0:00:03 > 0:00:07For over two centuries, a remarkable collection of Scots
0:00:07 > 0:00:11blazed a trail into unknown corners of the world.
0:00:11 > 0:00:16Their epic journeys in the harshest of conditions helped forge nations
0:00:16 > 0:00:19and draw the maps of three continents.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23From the frozen wastes of Canada,
0:00:23 > 0:00:25to the unseen heart of Africa,
0:00:25 > 0:00:30and across the rolling oceans to the parched deserts of Australia,
0:00:30 > 0:00:33Scottish explorers have been at the forefront
0:00:33 > 0:00:36of expanding the frontiers of the world in which we live.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42This is the story of the Scottish discovery of our world.
0:00:52 > 0:00:57In the 18th century, Europeans knew more about the surface of the moon
0:00:57 > 0:00:59than the interior of Africa.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02In the summer of 1788,
0:01:02 > 0:01:06an elite group of curious men met and formed an association.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Meeting in a pub on London's Pall Mall,
0:01:09 > 0:01:13they pledged to uncover the mysteries of Africa forever.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19The members of the African Association were painfully aware
0:01:19 > 0:01:23that Roman and Greek geographers and historians knew more about Africa
0:01:23 > 0:01:25than these men of the Enlightenment did,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28so it was kind of a scientific puzzle to be solved.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32It was thought of as somewhere very exotic, very wild,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36certainly very uncivilised, certainly very primitive,
0:01:36 > 0:01:40but there was almost no knowledge of its geography or culture at all.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46But these Enlightenment men were driven by more than questions of geography.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49Two twin drives for them -
0:01:49 > 0:01:53on the one hand, the desire to discover scientific knowledge,
0:01:53 > 0:01:55and on the other hand, how that scientific knowledge
0:01:55 > 0:01:58can produce commercial benefits to Britain.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00Science and commerce intimately connected.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04Led by eminent botanist and explorer Joseph Banks,
0:02:04 > 0:02:07the new association set about trying to find men
0:02:07 > 0:02:11brave enough to journey into the heart of Africa.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14If you look at the people behind the African Association,
0:02:14 > 0:02:16they do seem very aristocratic
0:02:16 > 0:02:20and they do appear very moneyed and very gentrified.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24But then you look at the persons that they initially roped in as explorers
0:02:24 > 0:02:28and they're really a bunch of ne'er-do-well's and adventurers.
0:02:29 > 0:02:35It's an Association that ends up dabbling with some quite dubious characters.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39The Association's first recruit was a penniless American adventurer
0:02:39 > 0:02:41who poisoned himself in Cairo.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45Next, they sent an Englishman who'd done time in a Moroccan prison
0:02:45 > 0:02:50and who had hardly left the African coast before he turned back.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Their third man was a penniless Irish soldier
0:02:53 > 0:02:56who was robbed in the desert and left for dead.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01After little success with discharged soldiers and shady mercenaries,
0:03:01 > 0:03:05Banks turned to a young Calvinist doctor from Selkirk
0:03:05 > 0:03:09with whom he'd recently collaborated on some botanical work.
0:03:09 > 0:03:10His name was Mungo Park,
0:03:10 > 0:03:15and he was about to change the face of African exploration forever.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20The African association are looking for a young man of potential
0:03:20 > 0:03:24who they can send out as one of their explorers, and Park fits the bill.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26He was tall and strong.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30He was a loner, and therefore someone who could put up with
0:03:30 > 0:03:34the isolation that being an African explorer would inevitably bring with it.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39Joseph Banks had spotted in Park a promising combination
0:03:39 > 0:03:42of courage, ambition and scientific curiosity
0:03:42 > 0:03:46which the Association's previous explorers had lacked.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50Park was quite a determined and driven character.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54He looked for fame, if not fortune.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57He wanted to be lauded, he wanted to be successful
0:03:57 > 0:04:00and to be acknowledged by his peers.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04He's looking for adventure, he's looking for connections to a wider world,
0:04:04 > 0:04:08and he sure as hell found it in West Africa.
0:04:17 > 0:04:24Mungo Park arrived in West Africa in June 1795 aged just 23.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Nothing could have prepared him for the African interior.
0:04:32 > 0:04:38'A boundless forest, and a country, the inhabitants of which were strangers to civilised life,
0:04:38 > 0:04:43'and to most of whom a white man was the object of curiosity or plunder.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47'I reflected that I had parted from the last European I might probably behold,
0:04:47 > 0:04:51'and perhaps quitted forever the comforts of Christian society.'
0:04:52 > 0:04:56Park planned to enter West Africa from the coast of Guinea
0:04:56 > 0:04:59and then strike inland and find the River Niger.
0:04:59 > 0:05:04Once he had discovered the river, he hoped to chart its course back to the sea.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Rivers are so critical for the exploration of Africa
0:05:12 > 0:05:16for three reasons. Firstly, at this time in most of the world
0:05:16 > 0:05:19the quickest way to move around is by river or by coast,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22so that's how the explorers can move rapidly.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25Secondly, because rivers provide a way of moving rapidly
0:05:25 > 0:05:27it's also a potential trade route.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29But the third reason why rivers are important
0:05:29 > 0:05:32is because they were bound up with riddles.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Where did the Niger start? Where did it go?
0:05:34 > 0:05:36Which way did it flow? Where did it end?
0:05:43 > 0:05:47Park headed inland, where no modern European had been before.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50He travelled through a patchwork of kingdoms,
0:05:50 > 0:05:54meticulously observing and noting their customs and ways of life.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57He was exhilarated by the strange landscape
0:05:57 > 0:06:00and fascinated by the people he met.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02The feeling was mutual.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06The Africans were not used to seeing people who are just wandering,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09and that's why they called them the bazungu.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14Even up to now, people like you and others are called bazungu.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18Bazungu means a person who has lost his senses
0:06:18 > 0:06:22and who is just wandering around in the community,
0:06:22 > 0:06:24so that is a mad person.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26What is he looking for?
0:06:26 > 0:06:30He is searching for each and everything around,
0:06:30 > 0:06:35animals, plants, people, children, asking the age of the child,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38he measures the child, measures the woman.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43These are mad people, they are just looking for everything, anything.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46But while many indigenous Africans welcomed Park,
0:06:46 > 0:06:51others viewed this young, white Christian with deep suspicion.
0:06:53 > 0:07:00I think that the Christianity of Mungo Park was a problem
0:07:00 > 0:07:06with all these people who were becoming Muslim, strongly Muslim.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08Culturally, people don't know them
0:07:08 > 0:07:12and sometimes people do ask, "What are they doing here?
0:07:12 > 0:07:17"Maybe they are looking for our land to know more about our culture
0:07:17 > 0:07:21"and even to destroy our religion."
0:07:21 > 0:07:25As Park travelled deeper into the heart of Africa,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28he was never sure of the welcome he would receive.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36'I was a stranger, I was unprotected, and I was a Christian.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40'A suspicion prevailed with all that I'd come as a spy.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42'I had everything to fear.'
0:07:42 > 0:07:46Park smoothed his passage by offering gifts of pistols,
0:07:46 > 0:07:50gold dust, and even the brass buttons from his jacket.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55But none of this was enough to satisfy King Ali of Ludamar in present day Mali.
0:08:00 > 0:08:05When he encountered King Ali, he had all his remaining goods confiscated
0:08:05 > 0:08:07and essentially, Park was cast into a prison.
0:08:07 > 0:08:12When Park's in captivity, he's kept in the same place as a tethered pig
0:08:12 > 0:08:16and Ali's courtiers and people will come and torment Park.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19He reaches his lowest ebb. He's not sure if he's ever going to get home.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22He is prodded and poked at by the local population.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25He is really like a zoo exhibit.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27It's an astonishing experience.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32'My distress was a matter of sport to them.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35'This studied and degrading insolence
0:08:35 > 0:08:41'to which I was constantly exposed was one of the bitterest ingredients in the cup of captivity,
0:08:41 > 0:08:45'and often made life itself a burden to me.'
0:08:48 > 0:08:52Park was kept in captivity for four months.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55Only when a neighbouring tribe attacked Ali's kingdom
0:08:55 > 0:08:58was he able to escape in the confusion.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01'It is impossible to describe the joy when I was out of danger.
0:09:01 > 0:09:06'I felt like one recovered from sickness, I breathed freer,
0:09:06 > 0:09:08'I found unusual lightness in my limbs -
0:09:08 > 0:09:10'even the desert looked pleasant.'
0:09:13 > 0:09:18Park's traumatic experience made him more determined to reach the Niger.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26To survive as an explorer, you have to have tremendous discipline.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30You have to harden yourself and think about your destination.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33If you didn't do that, you would return home.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38Park battled on, and in July 1796,
0:09:38 > 0:09:44exhausted, penniless and sick, he laid eyes on his glittering prize.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48He had been trekking through Africa for eight months.
0:09:50 > 0:09:55'I saw with infinite pleasure the great object of my mission -
0:09:55 > 0:09:58'the long sought for majestic Niger,
0:09:58 > 0:10:03'glittering in the morning sun as broad as the Thames at Westminster.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06'I hastened to the brink and, having drank of the water,
0:10:06 > 0:10:08'lifted up my fervent thanks in prayer.'
0:10:14 > 0:10:19But Park was unable to complete his mission and chart the course of the river.
0:10:19 > 0:10:24Attacked by bandits, stripped of his clothes and money, he turned for home.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30He'd been through hell and back again on that first journey.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33He'd found the Niger, but he'd not really solved any of the mystery.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37Yet I think he really did expect a heroic welcome.
0:10:39 > 0:10:44But in Mungo Park's eyes, his triumph was not fully appreciated.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48His problem on returning was that his expectations were so high
0:10:48 > 0:10:52that they could hardly ever have been gratified.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56He was, I think, held in high regard,
0:10:56 > 0:11:02but he didn't get the notification and the adulation that he expected,
0:11:02 > 0:11:06and I think for the rest of his life he held a bit of a grievance about this.
0:11:06 > 0:11:12I think most explorers are thinking of returning to give a triumphant lecture tour,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15so this is about glory and illusions.
0:11:15 > 0:11:20Despite his disappointment, Park was the first European explorer
0:11:20 > 0:11:23to travel to West Africa and make it back alive.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27To the leaders of the African Association, this was progress
0:11:27 > 0:11:32and Park's adventure attracted new and influential supporters,
0:11:32 > 0:11:37politicians and industrialists intrigued by the potential for trade.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42The Association redoubled its efforts to unlock the heart of this mysterious continent
0:11:42 > 0:11:46and to discover where Africa's mighty rivers might lead.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54Rivers were central to everything in Africa, especially trade.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58They were the main routes for transportation of goods and people.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02When the Scottish explorers came into Africa,
0:12:02 > 0:12:08they knew that people were trading in salt, indigo, cotton, ivory,
0:12:08 > 0:12:12and all these were things that explorers were looking for.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16And they knew to discover these things you have to follow the river.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23But Mungo Park was haunted by his unfinished work.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27When he was offered the chance to return to Africa
0:12:27 > 0:12:29and complete his mission, he did not hesitate.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33Leaving his pregnant wife and three children at home,
0:12:33 > 0:12:38he began the long journey from the Borders back to the African interior.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Park's second expedition is government-backed.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49It's larger, it's better financed, they take soldiers, it's armed.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Park himself is given the title of Captain
0:12:52 > 0:12:55so that he has authority over the soldiers.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00This is an armed convoy, not a single man travelling with a couple of servants.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03But almost immediately the expedition hit problems.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07West Africa was known as the white man's grave
0:13:07 > 0:13:10where hundreds of unfortunate European soldiers,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13traders and explorers had all perished.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16There was no clean water for his men,
0:13:16 > 0:13:19and few local porters wanted to join the expedition.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21All this led to severe delays,
0:13:21 > 0:13:25and the fast-approaching rain season meant one thing -
0:13:25 > 0:13:27malaria.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30They travel too late, they travel in the middle of the rains.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34Soldiers suffered terribly - malaria, dysentery, men were soaked.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38By the time they reached the Niger, three quarters of the expedition had died.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40A single man could make it -
0:13:40 > 0:13:43a large expedition like this was another undertaking.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46Park employed local craftsmen to build him a canoe.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49He filled it with muskets and ammunition
0:13:49 > 0:13:53and began the long trip downriver.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55But doubts and paranoia were setting in.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Paranoia is quite frequent
0:13:58 > 0:14:03amongst isolated travellers, explorers and sailors.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06It's really a sense of a fear of failure -
0:14:06 > 0:14:11this may all go wrong, people are trying to stop me from succeeding -
0:14:11 > 0:14:14and that often leads to aggression.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21An agitated Park led what was left of his team down the Niger.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Exactly what happened next is disputed.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28By the most charitable accounts of that expedition,
0:14:28 > 0:14:33Park managed to get quite a long way down the river
0:14:33 > 0:14:37before his canoe party was ambushed.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40But other reports put the blame on Park himself.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44Seeing threats everywhere, he fired indiscriminately
0:14:44 > 0:14:47into the heavily populated riverbanks.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50Park saw them as the obstacle
0:14:50 > 0:14:54and not, in fact, the people he was coming to find out about.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57And once he'd done that, then his attitude changed
0:14:57 > 0:15:02from explorer to someone who wanted to blast his way out.
0:15:02 > 0:15:08Park killed scores of people before finally being cornered and killed himself.
0:15:11 > 0:15:16He had travelled nearly 1,500 miles of the Niger's 2,600 mile course.
0:15:17 > 0:15:23For this, Park is remembered as one of the greatest explorers of Africa,
0:15:23 > 0:15:26but the violence which accompanied him to his death
0:15:26 > 0:15:29left a difficult legacy for those who were to follow.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Mungo Park's death confirmed the British people's suspicions
0:15:42 > 0:15:44about the dangers of Africa,
0:15:44 > 0:15:49and his accounts of a horror unique to the continent appalled them -
0:15:49 > 0:15:51the slave trade.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55Each year thousands of men, women and children were kidnapped,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59shackled and transported like animals across the world.
0:15:59 > 0:16:04Ending this misery became the mission of the explorers who followed in Park's footsteps.
0:16:07 > 0:16:13Most of the explorers who went to West Africa in the late 18th, early 19th century
0:16:13 > 0:16:17were influenced by the anti-slavery and abolition movements,
0:16:17 > 0:16:20and they would, I think, have been fairly appalled.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28The next major British expedition to Africa would be managed,
0:16:28 > 0:16:33not by the enthusiastic amateurs of the Africa Association,
0:16:33 > 0:16:34but by the British government.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38The Admiralty was instructed to send two men for the purpose
0:16:38 > 0:16:41of gaining knowledge of the kingdoms of the interior
0:16:41 > 0:16:46and of tracing the elusive course of the Niger.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48Two Scots were chosen -
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Hugh Clapperton, from Dumfriesshire, was only 17 years old
0:16:59 > 0:17:02when he'd been press-ganged into the Royal Navy,
0:17:02 > 0:17:07and had risen to the rank of lieutenant, despite his humble background.
0:17:07 > 0:17:13By the time he joined Oudney, he'd already travelled the world in the service of the crown.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16He was described by a contemporary as being
0:17:16 > 0:17:19possessed of resources of a superior kind.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25Oudney possessed none of Clapperton's physical strength,
0:17:25 > 0:17:29but his work as a naval surgeon had won him friends in the Admiralty.
0:17:29 > 0:17:34He left the safety of his Edinburgh practice for a journey into the unknown.
0:17:38 > 0:17:43Clapperton and Oudney had learnt of the terrors of 'the white man's grave'
0:17:43 > 0:17:45from Park's ill-fated second expedition.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48So, instead, they followed a different route
0:17:48 > 0:17:52from the north of the continent down through the Sahara
0:17:52 > 0:17:56to the vast slave-trading kingdoms of Africa's interior.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59Just as they were about to embark,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02the Scots received an order from London.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05They would be joined by a third explorer,
0:18:05 > 0:18:06a Major Dixon Denham.
0:18:10 > 0:18:16Two Scots - Oudney and Clapperton - and Denham, an English military officer.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18The problem was not mixed nationalities.
0:18:18 > 0:18:23It was the fact that no-one knew who was in charge, and that was a recipe for disaster.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28The trio were escorted across the Sahara to the interior kingdoms,
0:18:28 > 0:18:32travelling with camel caravans of traders.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36From the start, the squabbles between Denham and the two Scots
0:18:36 > 0:18:39threatened to tear the expedition apart.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42'In the choice of my companions, I do not think
0:18:42 > 0:18:45'His Majesty's government have shown their usual sagacity.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47'They are both Scotchmen and friends,
0:18:47 > 0:18:53'and to push me off the stage altogether would be exactly what they wish.'
0:18:54 > 0:18:58Dr Oudney was a reserved academic who avoided conflict.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Clapperton and Denham clashed.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04The feud between Clapperton and Denham is quite intriguing.
0:19:04 > 0:19:10Clapperton - big, robust, a hearty Scot and a naval man.
0:19:10 > 0:19:15Denham - a rather slighter, smaller, English army man.
0:19:15 > 0:19:20But Clapperton's measured attempt to keep a grip and a control
0:19:20 > 0:19:23on the expedition was all the time being challenged
0:19:23 > 0:19:29by Denham's gung-ho attitude to taking on every challenge.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33Every slight that occurred, Denham wanted to do something about it.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40The sniping turned serious when Denham accused Clapperton
0:19:40 > 0:19:43of homosexual relations with his Arab servant -
0:19:43 > 0:19:46an accusation which could see Clapperton imprisoned.
0:19:49 > 0:19:54I think that Denham's accusation of a homosexual relationship
0:19:54 > 0:19:56must have been explosive - it was.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59But of course, there's an underlying tension
0:19:59 > 0:20:04about a whole lot of men together without any womenfolk,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07spending days and days in each others' company.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12So, you could say there's a hidden homosexual tension there
0:20:12 > 0:20:19which would, probably, surface as an accusation of actual homosexual behaviour.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24Although the authorities at home dismissed the allegations,
0:20:24 > 0:20:29Clapperton and Denham's relationship entered a deep freeze crossing the desert.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33Soon they were communicating with one another only by letter.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37Around them the slave trade wrought a terrible toll.
0:20:37 > 0:20:43They were uncomfortably often walking through slave-trading routes
0:20:43 > 0:20:49and seeing a continent which, managed by other people often from Arabia,
0:20:49 > 0:20:54was actually using slavery as one of its economic engines.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59Clapperton described the horror in his journal.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02'Their skin looked like parchment.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04'Their bodies remained as life had left them.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07'The body of one poor child had their hand stretched out as
0:21:07 > 0:21:11'if in supplication not to be left to die in such a place.'
0:21:14 > 0:21:21In fact, some of these explorers were even using
0:21:21 > 0:21:28their material goods to free slaves,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31to show that for them their mission was everybody to be free.
0:21:31 > 0:21:37This was the first form of union between the African communities
0:21:37 > 0:21:39and the Europeans.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42The slave trade was managed by a collection of
0:21:42 > 0:21:44European and Arab merchants.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48But for the explorers, there was one cultural factor which
0:21:48 > 0:21:52they believed encouraged and fostered the evil trade.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58They mostly seem to have associated the slave trade
0:21:58 > 0:22:01in the Niger bend area with the presence of Islam.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04CALL TO PRAYER
0:22:04 > 0:22:09And it's characteristic of the writings of these explorers
0:22:09 > 0:22:13that they demonise the Muslims in the area
0:22:13 > 0:22:15as being the cause of these upheavals.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26The focus of the mission was to reach two of the most powerful
0:22:26 > 0:22:29slave-trading states in the interior of Africa.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35After nearly a year in the desert,
0:22:35 > 0:22:39the explorers arrived at the first, the kingdom of Bornu.
0:22:43 > 0:22:49They expect to find a kind of uncivilized interior of savages,
0:22:49 > 0:22:52and what they find is a sophisticated, advanced,
0:22:52 > 0:22:54highly organised state.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59They were the first Europeans ever to enter the kingdom
0:22:59 > 0:23:04and the powerful sultan and his courtiers were immediately suspicious.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08They believed that the British anti-slavery campaign was cover
0:23:08 > 0:23:12for an attempt to exert control over Africa and its kingdoms.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18So the suspicion of many African rulers was that the explorers were
0:23:18 > 0:23:22the vanguard, perhaps, of an effort to colonise Africa, or perhaps
0:23:22 > 0:23:26looking for ways of establishing new trade routes that would cut them out.
0:23:26 > 0:23:31So they didn't believe it could just be about science and curiosity.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34And of course, African rulers were absolutely right.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37It was about science, but it was about how science
0:23:37 > 0:23:38and commerce came together.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41These people were the vanguard, ultimately,
0:23:41 > 0:23:42for the colonisation of Africa.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49The mission in Bornu was a failure, and as the three explorers
0:23:49 > 0:23:53pushed further into the interior, their problems multiplied.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56Oudney was struck by malaria and Clapperton
0:23:56 > 0:23:58and Denham were still at war with one another.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02The two Scots decided to push ahead alone.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08But Clapperton could only watch as Oudney's health deteriorated.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13'I saw that he had not an hour or two to live.
0:24:13 > 0:24:14'I sat down by his side
0:24:14 > 0:24:18'and with unspeakable grief witnessed his last breath.'
0:24:24 > 0:24:28Clapperton continued alone to the kingdom of Sokotu.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32He was met by its leader Sultan Bello, who was suspicious
0:24:32 > 0:24:37of the Scot's pleas to abolish the slave trade, and with good reason.
0:24:37 > 0:24:42Sultan Bello had just intercepted a slave raid on his own people.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46Leading the attack was Dixon Denham, who had decided to
0:24:46 > 0:24:49alleviate his boredom with a spot of slave-raiding.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57It's certainly within Denham's character to imagine
0:24:57 > 0:25:01that he would have thought that was a spiffing adventure.
0:25:01 > 0:25:08Dixon Denham's involvement in a slave-raiding exercise not only
0:25:08 > 0:25:13caused terrible problems within the group of explorers, but seemed
0:25:13 > 0:25:17to show to the Sultan, Sultan Bello, that the Europeans were duplicitous,
0:25:17 > 0:25:19that they would say one thing but were doing something else,
0:25:19 > 0:25:23and of course, that just added to their suspicions.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27Clapperton was in a perilous position.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30He immediately distanced himself from Denham's activities
0:25:30 > 0:25:34and continued to push his anti-slavery trade agreement.
0:25:34 > 0:25:39After days of discussion, Sultan Bello finally conceded and agreed
0:25:39 > 0:25:41that he would cease trading in slaves
0:25:41 > 0:25:44in return for military hardware.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48Clapperton had been in Africa's interior for three years.
0:25:48 > 0:25:54He had shown that slavery could be ended by determined negotiation.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58By any measure, his mission had been a resounding success.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01But Clapperton was eager for a new challenge,
0:26:01 > 0:26:05one that would forever secure his reputation in the annals
0:26:05 > 0:26:07of African exploration.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09He planned to discover the whereabouts
0:26:09 > 0:26:13of the fabled city of Timbuktu.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20Timbuktu was Africa's El Dorado.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24The legends and the myths surrounding this place describe it as this
0:26:24 > 0:26:29city full of palaces of gold, gold streets, roofs paved with gold.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31Europeans knew that there had been gold in Africa,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34and those who continued to believe in the lure of gold
0:26:34 > 0:26:37believed that it must be, it could be found in Timbuktu.
0:26:37 > 0:26:42Timbuktu in the early 19th century was
0:26:42 > 0:26:46the image of mysterious Africa.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50A link to the gold trade, to the slave trade, to the salt trade.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53It was known about from ancient writings,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56but had not then been visited by a European.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06For the imperial superpowers of Britain and France,
0:27:06 > 0:27:09Timbuktu was the key to West Africa.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13But every explorer they had sent to locate the city had either
0:27:13 > 0:27:17returned disappointed or not returned at all.
0:27:17 > 0:27:22For Clapperton, Timbuktu would be his crowning glory.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24But a fellow Scot had other ideas.
0:27:28 > 0:27:36Alexander Gordon Laing was ambitious, self-important, full of energy.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Some people thought he was mad.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41It's hard to know whether he was the perfect explorer.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45Whereas Park had been a stoic, Laing was a ball of energy
0:27:45 > 0:27:49and maybe the perfect man for the times.
0:27:49 > 0:27:54He is a trained classicist, he's an erudite, intelligent man,
0:27:54 > 0:27:58but he's also a ruthless army officer.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03Alexander Gordon Laing, from Edinburgh,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06was the epitome of the gentleman explorer.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10Handsome, well connected and supremely confident,
0:28:10 > 0:28:15he had been instructed by the colonial office to locate Timbuktu.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18He was certain he could find it without too much fuss, and was
0:28:18 > 0:28:23only too ready to accept the acclaim that such a triumph would bring.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Standing in his way was Hugh Clapperton,
0:28:26 > 0:28:30by now a hardened veteran of the African interior.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33Both men were intent on being the first through
0:28:33 > 0:28:35the gates of Timbuktu.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37Twin expeditions were sent.
0:28:37 > 0:28:43Laing was sent to Timbuktu north from Tripoli to cross the Sahara,
0:28:43 > 0:28:46whereas Clapperton was sent back to Africa from the south.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48And the two were to form a kind of pincer movement that would
0:28:48 > 0:28:52resolve this question once and for all.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55Clapperton had been instructed to return to the interior
0:28:55 > 0:29:00kingdom of Sokotu and nurture his relationship with the Sultan.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03Only then could he proceed to Timbuktu.
0:29:03 > 0:29:08But Clapperton had no intention of giving Laing a free run.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12Scottish explorers in Africa are driven people.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14They read about all the earlier failures.
0:29:14 > 0:29:19So there's almost perhaps a mania, a drive, something forcing these
0:29:19 > 0:29:22people on. Partly it comes down to fame and fortune.
0:29:22 > 0:29:24Partly it comes down to science.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28But there's also clearly something about wanting to be the first.
0:29:30 > 0:29:34Laing set sail first and docked in Tripoli.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38While preparing for the desert crossing, he fell in love
0:29:38 > 0:29:42with Emma Warrington, daughter of the British consul.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45Marriage soon followed and a mere four days later,
0:29:45 > 0:29:48Laing headed into the desert.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52Clapperton sailed into the tropics of West Africa,
0:29:52 > 0:29:55the feared white man's grave.
0:29:55 > 0:29:59It was a quicker but more dangerous route to Timbuktu.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02But within days he was so sick he could barely walk.
0:30:02 > 0:30:08Laing, meanwhile, was suffering only from heartache for his new wife.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12'My heart throbs with sad pulsations on account of my dearest,
0:30:12 > 0:30:14'most beloved Emma.'
0:30:14 > 0:30:19You could say that Laing was deluded by this notion of romantic love.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23Four days with the woman of his dreams
0:30:23 > 0:30:29and then 400 days not with her, but supposedly dreaming about her.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32Any normal person would have stayed with their wife
0:30:32 > 0:30:37and let somebody else go to Timbuktu or forgotten about it totally.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46But Laing's heartache was soon the least of his worries.
0:30:46 > 0:30:51He was entering the territory of the feared Tuareg tribes.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54Laing was reliant on these nomadic warriors to guide him
0:30:54 > 0:30:56through the Sahara desert.
0:31:14 > 0:31:19For four months, Laing and 20 heavily armed Tuareg guides
0:31:19 > 0:31:22ventured deeper into the Sahara.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38Laing was laden with merchandise and gifts.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41The Tuareg knew how vulnerable he was.
0:31:41 > 0:31:46In the dead of night, they surrounded his tent and attacked.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49After looting his belongings, they left Laing for dead.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52'I shall acquaint you with the number
0:31:52 > 0:31:56'and nature of my wounds, in all amounting to 24.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00'I have five sabre cuts to the crown of my head and three to my temple.
0:32:00 > 0:32:02'A dreadful gash on the back of my neck,
0:32:02 > 0:32:05'a musketball to the hip which has made its way through my...'
0:32:05 > 0:32:09Barely alive, Laing struggled across the desert.
0:32:09 > 0:32:14His mental condition deteriorated, but he remained as confident as ever
0:32:14 > 0:32:16that he would reach Timbuktu.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20Many people who go through dreadful traumas believe they've been
0:32:20 > 0:32:22divinely spared,
0:32:22 > 0:32:26that there's some special reason they didn't die of their injuries.
0:32:26 > 0:32:30And that in a sense is particularly helpful to an explorer,
0:32:30 > 0:32:32because it keeps them going.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34It's the ultimate motivation.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43Meanwhile, Clapperton had made it through the white man's grave
0:32:43 > 0:32:45and into the desert.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49As instructed, he'd returned to the kingdom of Sokotu.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52He hoped to be welcomed by Sultan Bello,
0:32:52 > 0:32:56the man who'd agreed to abolish slavery on Clapperton's last visit.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02When Clapperton went back, Bello was at war
0:33:02 > 0:33:06and he accused Clapperton of either being a spy for his enemies or
0:33:06 > 0:33:09trying to smuggle arms to his enemies.
0:33:09 > 0:33:11This is important because it just shows you how vulnerable
0:33:11 > 0:33:14European explorers were in Africa.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17Explorers had to negotiate their way across Africa
0:33:17 > 0:33:21providing gifts to one ruler which might antagonise
0:33:21 > 0:33:24a neighbouring ruler, and that's exactly what happened.
0:33:24 > 0:33:30Hugh Clapperton's dreams of glory died in a mud hut in Sokotu.
0:33:30 > 0:33:35For two months, Sultan Bello kept him under house arrest.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38He contracted a fearsome fever and died.
0:33:38 > 0:33:43His body was placed on a back of a camel, covered in a Union Flag
0:33:43 > 0:33:45and marched out of the city.
0:33:45 > 0:33:49Clapperton had mapped hundreds of miles of Africa's interior.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52He had negotiated treaties with its leaders,
0:33:52 > 0:33:56but the great prize of Timbuktu eluded him.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00Clapperton did not enjoy the same status after his death as Park.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04Why is interesting. He died in Africa, so you might think he might
0:34:04 > 0:34:05be a kind of a martyr.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08I think that the reason Clapperton did not enjoy the same reputation
0:34:08 > 0:34:10is that the expedition did not end with him.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14Richard Lander, his servant, made it back with Clapperton's notes.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16Clapperton's account was published.
0:34:16 > 0:34:18His death was from natural causes.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20He did not die a bloody death like Park.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30Laing was determined to be the first European to reach Timbuktu
0:34:30 > 0:34:36but now another competitor was emerging - the French.
0:34:39 > 0:34:44Laing would have been aware of French interest in Timbuktu,
0:34:44 > 0:34:48and I'm sure to some extent that would have driven him to try
0:34:48 > 0:34:51and make sure he succeeded in his mission.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54Despite his wounds and his ordeal in the desert,
0:34:54 > 0:34:58Laing reached Timbuktu in August 1826,
0:34:58 > 0:35:0012 months after leaving Tripoli.
0:35:00 > 0:35:04Still disfigured from his injuries, he marched triumphantly through
0:35:04 > 0:35:08the gates of the city in full military uniform.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13When Alexander Gordon Laing arrived in Timbuktu,
0:35:13 > 0:35:15he'd struggled across the desert to get there,
0:35:15 > 0:35:20and he did not find the city of gold of European legends.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22It's hard to know whether he would have been disappointed or just
0:35:22 > 0:35:25intensely relieved that he got there alive.
0:35:26 > 0:35:31Timbuktu was not the El Dorado of European imagination.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34Instead it was a shrunken, impoverished place.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37Its streets were not paved with gold.
0:35:37 > 0:35:42Instead they were clogged with dying animals and rotting waste.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45It was at the heart of a region in turmoil.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48There was a great deal of war and military campaigning going on
0:35:48 > 0:35:51between rival factions and rival groups in the area.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58Laing had dreamt of the fame and wealth
0:35:58 > 0:36:02he would receive on discovering this mythical trading metropolis.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05In his letters home, he put on a brave face.
0:36:06 > 0:36:11'In every respect except in size it has completely met my expectations.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15'My perseverance has been amply rewarded.'
0:36:15 > 0:36:18Laing had beaten the French for the prize of reaching Timbuktu,
0:36:18 > 0:36:21but he was not a welcome visitor.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25Sensing this, he did not dally long in the city.
0:36:25 > 0:36:31But outside the gates his old foes, the Tuareg, watched and waited.
0:36:31 > 0:36:36As he began his journey home, he was attacked again.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38This time there would be no escape.
0:36:38 > 0:36:42He was left dead and unburied beneath a tree.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44His beloved Emma never saw him again.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49There was a great mystery about why he'd been killed
0:36:49 > 0:36:51and also what happened to his papers.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55And the reason is because the French were also trying to reach Timbuktu.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58Laing, in a sense, was competing for an international prize,
0:36:58 > 0:37:03and the suspicion was that the French had instigated his death, perhaps,
0:37:03 > 0:37:04or they'd taken his papers.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07But the reality is more mundane.
0:37:10 > 0:37:15At the time there are various Tuareg bands who are raiding the area.
0:37:15 > 0:37:20And it seems quite likely he was caught up in local turmoil.
0:37:20 > 0:37:21There's no conspiracy at all.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24Laing was long dead in the desert by the time French explorer
0:37:24 > 0:37:27Rene Caillie arrived at Timbuktu.
0:37:27 > 0:37:31Caillie was a shrewd operator.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34He had chosen a very different approach to enter the city
0:37:34 > 0:37:36and lived to tell the tale.
0:37:36 > 0:37:37If you take in the case of
0:37:37 > 0:37:39Rene Caillie, the French explorer,
0:37:39 > 0:37:43in order to integrate into the society he even took the name,
0:37:43 > 0:37:45he took an Islam name,
0:37:45 > 0:37:50called Mohammed Abdullah, and he said that he was a Muslim.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54He learned about Arabic before coming. He learned about Arabic
0:37:54 > 0:37:57and he knew also about Islam.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01So it seems there was an arrogance in Laing,
0:38:01 > 0:38:05an unwillingness to disguise who he really was.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09However, for the British, Rene Caillie's decision to go in disguise
0:38:09 > 0:38:12was just indicative of the fact that he wasn't a gentleman.
0:38:18 > 0:38:23Today, Laing stands alongside the greatest African explorers.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27His lonely death at the gates of Timbuktu is a testament to
0:38:27 > 0:38:33the incredible dangers these men faced and could not always overcome.
0:38:35 > 0:38:40Mungo Park, Hugh Clapperton and Alexander Gordon Laing
0:38:40 > 0:38:43paved the way for a new era of Scottish explorers.
0:38:43 > 0:38:47Better equipped and better resourced, this new wave of
0:38:47 > 0:38:51adventurers believed that Africa could be tamed,
0:38:51 > 0:38:56its landscape mapped and its people brought into the Western world.
0:38:59 > 0:39:05By the mid-19th century, the improvements in technologies
0:39:05 > 0:39:09are becoming the crucial determining factors in African exploration.
0:39:09 > 0:39:15So medicines, better shipping that can navigate rivers,
0:39:15 > 0:39:19the use of gunboats, the use of the telegraph,
0:39:19 > 0:39:24better communications - these are becoming crucial elements.
0:39:24 > 0:39:28Also improvements in weaponry, in firearms,
0:39:28 > 0:39:31that give Europeans a domination.
0:39:31 > 0:39:36So technology is becoming the crucial driver of this exploration.
0:39:42 > 0:39:47Leading the charge was Greenock shipping magnate Macgregor Laird.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53He believed his steam-powered vessels would propel him
0:39:53 > 0:39:56into the unexplored reaches of the River Niger.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00Once there, he could fill his paddle steamers with
0:40:00 > 0:40:03the riches of the interior kingdoms.
0:40:06 > 0:40:08This market, as you can see,
0:40:08 > 0:40:11was a very busy market in the 19th century.
0:40:11 > 0:40:17We had many products brought to this market, like cereals, cotton, gold,
0:40:17 > 0:40:22because these were products that were in high demand.
0:40:22 > 0:40:24The river was the central point.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26It was a vast trade. It wasn't just Segou.
0:40:26 > 0:40:31It was Segou, Djenne, Timbuktu, all the way to the Sahara
0:40:31 > 0:40:33and across the Sahara.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42Laird's ambitious plan was to buy from the interior markets
0:40:42 > 0:40:47and bypass established trade routes to the African coast.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49But, as Laird recorded in his journal,
0:40:49 > 0:40:53many engineers were quick to criticise his new boat design.
0:40:58 > 0:41:02'It was gravely asserted that the heat of the tropical sun would
0:41:02 > 0:41:06'bake alive our crew as if they were in an oven, and the first tornado
0:41:06 > 0:41:10'she might encounter would hurl its lightning upon her.'
0:41:10 > 0:41:12Laird's unshakeable faith in metal and steam
0:41:12 > 0:41:15was matched by another powerful faith,
0:41:15 > 0:41:18one that had regulated the lives
0:41:18 > 0:41:22and beliefs of communities in West Africa for centuries -
0:41:22 > 0:41:23Islam.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47Laird's desire to control trade clashed with
0:41:47 > 0:41:50existing commercial routes of Islamic merchants.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54As he travelled up the river from the coast, he was refused food,
0:41:54 > 0:41:58his boats were attacked and most kingdoms simply refused
0:41:58 > 0:42:03to have anything to do with this strange Christian and his noisy convoy.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06On top of this, his men were dying.
0:42:07 > 0:42:12'A very extensive trade in palm oil, red wood and ivory might,
0:42:12 > 0:42:15'with proper management, be carried on in the interior.
0:42:15 > 0:42:20'The only and, I fear, the greatest objection being
0:42:20 > 0:42:25'the great mortality and unhealthiness of the climate.'
0:42:25 > 0:42:27Malaria was ravaging his crew.
0:42:27 > 0:42:31The link between the mosquito and the disease was not yet understood
0:42:31 > 0:42:35and the heat of the metal boats brought the men above deck
0:42:35 > 0:42:37where they fell prey to the insects.
0:42:37 > 0:42:39Their drinking did not help.
0:42:39 > 0:42:44'It is difficult to account for the infatuation of some men,
0:42:44 > 0:42:46'Drinking to intoxication
0:42:46 > 0:42:50'and exposing themselves to the heavy dews by sleeping on the deck.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52'They are seized by fever
0:42:52 > 0:42:55'and terminate their existence in suffering.'
0:42:57 > 0:43:00These people were really totally ill-suited to
0:43:00 > 0:43:04the climates in which they were operating.
0:43:04 > 0:43:06They had no proper preventative medicine.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09I think that, to modernise, the death rate is astounding.
0:43:09 > 0:43:14Not only amongst Europeans, who can't deal with African diseases,
0:43:14 > 0:43:17but amongst the Africans themselves.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20Life was cheap and was dealt with cheaply.
0:43:23 > 0:43:29After 12 months, just nine members of Laird's crew of 48 had survived.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32Laird's boats could certainly navigate the river,
0:43:32 > 0:43:37but only at an appalling cost in human life.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40Laird returned home but was not ready to give up.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43He called on the help of another Scot.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47William Balfour Baikie was an eccentric
0:43:47 > 0:43:50and brilliant navy surgeon with a novel idea.
0:43:50 > 0:43:52He believed that
0:43:52 > 0:43:54extract from a South American tree
0:43:54 > 0:43:57would save hundreds of lives in Africa.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00The resin is today better known as quinine.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05Well, William Balfour Baikie is a fascinating character,
0:44:05 > 0:44:08an Orcadian adventurer
0:44:08 > 0:44:12and he's perhaps most well remembered for being the man who pioneered
0:44:12 > 0:44:17the use of quinine as a prophylactic drug against malaria, so he's got
0:44:17 > 0:44:20a great credit for a scientific advance
0:44:20 > 0:44:22as well as for his role as an explorer.
0:44:22 > 0:44:28In 1854, Laird and Baikie teamed up for a new trading mission to Africa.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32Baikie imposed a strict daily dose of quinine
0:44:32 > 0:44:36and not a single member of the party died from malaria.
0:44:36 > 0:44:41The image of West Africa as the white man's grave was changing forever.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48Shielded from malaria, Baikie soon realised
0:44:48 > 0:44:51he could spend long periods of time in the African interior -
0:44:51 > 0:44:56a luxury no European had enjoyed before -
0:44:56 > 0:44:59and the longer he stayed alive, the more he could concentrate
0:44:59 > 0:45:04on laying down the foundations of a permanent trading network.
0:45:04 > 0:45:08Baikie's a bit of a rough diamond, I think, would be the best way
0:45:08 > 0:45:09to describe him.
0:45:09 > 0:45:16He's reasonably well educated but very self-willed, self-opinionated
0:45:16 > 0:45:23and, in fact, his last seven or eight years he spends back in Nigeria,
0:45:23 > 0:45:28where he sets up his own little trading base in Lukoja
0:45:28 > 0:45:30in what becomes Nigeria.
0:45:30 > 0:45:33On the banks of the Niger, Baikie established a permanent population
0:45:33 > 0:45:39of 200, many of them freed from the slave trade by Baikie himself.
0:45:39 > 0:45:43In his new market town, he became the doctor, the Christian minister
0:45:43 > 0:45:45and the magistrate.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48In the strict moral climate of Victorian Britain, there were some
0:45:48 > 0:45:54who questioned his dominion in Africa, but many Africans welcomed his role.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01They came with this background knowledge.
0:46:01 > 0:46:06Therefore, they found a lot of lead in Africa.
0:46:06 > 0:46:08It's like me when I go to the village.
0:46:08 > 0:46:13I have to be a counsellor, a teacher, a pastor, all that kind of thing.
0:46:13 > 0:46:19So I think when they came, they wanted to try each and everything.
0:46:20 > 0:46:24Baikie's influence was so great, that some African dialects
0:46:24 > 0:46:28still use the word "Baikie" as the phrase for "white man".
0:46:29 > 0:46:33But there was another side to this Orcadian adventurer.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39It could be that one of the attractions of going to
0:46:39 > 0:46:43the dark continent of Africa was boundless numbers of women
0:46:43 > 0:46:47with whom you could start families and be the absolute king
0:46:47 > 0:46:51of the castle and no-one in Victorian England need know about that.
0:46:51 > 0:46:55He really rules like his own little potentate
0:46:55 > 0:47:02and has a harem of girlfriends and sets himself up as a local ruler.
0:47:03 > 0:47:07It's sometimes been joked by historians that there's
0:47:07 > 0:47:11a small clan of Scots in Nigeria, owing to his activities.
0:47:17 > 0:47:21Set against the vast size of Africa, Baikie's trading post
0:47:21 > 0:47:24was tiny, but its significance was huge.
0:47:24 > 0:47:26It established peaceful and profitable
0:47:26 > 0:47:30relations between two different worlds.
0:47:30 > 0:47:35Baikie's success caught the eye of another Scottish explorer -
0:47:35 > 0:47:37one who saw commerce and trade
0:47:37 > 0:47:40as the weapons to rescue Africa from the slave trade
0:47:40 > 0:47:45and who believed explorers could really change the world for the better.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55David Livingstone became incredibly famous
0:47:55 > 0:47:58because he walked across Africa.
0:47:58 > 0:48:01He went from Angola to Mozambique
0:48:01 > 0:48:04and this was a part of the world that, in Europe, was completely unknown.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07This was very similar to a man going to the moon.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10He came back with maps of this area and it made him
0:48:10 > 0:48:12an absolute international superstar.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18For this particular Christian missionary,
0:48:18 > 0:48:22exploration had a moral purpose.
0:48:22 > 0:48:26Livingstone was consumed with the idea of driving commerce
0:48:26 > 0:48:29and Christianity into Africa.
0:48:31 > 0:48:36He was like a pioneer in this region.
0:48:36 > 0:48:39I think there was something...
0:48:39 > 0:48:43I don't know whether to call it strange or unique about Livingstone.
0:48:43 > 0:48:50As a medical doctor, you could have lived a comfortable life in Europe...
0:48:52 > 0:48:59..but to CHOOSE to come and live in Africa for 30 years,
0:48:59 > 0:49:04not bothered by language barrier,
0:49:04 > 0:49:06not bothered by tropical disease,
0:49:06 > 0:49:11not bothered by the living conditions in Africa, walking on foot.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14I think it's an amazing achievement that he did.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18Livingstone had a vision for the whole of Africa
0:49:18 > 0:49:21that new commerce would destroy the slave trade
0:49:21 > 0:49:24and Christianity would save African souls.
0:49:25 > 0:49:29Livingstone saw himself in a long line of explorers who had gone
0:49:29 > 0:49:32to Africa and to a large degree had exposed the evils of
0:49:32 > 0:49:36the slave trade, as he saw them, and saw himself as one who could
0:49:36 > 0:49:39take this project into Central Africa and reveal to the world more
0:49:39 > 0:49:42that slavery was a problem and needed to be solved.
0:49:49 > 0:49:53Livingstone planned to use the Zambezi River as a highway
0:49:53 > 0:49:55for commerce and Christianity.
0:49:55 > 0:49:59With him was a young botanist from Barry in Angus.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02Like so many, he was in awe of the great man
0:50:02 > 0:50:07but John Kirk would soon play a key role in the history of Africa -
0:50:07 > 0:50:11perhaps even greater than Livingstone himself.
0:50:11 > 0:50:13I would have loved to have met John Kirk.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16I've read many of his letters and his diary entries
0:50:16 > 0:50:18and he seems like a really solid man.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22He was very physically fit, as well, had a great sense of adventure
0:50:22 > 0:50:25and he obviously really enjoyed living and working in Africa.
0:50:29 > 0:50:33John Kirk joined an expedition which was beset by problems from the start.
0:50:33 > 0:50:39It soon became clear the Zambezi River was not the hoped-for highway of trade and freedom.
0:50:39 > 0:50:43In fact, ferocious rapids made it un-navigable
0:50:43 > 0:50:45and nearly cost Kirk his life.
0:50:45 > 0:50:50This failure was compounded by Livingstone's abrasive character.
0:50:52 > 0:50:55One of Livingstone's great weaknesses is maybe
0:50:55 > 0:50:59that he was too confident that he could do what he said he was going to do.
0:50:59 > 0:51:04He would often proceed against insurmountable difficulties
0:51:04 > 0:51:08to achieve his ends and by dragging people along
0:51:08 > 0:51:12into very difficult situations, he caused a lot of friction
0:51:12 > 0:51:14amongst the members of his expedition.
0:51:14 > 0:51:20Livingstone accused crewmembers of theft, and fired the ship's captain.
0:51:20 > 0:51:24Before long, the diplomatic Kirk was the only man Livingstone could trust,
0:51:24 > 0:51:27but Kirk, by now, was less sure of Livingstone.
0:51:27 > 0:51:31'I can come to no other conclusion than that Dr Livingstone
0:51:31 > 0:51:34'is out of his mind and a most unsafe leader.'
0:51:34 > 0:51:38Livingstone's failure deeply damaged his reputation in Britain.
0:51:38 > 0:51:42His dream of ending the East African slave trade seemed to have
0:51:42 > 0:51:46been dashed, but he refused to admit defeat.
0:51:46 > 0:51:51'I am prepared to go anywhere, provided it be forward.'
0:51:51 > 0:51:56He was someone who had good rhetorical and fantastical powers
0:51:56 > 0:52:01and I think when that didn't work, he simply became very depressed.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04He lost his confidence in himself.
0:52:04 > 0:52:08He realised that his dream had faded.
0:52:08 > 0:52:12So, rather than a specific depressive disorder,
0:52:12 > 0:52:16I think he was simply a profoundly disappointed man.
0:52:16 > 0:52:21Despite the failure, Kirk decided to remain in Africa.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24If the slave trade could not be ended by an ambitious expedition
0:52:24 > 0:52:29into the interior, perhaps it could be ended by negotiation...or force.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33You might say it's interesting why we know some explorers' names
0:52:33 > 0:52:37and not others, and although some people love to
0:52:37 > 0:52:41lead from the front, they often can't manage the shop.
0:52:41 > 0:52:44So there is a place for someone to do good work
0:52:44 > 0:52:48and to have the quiet appreciation of those who really know,
0:52:48 > 0:52:50whilst not making it into the headlines.
0:52:50 > 0:52:53I think Kirk comes into that category.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00Kirk decamped to the island of Zanzibar - one of the most
0:53:00 > 0:53:04important centres of slavery in East Africa.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12He was appointed British Consul,
0:53:12 > 0:53:15giving him huge influence over the politics of the island,
0:53:15 > 0:53:19and forged a close relationship with the island's ruler.
0:53:19 > 0:53:23The Sultan of Zanzibar trusted John Kirk's opinions
0:53:23 > 0:53:26and looked to him for advice on how to deal with the many European powers
0:53:26 > 0:53:31who were trying to extend their influence over him and his territories.
0:53:31 > 0:53:35At one point, the Sultan of Zanzibar wrote in his will that,
0:53:35 > 0:53:39should he die suddenly and his sons were not of age, that he wanted Kirk
0:53:39 > 0:53:44to be the regent of Zanzibar until his sons could assume the throne.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50Slavery was entrenched in the Zanzibar economy.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53The Sultan came under immense pressure from traders
0:53:53 > 0:53:57not to give way to Kirk, but Kirk had a powerful negotiating tool -
0:53:57 > 0:54:00the full might of the British navy.
0:54:03 > 0:54:09He threatened a naval blockade of Zanzibar
0:54:09 > 0:54:12if the Sultan did not abolish slavery
0:54:12 > 0:54:16and he must abolish slavery in 24 hours
0:54:16 > 0:54:19and close the Zanzibar markets in the next 24 hours.
0:54:20 > 0:54:28So, really, Kirk's contribution is more as a lobbyist
0:54:28 > 0:54:31for abolition of slave trade
0:54:31 > 0:54:35and for the critical role he played in the final moments
0:54:35 > 0:54:38of abolishing slave trade in East African coast.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45Kirk's success marked the beginning of the end of slavery
0:54:45 > 0:54:50in East Africa and the completion of the dreams of David Livingstone.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56Kirk was more influential than Livingstone in the history
0:54:56 > 0:54:59of East Africa, if we think of it in terms of the official influence.
0:54:59 > 0:55:05Livingstone was certainly a popular and influential figure about how people thought about Africa,
0:55:05 > 0:55:07but Kirk actually got things done on the ground,
0:55:07 > 0:55:09in terms of ending the slave trade,
0:55:09 > 0:55:12negotiating new trade routes and access
0:55:12 > 0:55:17and opening up East Africa to contact with the rest of the world.
0:55:19 > 0:55:24But despite Kirk's success, a new kind of slavery was stalking Africa.
0:55:26 > 0:55:31Kirk was just doing a good job,
0:55:31 > 0:55:35according to his conscience.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38He was following his conscience
0:55:38 > 0:55:44and I doubt that, in his mind,
0:55:44 > 0:55:48he knew he was paving the way for British colonisation.
0:55:54 > 0:55:59By the late 19th century, interest in Africa was intense.
0:55:59 > 0:56:03Europeans began to annex and colonise the continent.
0:56:03 > 0:56:06By the turn of the 20th century, Africa had been carved
0:56:06 > 0:56:11into a myriad of states, almost all ruled by Europeans.
0:56:19 > 0:56:21Kirk himself was a victim of this process,
0:56:21 > 0:56:24and was removed from his post after objecting to
0:56:24 > 0:56:28the British Government's decision to hand Zanzibar to the Germans.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30Kirk returned to Britain.
0:56:31 > 0:56:36He was knighted, a fellow of the Royal Society and many other accolades.
0:56:36 > 0:56:39By the time he died in 1922, his memory was starting to fade,
0:56:39 > 0:56:46and I think now we've forgotten a man who was one of the great Victorian heroes.
0:56:55 > 0:56:57Over the course of a century,
0:56:57 > 0:57:01Scottish explorers had opened Africa to the world.
0:57:01 > 0:57:05From Mungo Park and Hugh Clapperton, through to David Livingstone and John Kirk.
0:57:05 > 0:57:10They had observed, mapped and changed the continent forever.
0:57:15 > 0:57:19You could say that Scottish explorers were the first astronauts.
0:57:19 > 0:57:24They were coming back from somewhere where no white person had ever been before.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27Certainly the legacy of Scottish explorers in Africa
0:57:27 > 0:57:31is complicated, because on one hand they helped to introduce
0:57:31 > 0:57:35new forms of government, medicine and other technologies to Africa
0:57:35 > 0:57:38that certainly benefited people on the continent.
0:57:38 > 0:57:42But on the other hand, they did contribute in many ways
0:57:42 > 0:57:47to the onset of colonialism and all the injustices that came with that.
0:57:47 > 0:57:52I think Scots can look back on their role in Africa
0:57:52 > 0:57:56in the late 18th and 19th century with some degree of pride.
0:57:56 > 0:58:00There was a lot of pioneering exploration done.
0:58:00 > 0:58:04But we've also got to recognise that the kind of men who did this
0:58:04 > 0:58:09were edgy characters. They were often social misfits,
0:58:09 > 0:58:14people who perhaps were driven by their inner demons,
0:58:14 > 0:58:18and I think not all of them would have been very nice to know.
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