the RNR were originally miners or farm workers from what are now Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, and Malawi. Like others across the world, they joined the army for a variety of reason, chief among them a desire to escape low pay and horrible working conditions.

Written by Timothy J. Stapleton has been a post-doctoral fellow at Rhodes University, a senior lecturer in history at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa, and a research associate at the University of Zimbabwe.

UK Shoppers Available on Amazon.co.uk

UK Shoppers Available on Amazon.com


The Matabele Campaign

The Matabele Campaign: 1896

By Robert Baden-Powell is his account of the Campaign in Suppressing the Matabele Rising in the Matabeleland and Mashonsland in 1896.

UK Shoppers Available on Amazon.co.uk

UK Shoppers Available on Amazon.com


Zulus and Matabele: Warrior Nations

Zulus and Matabele: Warrior Nations

Written by Glen Lyndon Dodds who grew up in Matabeleland and covers the rise and fall of the Zulus and Matabele nations. This account begins with the characters who spurred the people to greatness and nationhood, continues with the wars and battles which afflicted them and ends with an assessment of their role in the history of Southern Africa.

UK Shoppers Available on Amazon.co.uk

UK Shoppers Available on Amazon.com

Pogo Memorial

This memorial commemorates a number of the settlers who were killed in the 1896 Matebele uprising in the Shangani Area [map]

Why this memorial is situated at this point and is given the name “Pongo” are mysteries. The Pongo river is not here but about 15km further west towards Bulawayo. Originally this river was called (in 1893) the Manzimyana, but an 1897 map clearly shows it renamed the Pongo river and this is where the Pongo Store was. One can but guess that perhaps the memorial was put here at the site adjacent to where the settlers had defeated the Matabele in 1893 rather than somewhere else which would have had no special significance.

Where did the name “Pongo” come from?

The dictionary defines Pongo as an early name for a large African ape, the Orang-outang, and it is also what the British sailors call British soldiers!

When was it erected?

Presumably after the coach road was changed to follow what is now the old strip road – but when was this?

Pogo Memorial

The names on the memorial

Most names have been carved onto the stone, and metal plaques were added later and they contain some additional names. One name, Moonie, has a line carved through it and the story is that Moonie was thought to have been killed, but wasn’t and after returning some years later he cut the line through his name.

The list below displays the details of some of the names on the memorial.

Name When
Killed
Details
Berfelsen,
Paul Emal, wife Hannar & 4 sons
End
March
Farming
12miles north of Hartley Hills road
Comploier,
‘Pete’
26
March
Prospector
Grant,
James
End
March
 
Gracey,
Robert
End
March
From
Ireland, Ex BSAP & Prospector, killed with his coloured wife
Hammond,
Andrew Robert
30
March
Engineers,
killed together
Johnson,
WH
30
March
Palmer,
HN
30
March
Jensen,
Charles
30
March
Swedish
Keefe,
Charles
End
March
Killed
together, first two are brothers
Keefe,
Christopher
End
March
Webster,
R
End
March
Matthews,
Benjamin
30
March
Jewish,
killed together, Benjamin was from Rotterdam, Van der dooten from
Melbourne
Van
der dooten
30
March
O’Reilley
T
End
March
Killed
on Leechdale Co’s property
Rowe,
Frank R
30
March
Miner
from St Austell
Radford
A
End
March
Partner
of Leech
Raynor,
Ben Pte
11
Sept
York
and Lancaster Regt.
Taylor,
George
End
March
Missing
since that date, partners. Taylor was Ex Navy, William was Ex 6th
Inniskilling Dragoons
McCabe,
William
End
March
Wienard End
March
Cattle
Inspector
Wren 25
March
Cattle
Inspector
Moonie T ? On memorial, but not in BSAP uprising report

Map of the Location of the Pogo Memorial near Shangani

I took these photos in March 2000, returning to Gweru from our trip to the Matopos so am not sure if the memorial still stands?

Posters & Books on Matabele History

Amazon have a bunch of really interesting posters and books relating to Matabeleland, Lobengula and the history of this area:

In the UK

In the USA

Robert MoffatRobert Moffat was born in Ormiston, Scotland, of pious but poor parents. The educational advantages afforded him were limited, so, at a young age, he became an apprentice to learn gardening. Upon the completion of this apprenticeship, he moved to England where he was won to Christ through the efforts of the Wesleyan Methodists. With an intense desire to serve the Lord burning within him, he attended a missionary conference being held in Manchester, and there he felt the divine call to carry the Gospel to the heathen.

He was later accepted by the London Missionary Society, and at the age of 21, he sailed for Cape Town, South Africa. The hardships and primitive conditions did not deter him as he pushed northward into the interior, where he won to Christ the most dangerous outlaw chief in that region.

Returning to Cape Town in 1819, he met his fiancée, arriving from England, and they were married. Together, they spent the next 51 years on the mission field, most of it in Kuruman experiencing the many hardships and sorrows of that primitive area. Three of their children died in infancy and youth. However, five of the remaining ones remained in Africa as missionaries. Mary, the oldest daughter, became the wife of David Livingstone.

The work of Moffat was, as it were, the stepping stones which others used in spreading the Gospel throughout the Dark Continent. He opened many mission stations and served as the pioneer missionary in an area of hundreds of square miles. He translated the Bible into the language of the Bechwanas, first having reduced the language to written characters.

In 1870, after 54 years in Africa, he and his wife returned to England, where one year later she died. Moffat continued to promote foreign missions the rest of his life. He raised funds for a seminary that was built at the Kuruman Station, where native students were prepared for missionary work among their own people. At his death in 1883 the London newspaper said, “Perhaps no more genuine soul ever breathed. He addressed the cultured audiences within the majestic halls of Westminster Abbey with the same simple manner in which he led the worship in the huts of the savages.”!

Moffat Mission / Kuruman Mission

hamilton house - robert MoffatRobert Moffat, a Scottish missionary and his wife Mary lived in Kuruman for many years and it was here that his daughter got married to David Livingston, the discoverer of  the Victoria Waterfalls.

Before this, the Kuruman Mission was established by the London Missionary Society (LMS) in 1816 at Maruping near Kuruman where a town of about 10 000 Batswana were resident. Robert Moffat arrived in Kuruman from Scotland in 1820, and soon organised permission from Chief Mothibi to relocate it to the present position at Seodin in the valley of the Kuruman River. From here he preached Christianity to the local people. Today the Moffat Mission Station is now a museum and open to visitors.

Moffat (1795-1887) laboured at the mission for 50 years, and his period is considered the “golden age” of missionary work amongst the Batswana. He was a man of considerable talents and oversaw the building of staff houses, a school house, store rooms, and the “cathedral of the Kalahari”, the great Moffat Church (1838) which can seat 800 people.

Not content with this he was as the same time working on what would be his greatest legacy: the Setswana Bible. He taught himself Setswana, developed the orthography and (with a broader team) translated the Bible. Once this was done, he then proceeded to print it on a hand press – being the first entire Bible printed in Africa.

David Livingstone tree The mission is also well-known as the first African home of Dr. David Livingstone. He arrived as an LMS missionary in 1841, and remained in contact with the mission due to his marriage to Moffat’s eldest daughter Mary jr. The image of the tree are what remains of the famous wild almond tree under which David Livingstone proposed to Mary Moffat and can still be seen today.

The mission also witnessed the first ordination of a Motswana, Rev. Maphakela Lekalake who served the church to the ripe age of 97.

Thompson Avenue
P O Box 34, Kuruman, 8460
Tel (053) 7121352/7122645
Tel/fax: (053) 7121352
email: moffat@spg.co.za

Visiting hours:
Monday-Saturday: 08:00 – 17:00
Sunday and Public holidays: 15:00 -17:00

John Maxwell Lineham Love

Formula 1 Driver - John Maxwell Lineham Love John Love is one of only two people from Zimbabwe (Then Rhodesia) to race as a driver in Formula 1, the other being Sam Tingle. What is most interesting is that he was involved in one of the most interesting stories in Formula One’s history, which sadly seems to be mostly forgotten.

John Maxwell Lineham Love was born in Bulawayo on December 7th, 1924 and sadly recently passed away on April 25th, 2005. Overall he raced in 10 Formula One Grand Prix races during a decade in the sport, with his first on December 29, 1962 and his last race in 1972. He never managed to win a race, although came very close (more about this below), but did get one podium place (2nd), and scored a total of 6 championship points. A very bad accident that resulted in a badly broken arm ruined his chances of racing in Formula 1 full-time.

John first got into motor racing just after World War 2 (WW2), where he served in the Middle East and Italy in an Armour Car Division (where I think he was a Tank driver), he returned to Bulawayo and then from 1947 to 1953, competed in motorcycle races against other Zimbabwean motor cycle racing legends like Ray Amm and future six time world motor cycling champion Jim Redman.

During the 1960’s he was the South African F1 Champion six times. Before racing in F1, he did very well racing for a very famous name in motorsport, in Ken Tyrrell’s Cooper-Austin team in the European Formula Junior firmament.

1967 South African Grand Prix in Kyalami
Probably he most unlucky moment came during the first race of the 1967 F1 GP season, held in South Africa and for the first time at Kyalami, which would help the local drivers like John who had raced on the track before. Because the previous season had ended late, both the Ferrari and McLaren teams decided not to race and many of the other top drivers were still using last years cars. But all the big names of the day were there:

Sir Jack Brabham and Denny Hulme racing for the Brabham that dominated the 1966 title in their BT20, the Repco 3 litre V8. Graham Hill and Jim Clark racing for Lotus, Jochen Rindt and Pedro Rodriguez racing for Cooper in their T81 Maserati V12, John Surtees racing for Honda, Jackie Stewart and Mike Spence racing for BRM in their P83. Other entrants included Dan Gurney, Jo Siffert, Bob Anderson, Jo Bonnier and Piers Courage, plus two other South Africans, Charlton and Luki Botha and the other Zimbabwean to race in formula 1, Sam Tingle.

John would be racing in a vehicle that had never raced in F1 before, the Cooper T79 with a Climax four-cylinder engine. The chassis had actually won the Australian GP at Longford in 1965 as it had been a special built for Bruce McLaren, after which John Love then bought it and had used it to win many local races.

John Maxwell Lineham Love at the start

John Love (No.17) in fith place at the start of the 1967 South African GP

Qualifying went well and he started the race in 5th place on the grid, behind Brabham, Hulme, Clark and Rodriguez. Unfortunately he made a poor start and was down to 10th place after the first lap, but some excellent driving and some retirements saw him get up to second place behind Hulme, who almost had a minutes lead, until a break fluid problem forced him to pit on lap 61. So with three quarters of the race done, John Love was in the lead and it was looking good for the man from Bulawayo to taking the chequered flag and his countries first ever win in an Formula 1 race.

Formula 1 Driver - John Maxwell Lineham Love

Sadly, it was not to be however and with just 7 laps to go, his 2.8-litre four-cylinder Climax engine began to run low on fuel and he had to pit to re-fuel to the complete astonishment of the now very excited crown. Pedro Rodriguez in his Cooper went on to win with John finishing in a career best in second place.

When his racing days were over, he went back to live out the rest of his life in his beloved Bulawayo where he set up and ran a garage and Jaguar dealership and also had his own stock car racing team that competed in the 80’s.

Zimbabwean Formula 1 Drivers

Formula 1 Driver - John Maxwell Lineham Love

With this years Formula One championship shaping up to being one of the most exciting ever, I thought I would take a look at Zimbabweans involved in Motorsport.  Zimbabwe has a very strong  heritage in motor sport, with a number of Zimbabweans doing well in many different disciplines all around the world (more to follow), but I wonder how many of you know that there once were two Zimbabweans (Rhodesians) who drove in F1 as well as a multiple MotoGP world champion (motor cycle racing).

John Maxwell Lineham Love

Not only did John Love race in Formula One, but he was involved in one of the most interesting stories in it’s history, he was born in Bulawayo, Rhodesia (Now Zimbabwe) on December the 7th 1924 and sadly died recently on April 25th 2005. His first formula 1 race was the 1962 South African Grand Prix held at East London on December 29, driving a Cooper-Climax where he finished 8th, the Two time world champion and father of Damon Hill, Graham Hill went on to win the race.  >> For more on this very interesting story, check out my post on John Maxwell Lineham Love.

Sam Tingle

The only other person from the then republic of Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe to successfully enter a Formula One race, was Sam Tingle. He was actually, born in Manchester, England on August 24th, 1921 and sadly like John Love recently passed away on December 19th 2008, in Cape Town, South Africa.

He raced for the then Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, taking part in five Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, as well as several non-Championship F1 races.  His first was on December 28th 1963.  During his brief career, he did not manage to score any championship points.

Clive Puzey

A third very talented driver from Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) was  Clive Puzey,who came close, but failed to pre-qualify in his attempt to drive in the 1965 South African Grand Prix.

Mzilikazi – King of the Matabele

Mzilikazi (Moselekatse), King of the Matabele

Mzilikazi was born in 1790, near Mkuze, Zululand [now in South Africa] died on Sept. 9th, 1868 at Ingama in Matabeleland [near Bulawayo, now in Zimbabwe]

Mzilikazi and Lobengula

Also spelled UMSILIGASI, OR MOZELEKATSE, South African king who founded the powerful Ndebele (Matabele) kingdom in what is now Zimbabwe. The greatest Bantu warrior after Shaka, king of the Zulus, Mzilikazi took his Kumalo people more than 500 miles (800 km) from what is now South Africa to the region now known as Zimbabwe, creating en route an immense and ethnically diverse nation. Mzilikazi was a statesman of considerable stature, able to weld the many conquered tribes into a strong, centralized kingdom.

Originally a lieutenant of Shaka, he revolted against the Zulu king in 1823 and withdrew his people northward to safety from their home on the southeast coast of Africa. He traveled to Mozambique and then west into the Transvaal, settling there by 1826. Continued attacks by coalitions of his enemies caused him to move west again to what is now Botswana and, in 1837, northward to present-day Zambia. Unable to conquer the Kololo nation there, Mzilikazi moved his followers, now numbering 15,000 to 20,000, eastward into what is now southwestern Zimbabwe, where he settled Matabeleland (c. 1840). He organized the country in a militaristic system of regimental towns strong enough to repel Boer attacks (1847-51) and to force the Boer government in the Transvaal to conclude a peace with him in 1852.

Mzilikazi was generally friendly to European travelers, but the discovery of gold in Matabeleland in 1867 brought a flood of Europeans that he was unable to control and that eventually led to the downfall of the kingdom.

Mzilikazi, watercolour sketch by William Cornwallis Harris

Mzilikazi, watercolour sketch by William Cornwallis Harris, October 1836

The famous image above was painted by William Cornwallis Harris in October 1836. It was redrawn and engraved to serve as the frontispiece to Harris’s well-known narrative of his proto-safari in southern Africa, first published in 1838, and in that form is considered to be the only portrait of the king (frequently reproduced from that context). For more details on the picture and on Mzilikazi >> Click here

David Livingstone (1813-73)

David LivingstoneFor more than 30 years David Livingstone worked in Africa as a medical missionary and travelled the continent from the equator to the Cape and from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. In so doing, he gained worldwide fame as an explorer and strongly influenced the way successive generations have thought about Africa. By awakening the interest of the outside world in the then largely unknown continent, he helped pave the way for its European colonization later in the 19th century. Also, through his strong belief that Africans could advance into the modern world, he served as an inspiration for African nationalism.

David Livingstone was born in Blantyre, Scotland, on March 19, 1813. One of seven children of a very poor family, he was already working in a cotton mill by the time he was 10. The little education he received came largely through his own efforts and from the determination of his parents, strict Calvinists who believed in hard work and schooling.

In 1834 he heard about an appeal by British and American churches for medical missionaries to go to China. He decided this should be his career, and for two years while continuing to work part-time, he studied theology and medicine. In 1838 he was accepted by the London Missionary Society but was prevented from going to China by the Opium War. A subsequent meeting with Robert Moffat, the noted missionary to southern Africa, convinced Livingstone that he should take up his work in Africa.

He arrived in Cape Town on March 14, 1841. From the moment he arrived, Livingstone determined to become an explorer to help open up the continent for Christianity and Western civilization. His career can be divided into four fairly distinct phases: the early missionary explorations in the years from 1841 to 1849, during which he traveled to the Transvaal and into the Kalahari region; the expedition from 1850 to 1856 that took him to Luanda on the west coast and to Quelimane on the east coat; the explorations along the Zambezi River from 1858 to 1864; and his determined, but unsuccessful, search for the source of the Nile River from 1866 to 1873.

By mid-1842 he had travelled north into the Kalahari territory, farther than any European had ventured. He established a mission at Mabotsa in 1844. He married Moffat’s daughter, Mary, and she accompanied him on his travels until 1852, when she and their four children returned to Britain because of her health and the children’s needs for security and education.

During his first decade in Africa, Livingstone gained his first measure of fame when he assisted in the discovery of Lake Ngami on Aug. 1, 1849. For this he was awarded a gold medal and a monetary prize by the British Royal Geographical Society.

With his family safely in Scotland, Livingstone was able to set out on his second major journey in November 1853. His first goal was to reach the Atlantic coast to open up an avenue of commerce. He arrived at Luanda, on the Atlantic coast, on May 31, 1854. Four months later he began the return trip, exploring the Zambezi River region along the way. On May 20, 1856, he arrived at Quelimane, on the east coast, in Mozambique. The most spectacular result of this trip was the discovery and naming of Victoria Falls on the Zambezi on Nov. 17, 1855.

For his accomplishments he was received as a national hero when he returned to England in December 1856. He published a book, `Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa’ in 1857 and spent six months on a speaking tour in the British Isles. His speeches at Cambridge were published as `Dr. Livingstone’s Cambridge Lectures’ in 1858. Back in Africa early in 1858, Livingstone began extensive explorations of the Zambezi region. On this journey his wife died, in April 1862. The explorations were not successful from a commercial point of view, so the expedition was recalled by the British government.

Livingstone’s last great venture was his attempt to locate the source of the Nile. This quest, fraught with hardships and dissension among his staff, left him broken in health and–at one point–given up for dead. Henry Morton Stanley, a correspondent for the New York Herald, found him in Ujiji on Oct. 23, 1871, and provided him with food and medicine.

Together they explored the area northeast of Lake Tanganyika. Stanley returned to England in March 1872, but Livingstone refused to accompany him. On May 1, 1873, his servants found him dead in a village in what is now Zambia. His body was taken to England and buried in Westminster Abbey on April 18, 1874. Later that year `The Last Journals of David Livingstone’ were published.

David Livingstone Statue at Victoria Falls Zimbabwe

The David Livingstone Statue at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe