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Henry M. Stanley (1841-1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author and politician who was famous for his exploration of Central Africa and his search for missionary and explorer David Livingstone.
Stanley was born John Rowlands in Denbigh, Wales, on January 28, 1841. He was abandoned by his mother as a child and raised in a workhouse. At the age of 18, he emigrated to the United States, where he served in the Union army during the Civil War. After the war, he became a journalist and was assigned to cover the Abyssinian Expedition of 1867-68.
In 1871, Stanley was commissioned by the New York Herald to find David Livingstone, a Scottish missionary and explorer who had been missing in Central Africa for several years. Stanley set out on his expedition in November 1871 and reached Ujiji, Tanzania, in October 1872. There, he found Livingstone alive and well, and the two men were reunited on November 10, 1872.
Stanley and Livingstone spent the next four months exploring the Lualaba River, which they believed was the source of the Nile River. However, they were forced to turn back due to illness and logistical problems. Stanley returned to England in 1874, where he was hailed as a hero.
In 1874, Stanley was commissioned by King Leopold II of Belgium to explore the Congo River basin. Stanley led a series of expeditions to the Congo between 1874 and 1878. During these expeditions, he mapped the Congo River and its tributaries, and he established a number of trading posts. Stanley's work helped to pave the way for the colonization of the Congo by Belgium.
In 1884, Stanley was commissioned by the British government to lead an expedition to rescue Emin Pasha, a German governor in the southern Sudan who was stranded by the Mahdi uprising. Stanley led a force of 900 men through the dense Equatorial African rainforest to reach Emin Pasha. The expedition was a great success, and Stanley rescued Emin Pasha and his followers in 1888.
Stanley's work as an explorer was remarkable. He was one of the first Europeans to explore the vast and unknown interior of Central Africa. His work helped to map the Congo River basin and to open up the region to trade and colonization. Stanley was also a gifted writer, and his books about his expeditions are still widely read today.
However, Stanley's legacy is also controversial. He has been accused of using brutal methods to lead his expeditions and of being complicit in the exploitation of the Congolese people. Nevertheless, Stanley remains one of the most important figures in the history of African exploration.
