Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
here. In 1868 French missionaries established Freedom Village at Bagamoyo as a shelter
for ransomed slaves, and for the remainder of the century the town served as a way station
for missionaries travelling from Zanzibar to the interior.
From 1887 to 1891 Bagamoyo was the capital of German East Africa, and in 1888 it
was at the centre of the Abushiri revolt, the first major uprising against the colonial gov-
ernment. In 1891 the capital was transferred to Dar es Salaam, sending Bagamoyo into a
slow decline from which it has yet to recover. Bagamoyo's unhurried pace, long history
and sleepy charm make it an agreeable day or weekend excursion from Dar es Salaam. At
the southeastern edge of town are beaches with high-tide swimming.
THIS OPEN SORE OF THE WORLD
David Livingstone, the famous explorer and missionary, was born in 1813 in
Scotland. After a childhood spent working at a local cotton gin, followed by
medical studies and ordination, he sailed for South Africa, arriving in 1841.
Over the next two decades, Livingstone penetrated some of the most inaccess-
ible corners of the continent on a series of expeditions, making his way north in-
to the Kalahari, west to present-day Angola and the Atlantic coast, and east
along the Zambezi River and to Victoria Falls. In 1866, he departed from the
Mikindani area for what was to be his final expedition, seeking to conclusively
solve the riddle of the Nile's source. He reached as far as Ujiji, where he was
famously 'found' by the American journalist Henry Morton Stanley.
After exploring parts of Lake Tanganyika with Stanley and spending time
near Tabora, Livingstone set off again on his quest. He died in 1873 in
Chitambo, in present-day Zambia. After cutting out and burying his heart, his
porters carried his embalmed body in an epic 1500km journey to Bagamoyo and
the sea, from where it was then taken to England.
During his travels, Livingstone was tormented by the ravages of the slave
trade that surrounded him. On his trips back to Europe, he spoke and wrote
ceaselessly against it in an effort to expose its horrors and injustices to the rest
of the world. These efforts, combined with the attention attracted by his well-
publicised funeral, the establishment of Freedom Village in Bagamoyo and re-
ports from other missionaries, marked a point of no return for the slave trade.
British attempts to stop the trade were mobilised, and it finally ground to a halt
in the early 20th century.
In 1874, Livingstone was buried with full honours in London's Westminster
Abbey. Today a plaque memorialises his efforts with what were purportedly his
last written words: 'All I can add in my solitude, is, may heaven's rich blessing
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