Travels in Eastern Africa, Volume 1

Travels in Eastern Africa, Volume 1

Lyons McLeod's Travels in Eastern Africa recounts the author's 1856 departure from England, with his wife, aboard the Royal Mail steamer "Ireland," bound for the Cape of Good Hope en route to Mozambique, where he had been appointed Her Majesty's Consul. The opening chapters describe the ship's chaotic embarkation at Dartmouth, poor accommodations for "government" passengers such as himself, mistreatment by the crew, a gale that forced the "Ireland" back to Plymouth, and the vessel's eventual departure with a reduced complement of passengers. The narrative continues through the voyage south, covering shipboard life, an accident in the saloon, water shortages, a fire at the masthead, and an incident involving a deranged passenger, before the "Ireland" reaches Cape Town. There McLeod describes Table Mountain, a pic-nic excursion to Constantia, and the Cape wine trade, before the ship proceeds onward toward India, carrying many passengers whose later fates in the Indian uprising the author briefly foreshadows. McLeod then details his prolonged, frustrating detention at the Cape of Good Hope for over five months while naval authorities delayed arranging his passage to Mozambique, including the episode of the unseaworthy "Consul's Yacht," the "Dart." He describes his time at the Cape Observatory with Mr. Maclear, the Astronomer Royal, and gives extensive accounts of Cape Colony affairs: the proposed Table Bay breakwater and harbour of refuge, Sir George Grey's colonial policies, emigration, the discovery of coal on the Zambesi, and the colony's climate and trade statistics. Eventually a new naval commander-in-chief arrives and places the "Hermes" at McLeod's disposal. The narrative covers a severe storm at the Cape that wrecks shipping in Table Bay, then the voyage to Natal aboard the "Hermes," including detailed description of Port Natal's harbour, bar, and proposed improvements, the town of D'Urban, and the colony's agricultural and demographic prospects. At Natal, McLeod learns of the slave ship "Minnetonka," recently at anchor off the port under Captain John Ward, and gathers testimony about the slave trade conducted from Cuba to the Mozambique Channel under cover of French "free labour emigration." He also records a Chamber of Commerce deputation on trade obstacles with Portuguese authorities, a letter from Mr. G. W. Duncan describing slave-dealing practices at Delagoa Bay, and further detail on the physical geography, terraced climate zones, and agricultural products of Natal, including cotton, sugar, indigo, and coffee, alongside observations on labor supply and the case for coolie immigration. The "Hermes" then proceeds north along the coast, passing Port St. Lucia and the Zulu country under Panda, and enters Delagoa Bay, which McLeod describes at length, including the unhealthy siting of the Portuguese town of Lourenco Marques, the history of Dutch and Portuguese rivalry there, British territorial claims to Tembe and Iniack Island, the Orchella weed trade, and the Transvaal Republic's districts, products, and mineral wealth. Continuing north, the "Hermes" pursues and finally halts by gunfire the Portuguese naval schooner "Zambesi," commanded nominally by a Moor but carrying the ex-Governor of Inhambane, Captain Leotti, revealing Portuguese complicity in the slave trade at Inhambane. McLeod describes Inhambane's harbour, town, corrupt garrison and clergy, and the region's natural products and mineral resources. The account then turns to the ancient history of the Mocoranga and Monomotapa kingdoms, Arab and Portuguese settlement, the ruined stone city of Zimboë, and an extended argument identifying Sofala as the biblical Ophir, supported by discussion of gold, ivory, pearls, and sandalwood found there, alongside description of the Manica gold mines and the town of Sofala's decayed state under Portuguese misrule. Finally, McLeod surveys the geography of the Zambesi River system, including its Luavo mouths, the town of Killimane, the Shire River valley abounding in elephants (as reported by Dr. Livingstone), methods of native salt-making, and the river's navigability toward Kaord Vasa and the interior territories of Cazembe and Londa.

By Lyons McLeod · First published 1860 · Genre: Travel Writing, Memoir, Historical Non-Fiction · 15 chapters · 70,804 words

First lines

The "Ireland"-W. S. L. Postal-line-Mr. Jenkins-The Author Discovers that he is Styled a "Government"-The General's Quarters-Proceed to Sea-Accident in the Saloon-Total Darkness in the "Lower Regions"-Spittoons and Safety Lamps-The Gale-Put Back to Plymouth-Ten Passengers Leave the "Ireland."

On the 6th December, 1856, I embarked, with my wife, on board the Royal Mail Screw Steamer "Ireland," for the Cape of Good Hope, _en route_ to Mozambique, to which place I had been appointed as Her Majesty's Consul.

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travel · eastern africa · exploration · geography · historical travel · african history · adventure · colonial era · cultural observations · journey · region documentation · 19th century

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