The Nile Quest | #ProjectAfrica

Video Description

The Nile is the longest river in Africa and the disputed longest river in the world. Its incredible length spans over 11 countries, from Egypt all the way to Tanzania. Now, we are aware of its length and size, but in the early 19th century, to European explorers, the Nile was a mysterious and fabled river that promised adventure and riches if one were to discover its source. What followed were several exploration voyages deep into Africa. These voyages are fruitful ground for great tales already, but what is more… most of them were curiously intertwined. Project Africa Playlist: http://bit.ly/project-africa Consider Supporting HoH: https://www.patreon.com/HouseofHistory My Twitter: https://twitter.com/HouseofHistory1 My videos tend to get arbitrarily demonetized. That is why I decided to open up a Patreon where people can support the channel. If you decide to pledge as little as 1$/month you will gain access to a monthly series exclusive to my Patrons! During the late 1830s, explorers embarked on a quest for a legendary goal: to discover the source of the Nile. The Ottoman governor at the time, Muhammed Ali of Egypt, had already launched two expeditions in those years in order to seek economic expansion into Sudan. These expeditions proved fruitful: the navigable head of the Nile was found at a place called Gondokoro. It now was just the rapids to Gondokoro’s south that stood between adventurers and the source of the Nile. Considering the time frame, unfortunately, many adventurers and traders that moved south were no more than ordinary bandits, raiding the African lands for their wealth, resources and slaves. Regardless of the moral concerns, these marauders did contribute to the geographical knowledge of the region, as they often navigated through uncharted lands. In the 1840s it was missionaries that worked inland from Mombasa that changed the course of exploration of the Nile. Whenever a caravan of Arab traders would pass by, Ludwig Krapf, Johann Rebmann and Johann Erhardt would ask for information about the places they had travelled. According to these traders, there were great lakes and huge mountains. When Krapf and Rebmann traveled into the direction several months later they are said to have seen the mountains for themselves, covered in snow. These weren’t just generic mountains but turned out to be Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya. These mountains could very well have given rise to the White Nile, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile. The men were awarded a medal by the Paris Geographical Society and, in contrast, severely ridiculed by the British… There was a bit of disparity between the two nations. Nevertheless, the fact that they had seen the mountains gave other explorers the idea to attempt and approach the source of the Nile from Africa’s East Coast. Time Codes: 0:47 Arab Traders and Missionaries 2:43 Burton and Speke 4:26 Start of the Expedition 6:51 Speke and Grant 8:28 Samuel Baker and Florence von Sass 11:50 Speke's dispute 12:54 Dr Livingstone, I presume? 14:59 Last Piece of the Puzzle Watch my documentary series: End of Empire - Downfall of the Qing Dynasty playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLazn7eofVtjLnVJY6NyQX8JlVApf40DLs Hitler's Spies playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLazn7eofVtjJGQ4c1q7mQhTh5vM54_17o World War 2 playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLazn7eofVtjLYTXde713nRftdAPj7YW_a The content of this video covers events, people or concepts via a lecture-style presentation that is educational and historical in nature. Every video is original content by House of History. The events relating to conflict in this video are portrayed in their historical context without either value judgment or an ideological message attached to it. There is no intent to shock, upset or disgust. The goal of my channel is to make interesting lecture-style videos, no more, no less. Thank you for taking the time to check out House of History, I hope you will find the films informative, interesting and enjoyable! If you have any feedback, questions or criticism feel free to leave a comment. Your opinion truly aids me in improving the content of the channel! If you have a question, feel free to leave a comment and I will either write a reply, answer your question in a Q&A video, or make an entire video about it! Sources: Garstin, William. "Fifty Years of Nile Exploration, and Some of Its Results." The Geographical Journal 33, no. 2 (1909). Rice, E., & Bottmann, D. (1990). Sir Richard Francis Burton. Editora Companhia das Letras. Photos, paintings and imagery: Public Domain, Wikicommons #HouseofHistory #History #ProjectAfrica