Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile

The expedition described in this 1863 publication was the first to follow the Nile from its source in Lake Victoria.

John Hanning Speke (Author)

9781108031233, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 19 May 2011

758 pages, 74 b/w illus. 2 maps
21.6 x 14 x 4.2 cm, 0.95 kg

John Hanning Speke (1827–1864) was a British army officer and explorer, remembered for his expeditions in search of the source of the Nile and his disputes with Richard Burton on that subject. On an expedition begun in 1856 Burton and Speke reached Lake Tanganyika together, but Speke travelled on alone to Lake Victoria. He controversially gave lectures about the lakes in London in 1859, without awaiting Burton's return. Speke returned to Africa later that year, leading an expedition organised by the Royal Geographical Society, to explore Lake Victoria and investigate whether it really was the source of the Nile. This book, published in 1863, describes the 1859 expedition's challenging and eventful journey through present-day Zanzibar, Tanzania and Uganda, and the indigenous peoples the explorers encountered. Speke made invaluable surveys of the area, but it was only after his death that his views about the Nile were finally proved correct.

1. London to Zanzibar, 1859
2. Uzaramo
3. Usagara
4. Ugogo, and the wilderness of Mgunda Mkhali
5. Unyamuezi
6. Uzinza
7. Usui
8. Karague
9. History of the Wahuma
10. Karague and Uganda
11. Palace, Uganda
12. Palace, Uganda continued
13. Palace, Uganda continued
14. Palace, Uganda continued
15. March down the northern slopes of Africa
16. Bahr el Abiad
17. Unyoro
18. Unyoro continued
19. The march to Madi
20. Madi
Conclusion
Appendix.

Subject Areas: African history [HBJH]