Famous Explorers - Mungo Park
African Exploration - To Discover the Course of the River Niger
With the support of botanist Sir Joseph Banks, Mungo Park sailed for the Gambia in the first stage of his journey to discover the course of the River Niger.
In 1799, Mungo Park told the story of an African journey and became the toast of London society.
The first volume of Mungo Park’s book Travels was published to huge acclaim and Lewis Grassic Gibbon in his 1934 biography of the explorer commented that London and the provinces ‘devoured’ the book. Such was the demand for copies the publisher reprinted it three times in as many months.
The book told of an epic journey to follow the course of the River Niger; a journey to the dark continent of Africa, a continent still waiting for the exploits of Livingston and Stanley.
Member of Parliament William Wilberforce, a renowned anti-slavery campaigner and his supporters (including the Quakers) had other thoughts about the book.
Mungo Park had frequently mentioned the existence of African slave caravans and indeed on occasions travelled with them, but at no point did he condemn this barbaric practice.
Mungo Park was born at Foulshiels near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders in 1771. He was a quite studious boy nearly always at the top of his class at Selkirk Grammar School.
At 15, he was apprenticed to local surgeon Dr Anderson, whose daughter Ailie he was later to marry. He studied with the doctor for three years before completing his medical training at Edinburgh University. He then left Scotland to live in London.
It was in London that he was introduced to the man who was to change his life. Sir Joseph Banks was a world famous botanist who had sailed with Captain Cook on his round-the-world voyage.
Banks was a founder member of the African Association and a man of some influence. It was with his support that Park sailed from Portsmouth on May 22, 1795 for the Gambia to begin his African adventure.
After 19 months of severe hardship he was forced to abandon his journey through a virtually unknown part of the continent.
Returning to the coast he found passage on a ship bound for the West Indies. Many months later the young Scot returned to London.
Home again in Foulshiels, Park was introduced to Sir Walter Scott by his brother Archibald; they found a common love of poetry and writing; it was a friendship that would endure.
He moved to Peebles in 1801 to set up his medical practice. Within a short time however he told Scott that he would rather brave Africa with all its horrors than wear out his life among the hills of Peeblesshire with an income barely enough to keep body and soul together.
Two years later his wish to return to Africa was granted when the government agreed to mount a new expedition. Preparations were painfully slow and he had to wait until January 1805, before sailing on his final African journey.
Walter Scott seemed to have a premonition about Park’s fate. It was overlooking the River Yarrow that he said goodbye to the explorer. They had ridden together from Scott’s summer home at Ashietiel when Park’s horse stumbled in a ditch.
Scott said, “ I’m afraid Mungo, that’s a bad omen.” Not realising how prophetic Scott’s words would be, Park replied, “Omens follow those who look to them.” Without formal goodbyes, he turned his horse and rode away.
The expedition ended with the deaths of Park and his European companions. Sir Walter had been right to worry about his friend.
A second volume of Travels was published posthumously in 1815.
