The Congo and the Founding of its Free State
A Story of Work and Exploration

A detailed account, first published in 1885, of the exploration of the Congo basin by Henry Stanley (1841–1904).

Henry Morton Stanley (Author)

9781108031325, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 25 August 2011

536 pages, 41 b/w illus. 8 maps
21.6 x 14 x 3 cm, 0.67 kg

Sir Henry Morton Stanley (1841–1904) was a journalist and explorer renowned for his adventures in Africa. After emigrating to America in 1859, Stanley worked as a journalist for the New York Herald. In 1869 he was instructed to undertake an expedition to find the missionary David Livingstone, and the success of this mission brought him public recognition and financial success. These volumes, first published in 1885, provide an account of Stanley's exploration of the Congo river in the service of Leopold II of Belgium between 1879 and 1884. Deriving from Stanley's journal, the books describe the difficulties he faced as he founded permanent trading stations, and his negotiations with indigenous leaders, together with his plans for the commercial exploitation of Africa. Stanley's controversial methods to achieve this aim, which led to his modern reputation as a racist and imperialist, are also revealed. Volume 2 covers 1883–4.

26. To the Black River
27. From the Black River to Stanley Pool and back to Equator Station
28. To the Aruwimi or Biyerré
29. Up the Biyerré
30. To Stanley Falls
31. Down the Congo to Stanley Pool
32. Return to Vivi
33. To Ostend
34. Europeans in Africa
35. Climate part I
36. Climate part II
37. The kernel of the argument
38. The Berlin Conference
Index.

Subject Areas: African history [HBJH]