Sir Henry Morton Stanley and his expedition to Africa
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- Опубліковано 13 лип 2024
- The History Guy remembers Henry Stanley and the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition, the last great expedition to the interior of Africa in the nineteenth century. It had serious consequences for Stanley and affected his reputation for the rest of his life. It is history that deserves to be remembered.
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How truly horrendous. Yet, it is better to know these truths than not. Thank you, History Guy.
The video count have treated Stanley, Stairs , and other more harshly.
Civilization hangs ever by a very thin thread.
This was the most provoking videos you have done. So good, man.
Great script. You write great ones all the time HG but you out did yourself this time. Well done man.
Same old story - very FRESH outlook. Oh how I like the view.
Thanks for sharing...
I've viewed almost all of your videos and this is your best informing me on a topic I was barely knowledgeable on.
When Gordon was asked to go out to Africa one of his aims was to abolish slavery. With this in mind he approached a good friend of his Sir Samuel Baker, who had spent much time in Africa and was well know for successes at stopping slavery in Africa. Gorgon asked Sir Samuel to take his place as Gordon thought Sir Samuel would be more successful on the mission. Sir Samuel had to turn Gordon down as his wife, lady Florence Baker, who had accompanied him on all his expeditions, now just wanted to stay at home having had her fill of travel. So Gordon went as planned.
I have read Sir Samuel's biography and it reads like a true life boys own adventure.
I have been working off the coast of West Africa for about fifteen years now and will have to say it has been the high light of my career as a Mariner. Never a dull moment. Makes you feel ALIVE.
I've been watching many history guy videos but yet to comment. The history guy is awesome geek Kung fu! He's one of us. Never give up! Never surrender! Huzzah!
Always informative.
Since I have lived in ‘deep darkest Africa’ for many years now, I can attest to what you say about the ‘darkness’ is true... And, the ‘darkness’ is no ‘respector’ of persons or skin color. Thank you for sharing about one of my hero’s, Mr Stanley.
@Joe Blow what is the meaning behind your comment?
@Joe Blow He's a Boomer. Nothing more to be said.
Dear HG, FASCINATING and definitely deserves to be remembered!
Liked the hidden Conrad reference .......
Edmund Musgrave Barttelot, who commanded the rear column in the expedition and apparently lost his mind before being shot by a native, is generally considered to be the inspiration for Conrad's character Kurtz.
It amazes me how history affects fiction. I learned of Kurtz, and the author Conrad, from the science fiction franchise “warhammer 40,000.” In which there is a character Konrad Curze, that is thought to be inspired by the book “heart of darkness,” and the movie “apocalypse now” for the character M’Shen (Martin Sheen). Thank you history guy for another great video, and thank you Cheeseatingjunglista for pointing out the connection as I wouldn’t have made it on my own.
@@leaveswalker1 Not Platoon, it is the film Apocalypse Now. If one reads Heart of Darkness then it is easy to recognize that Apocalypse Now is simply a modernized version of the same story; substituting 1960s Vietnam for 1800s in the Congo. In fact, a follow up film about the making-of Apocalypse Now, is called 'Our Hearts of Darkness'.
@@NavigatEric good call, I don’t know where my mind was when I made that comment. I will correct myself! I do apologize for any confusion.
My Mom, who grew up in a Salvationist household and referred to her church as “The Army”, was an avid reader and listener of history. She told me that Stanley and his expedition knew they had reached the encampment of Dr. Livingstone when the natives who had met them sang Cardinal Newman’s hymn “Lead Kindly Light”:
“Lead kindly light,
Amid the encircling gloom.
Lead, Thou, me on.
The way is dark
And I am far from home;
Lead, Thou, me on.”
Dr Livingston did much to carry LIGHT.
Great stuff. Very interesting. Thank you.
Thanks for the history lesson.
That was very nice. Thanks
Always exceptionally good work. Thanks
Excellent.
Thank you
I had Stanley's Book. A magnificent work of African anecdotes and a tabular record. The drawings were done by an expedition artist, so the feel of the illustrations is convincing and accurate in many oft overlooked details.
Stanley, Stairs, and others were some of the the worst racists of the late nineteenth-century. The expedition was about a land grab, power, and exploitation of Africa and Africans.
Thanks
My dream is to someday approach a man and his wife, lift my cap and say, " The History Guy I presume?".
Allen Atkins I don’t believe one is allowed to say man and wife. When married I wrote that we were to be man and wife. Thirty years ago. It was changed, and what could I do on our wedding? I love the old ways. It has nothing to do with lack of respect. Oh well, let them try to find love and respect that will last a lifetime.
Interesting, H.G...thanks!
Brilliant... just brilliant. As an individual who has hunted in Africa for many years, who loves Africa... your closing comments really spoke to me... Perfect..!
I'm a simple man. I see history guy video on silver play button day, I hit like and comment and repeat
One of the best.
Oh hey! I actually know the cannibal part mentioned with the officer. He was the great-great grandson of the Jameson Whiskey founder
Thanks again for the content
The guy is more fair minded & less unbiased than a lot of news agencies & politicians.
For that,I thank him.
Isn't the use of "less unbiased" a double negative and thus means being biased?
It's a different part of Africa, but I'm reminded of "Heart of Darkness". Finding that dark mindset among previously civil men when faced with hardship, death and disease. Some folks will say that one race or country is ruthless. But the reality is that, if order and a fear of punishment is lost, then peoples of all creeds and origins can become ruthless.
I miss your hats. More hats!
The good old days.
Herny morton stanley=a good guy
Exceptional man
i'd be curious to see a something on henry hudson. In literature I've read it seems that he and some of his men survived being set adrift in the bay named after him. Researchers after doing some DNA tests in the approximate areas detected european strains in some of the natives. ??? a chapter on this ???
The Horror! The Horror! I wonder if these real events might have influenced Joseph Conrad in writing Heart of Darkness.
Odysseus Rex he did. If I am correct, he travelled to the Congo and was inspired by the atrocities there, and wrote the heart of darkness. When it was released, however, many people thought he had just made it up.
No doubt about it, in his novel he refers to the Sepulchral City, , a coded reference to Brussels, full of statues and memorial monuments
Correct!
I was scrolling down to see who would mention Conrad.
Your channel is fantastic, can you do a topic on General "Chinese" Gordon Please Please Please!
So very true everyone has a dark side just waiting to come out ! Most of us never get put into a situation that would allow that dark side to come out !
Life is dark and Love does not exist.
Brilliant recount of the high and low of one of England's truly great adventurers.
Ermm - England's? Born in Wales and moved to America as a child?
I was under the impression the term dark or darkest Africa was a reference to the unexplored areas of the continent, not the darkness of the forest. Could the history guy possibly be wrong? How dare I!
Well he did keep calling Charles Gordon by the name George Gordon. An unusual error for the HG!!
"The darkness is always there waiting for us to enter, waiting to enter us"
Thought provoking on the nature of what makes one “civilized”...
Suggestion: The Alexanderson Alternator
Have you covered the Central Park uboat or the ice ships
Well that was heavy
Life is Heavy.
Poignantly concluded.
Surprised you haven't mentioned 'The Heart of Darkness' by Joseph Conrad - another Pole. as it happens.
Your comments on "darkest Africa" reminds me of Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," chronicling his voyage up the Congo River.
cool
Sir Henry Morton Stanley(1841-1904)(real name - John Rowlands)
John Rowlands was abandoned as a child and grew up in a workhouse for the poor( as per Charles Dickens "Oliver Twist"). At 18 he left for America and a life of adventure, and a change of name to Henry Morton Stanley. His life of adventure started in the USA Civil War, then to the USA wild West, then to Spain, then to the Middle East, and onto explorations in Africa. He served as a member of Parliament from 1895 to 1900 and was Knighted to become Sir Henry Morton Stanley in 1899. A true workhouse rags to aristocracy story.( See Wikipedia)
( An African/Arab who was known by the nickname of Tippu Tip, aided both Livingstone and Stanley in their African travels. Tippu Tip's business was the slave trade. He would attack African villages with rifles and kill or chase off the men by the thousands, and the round up the young women and children to be sold as slaves by the thousands in Zanzibar. Possible a bit worse than the crimes mentioned above.)
He's of history's bastards.
Sounds like the inspiration for "The Heart of Darkness" and, therefore, of "Apocalypse Now."
It was, in part! Read King Leopold's Ghost!
The forgot who they were..similar to what happens to some soldiers a long way from home.
No, the term Darkest Africa came from looking at a map of unexplored areas in Africa that could only be shaded dark. But Stanley was a brute of African making from going native.
He fought on both sides of the civil war?
He did. He originally enlisted with the 6th Arkansas and was captured at the battle of Shiloh. He was recruited to join the Union in the POW camp. The term for Confederates prisoners who enlisted for the Union was "Galvanized Yankees." He briefly served in the Union Army before moving to the merchant marine and then the Union Navy. He is thought to be the only man to have served in the Confederate Army, the Union Army and the Union Navy.
Fence Rider and NOT the type whom mends fences.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel
Priceless find -
He literally changed his ways and improved upon his character - and finished a Winner. 🇺🇸
Talk about Priceless Trivia!
I love History, too!
Class of 81
Beth Bartlett Stanley was a monster he didn't mend his ways , I suggest you research his "Congo free state" days
Subject: the friendship between Lincoln and the Russian Tzar, how the Russian Navy intervened against the British Navy.... the railroads America helped Russia build and how consequently the British caused conflicts to keep Russia and the US from building a transcontinental railway that might have made British sea power much less important
History is fascinating. There is always more going on than written in the history books. A lot of nuances to history. Ever wonder how the history books will be written about current times? Truthfully or with a political narrative? I vote for with political narrative which means future generations will never really know the truth of what really happened. Maybe we never really know what happened in any event in the past.
Scary
On The History Guy wall, to his right, is a long photograph. Does anyone know the What, Where and When of this intriguing photograph? Curiosity is killing me. Haha
Can u get a video on the history of 5 mph bumpers
The Lord of the Flies.
Doesn't take much to fall, we should all be reminded.
Was this where Conrad got the idea for HEART OF DARKNESS?
Wow respected English man really did actually go native
They didn't "go native". They just thought being away from societal checks and balances, that existed back home, let them exercise their most base racist tendencies. In other words they went "imperialist European".
As in 'The Heart of Darkness'?
"Darkest Africa" surely refers to the (at that time) unknown parts of the continent, in the same way that the dark side of the moon is the side that faces away from the earth and so was unknown until the Apollo programme but is lit by the sun on a monthly cycle
Another historical event that can be used to demonstrate how thin the patina of civilisation is and give credence to the assertion that we are only "nine meals from anarchy."
richard
--
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it."
- George Bernard Shaw (through Inspector Javert)
Did the story of this expedition have any influence on Conrad’s book “Into The Heart of Darkness?”
One can assume, but Conrad himself did command a steamer on the congo, so much of the story is inspired by his own experiences
Dr. Livingston, I presume.
In the end, we all have the capacity for savagery. We also, however, all have the capacity for heroism. Complicated lot, we humans, don't you think?
Ain't that the truth!
We all have some inside, from one extereme to another. Most of us know, and are able, to keep such at bay tho.
Dr. LivingstonE,
I presume.
Emin pasha was not polish but prussian born. His hometown today is polish. Not back then.
The darkness in man's heart...that's pretty profound...I agree completely....only man kills for reasons other than survival....we are still a barbaric species, and I fear that will never change...
Not so I'm afraid. Many species kill for power and sport. Look at chimps and dolphins just to name a couple.
no it's the darkest cause no one back home can see what your doing
dey got bode
"Unfriendly natives".....with the behavior of those officers, it's no wonder the locals were unfriendly. Word gets around, after all.
I agree. Seems like history bears witness to this fact on every continent. I wonder if the penquins hate invading humans, too? ;-)
Heart of Darkness
That darkness is sure going to come out one day
It's 2019.... I would not have much hope.
Interesting but horrifying.
I believe Dark Africa was the term used to refer parts of interior African that were not yet explored or mapped
You are correct Luis. There are still parts of the Congo Region that are still referred to as Deepest Darkest Africa as they have yet to be fully explored. Regards from South Africa.
You don’t think it has anything to do with the Arabs brutality for 700 years?
"Darkest Africa" refers to the part that is unknown - like the dark side of the moon (the side that faces away from earth so can't be seen, but is lit by the sun just as much as the one that we can see)
Our hearts are full of darkness until the light of Jesus enters. Only in His light can we be saved - born again - and have His righteousness.
Maybe. But in this case it was a bunch of racist white guys bringing it with a bible in one hand and a sword or gun in the other. Slaughter, exploit first, and then use Christianity as a method of imperial control.
@@EdinburghFive But there were many, Like Dr. Livingston, who were not racist but compassionate and competent.
@@rebanelson607 Good to hear from you.
For his day Livingston perhaps was not a racist but he was a product of his nineteenth-century upbringing. I believe he had the interest of the African people in his heart and he was certainly an abolitionist, not perhaps for the right reasons though. He believed in the racist nineteenth-century attitude that Britain and the other western powers were bringing 'civilization' to a lessor people. He believed in the idea of 'Christianity, Commerce and Civilization', which in reality was a philosophy for the benefit of Britain, furthermore he certainly did not think that Blacks were the equal of an Englishmen. He respected the Blacks to the extent they understood their place in the greater order of 'civilizing' Western culture. He also used derogatory references for Blacks and other non-white people, for example he referred to them as Kaffirs. Although the word was widely used in western society to reference darker skinned people it was recognized as racist in nature, yet Livingston did not veer away from using the term.
The spreading of the Christian religion was very much a tool used by the imperial powers to control the people they wished to subjugate.
His work and adventuring in Africa very much opened the door for Britain's future colonization of vast areas of Africa.
The few people who did care about the Africans were far outnumbered by those on an imperial rampage to control and exploit the people and resources of Africa.
Cheers
Charlie don't surf!
Right on Bro.
Charles gordon
Humanity has the image of the Divine but the nature of the Beast capable of immense beauty but ever prone to expression of the most hideous creature that lurks within
But Stanley still was able to get elected as a member of the House of Commons.
Jeff Bloomfield That’s an interesting coda to this story. I am wondering why the history guy left it out?
Is he the only American citizen to be elected to the House of Commons?
His reputation was so ruined that he had to resort to politics . LOL !
His real name was John Rowlands.
@@rabbi120348 Nancy Astor (see Wikipedia) was the most famous American-born MP, and capable of really cutting put-downs of people she disapproved of. She and Winston Churchill hated each other. She once said to Churchill, “If you were my husband, I’d poison your tea,” to which he responded, “Madam, if you were my wife, I’d drink it!”
The human psyche is THE darkest place known to to mankind.
George ******* Gordon! Story! History! Unknown!
You forgot to mention how Stanley acted as an agent of King Léopold II of Belgium, effectively claiming the Congo as the private property of the king of a country approximately 80-100x smaller than the Congo. While the king claimed that he went to the Congo to bring civilization to savages, he essentially used force on the natives to make them work for free and cut off the hands or heads of natives who didn’t meet their quotas for rubber, ivory or elephant tusks. Ultimately 6-10 million natives died at the hands of Belgian oppressors. It’s ironic that Stanley was portrayed in his writings as a bringer of civilization and a romantic explorers, when in reality his work brought untold destruction and suffering on the natives, the effects of which are still felt today in the form of the various ethnic divisions and civil wars caused by Belgian oppression and later political interference/assassination of Congo leaders after the Congo became independent.
Right, this sanitized version of history helps no one! The hidden African genocide must be hidden no more.
@@amosquick4790 it is now hidden because this current climate doesn’t want to offend anyone.
The Arab slave trade for 700 years prior to
Dr. Livingstone entering the heart of Africa .
will give you plenty of illustration of the brutality they placed on the Africans.
How Africans can still maintain loyalty to the Muslim religion, is the reason why the continent will never prosper.
natives killed other natives you mean
@@vespa9566 these arabs were not arabs but swaheli africans like tippu tip
Let's be real " Darkest Africa" is not simply a reference to how little light makes it to the jungle floor. It's about the skin color of the local people and the evil shit that abounded in the region.
No, that is not what the term referred to. I
The guy who reportedly bought a 10yr old girl was non other than James Jameson
wasn't it the son of the guy that started the jamesons whiskey comnpany, that paid natives to eat a child in the congo.
Yes it was.
Cannibalism remains popular, with (non-staged) videos easy to find. ua-cam.com/video/ZRuSS0iiFyo/v-deo.html
Disapointed did you even read "In Darkest Africia"?When Stanley and his people first met Emin Pasha
they were in rags half starved si half had died from sickness and injuries while Emin Pasha was immaculately dressed in and indeed had no interest in being rescued!! Emin Pasha' wife was dead and he had a little daughter .
You also have left out the Arab Ivory Collector and his Harem
Tippu Tib. Emin Pasha who remained in Africia was eventually killed by some of the native tribes!!!
Stanley became a member of Parliament and also was made Sir Henry Henry Morton Stanley. Just saying. 5 mins but you could have it more intersting!!!
The idea of rescuing Emin Pasha was just the front for a race to control another area of Africa.
Come to think of it, there has never really been civilization in that interior rainforest part of Africa. Even today it is still home to some of the most insecure and violent countries on earth. Whoever is stronger is also right down there. Only now the weapons used are much deadlier and there are more people.
Unfortunately for the people down there, they are sitting on important resources down there, which are crucial to making the rest of the world sustainable enough so we don't destroy the planet, so we can't just let them be and revert back to what they've been like for thousands of years before. If there are ways at all to solve this, I don't think recolonisation would be the worst.
Actually, you're wrong. The Kingdom of Kongo was a vast state. Even King Joao III of Portugal commented on that. Portuguese and European traders could not just go into it and take over. They started trading with them first before the slave trade became too hard for the Congolese monarchs to control. Hence reduced numbers of people sold and misguided loyalties along the king's people who could benefit from it. All these factors, if not more, lead to a weakened central state. Everyone knows that once centralized power is weak, it is the perfect breeding ground for colonizers and invaders.
I’m thinking Mr Stanley didn’t deserve a fine reputation if he’s the same man that helped Leopoldo II enslave the Congo “Free” State
Sir Stanley was an exceptional man!
They went there for missionary purposes with Belgium and he was paid for it.
To relieve the Negroes from the brutality the Arabs are placed upon them for 700 years
@@vespa9566 Sure, you go on believing that fairy tale.
I thought the old racist attitude of Europeans bringing 'civilization' to the non-white world was jettisoned decades ago. I see I was mistaken.
This was just the switching of brutality for an even greater brutality.
I was dissapointed with with your 10minute history. It seems you have not read the full story of that 3 year journey from different authors their return just a minor e.g.is Henry Morton Stanley yes was Welsh but that was not his real name it was I believe an Americian's name who took care of him when he arrived in Americia. real name was John Rowlands.
A fascinating book which I think might give you a real insight of the journey was "My Personal Experiencr of Equatorial Africia by Thos Heazle Parke .Hon.D.C.L. (Durh.) Its long out of print but you may be able to get a copy a great read tells you all about them running out of food, medical supplies all the different tribes they met some where friendly some where hostile going through the thick foresest, vaccination against small-pox the hunger,the deaths,Good luck.
Stanley tried to make excuses for his fellow Europeans. What he's saying is they needed the social inhibitors of European society to act decently. The simple truth is the men left behind lacked moral integrity, human decency, and the training to do their job; this was not entirely Stanley's fault but rather more of an indictment of the society that the men had once belonged to. Still, he did pick them, and as the expedition's leader, ultimate blame did rightfully fall to him. Choosing to forego military men in favor of gentlemen adventurer-rakes was assuredly a mistake. Taking more than a year to return, too, even considering the difficulties no doubt exacerbated the situation.
Stanley had a habit of picking completely unsuitable candidates as European officers on his expeditions. Its been noted that this was perhaps because he wanted to the centre of attention and make sure if anyone was going to make a name it was him and not one of his subordinates. Stanley was at times an adept self-promoter and his ability to shape the narrative of what happened on his expeditions afterwards in print and on the lecture circuit was key to this. Stanley too was not averse to abusing the Africans, believing that they were naturally lazy and needed to be treated harshly in order to be of use. He also had a doctrine of shooting first and asking questions later, some of his expeditions had more of the flavour of military campaigns than exploration; blasting his way through the bush, gunning down the natives and leaving a trail of burning villages. His behaviour soured relations with the Africans such that expeditions by other European explorers in the area were met with a hail of arrows as they passed through.
Stanley was the ultimate imperialist, so I think he knew exactly the type of men he was picking. Being a military officer did not make them less racist. It likely made them worse, as they had swallowed the imperialism hook, line, and sinker. William Grant Stairs is an example of just the type of people Stanley recruited.
You don't need to go to africa to see the darkest side of mankind.
Darkest Africa maybe just maybe there was no Vitamin D from the Sun and when you don't have your vitamin D and get pretty nasty and lose your mind think about that theory keep up the great work
Used to have a calendar which joked about Stanley's meeting with Livingstone.
"On this day, Henry Stanley asked 'Dr Livingstone, I presume?' Unfortunately, not only was it NOT Livingstone, he scared the hell out of the African pygmy he was talking to."
Heh....
Africa just as backwards now as in the 1800s. Worst thing was the English left & the tribes took over. Fighting ever since
Are you british?
After the holocoaust this narrative is simply laughable