Richard F. Burton

Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo Richard F. Burton

Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821 - 1890) was asked in 1849 by the Indian Navy and the Royal Geographical Society of Great Britain to investigate the region of the unknown Somali Country in East Africa. In 1850 The East India Company gave permission for an expedition to ascertain the productive resources in the region. After many obstacles and delays the expedition began in 1854. Burton discusses "the Nzadi or lower Congo River, from the mouth to the Yellala or main rapids, the gate by which the mighty stream, emerging from the plateau of Inner Africa, goes to its long home, the Atlantic." He goes on to discuss the lack of accurate information about the tribes in Africa and states that the problems on the Gold Coast could have been avoided if England had been properly informed. He sees England's involvement on the west coast of Africa as a failure.