Question

Livingstone was deliberately silent about the river’s angry hippopotamuses, hungry crocodiles, and malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Moreover, in spite of these dangers, he was anxious to return to the Zambezi. He believed that if he could prove it was navigable, it might become a “highway into the interior” and open the continent up to trade. If successful commerce were established, it would compete with and even wipe out the inhumane slave trade. . . . Although Britain had made slavery illegal in 1833, Livingstone was disgusted to discover that others continued to practice it.

–Into the Unknown,
Stewart Ross

Answer 1

This excerpt from Stewart Ross's "Into the Unknown" highlights the duality of David Livingstone's perspective on exploration and the challenges he faced in Africa. Livingstone's deliberate silence about the dangers posed by wildlife and disease indicates an awareness of the potential risks of his journey, yet his ambition to navigate the Zambezi River reveals a greater vision.

His hope that a navigable river could serve as a trade route reflects a broader mission: to