The Big Issue

David Livingstone - problematic, I presume?

What’s the name of the famous waterfall in Africa?

I learned this fact long ago from a Ladybird book about David Livingstone. I still have it. Originally published in 1960 as part of An Adventure from History series, it sums up his African odyssey on the final page with: “Livingstone had travelled 29,000 miles in Africa and added 1,000,000 square miles to the map. He discovered six lakes and many rivers and mountains, including the biggest waterfall in the world.”

This is what generations of us were taught about the almost mythic missionary. Seemingly the only white man in Africa, he "civilised" an entire continent and discovered a mile-long waterfall that’s twice as high as Hiagara Falls – as if none of the locals had ever noticed it before. Victoria Falls was – and still is – known as Mosi-oa-Tunya by the people who live around that

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Big Issue

The Big Issue3 min read
‘Nothing Beats What Nature Makes. It Really Speaks To Me’
It’s 8am on a crisp Tuesday morning in my local park. The Leaf Man emerges from the mist. In certain artistic circles, and among his hundreds of Instagram followers, the intricately hand-cut designs that Aasen Stephenson painstakingly carves into lea
The Big Issue3 min read
Film
Would it work if it was Subbuteo? That was a question that bubbled up in my mind even as I was being happily swept along by the ravishing new film from Italian sensualist Luca Guadagnino, the acclaimed director who pierced both hearts and peaches wit
The Big Issue2 min read
CONFLICT Counting The Cost Of War On The Climate
From 1950 to 2000, over 80% of the largest armed conflicts worldwide took place in biodiversity hotspots. Last year, analysts from the Europe-based research group Initiative on GHG Accounting of War assessed the climate and environmental damage cause

Related Books & Audiobooks