He Was The First European To Arrive Victoria Falls

Europeans had not previously explored the interior for good reasons. The majority of explorers were unprepared to handle tropical illnesses. Tribes who perceived explorers as intruders also targeted them. Because of this, Livingstone only brought a small number of native servants, a few firearms, and basic medical supplies. In 1852, Livingstone's expedition started. He sought to teach Christianity and the abolitionist message gently rather than intimidating proud chiefs into submission because he was familiar with and respected the customs of the African tribes. The chiefs took a liking to him and even offered him soldiers to help him in his grandiose plan to survey the Zambezi river all the way to the sea - a trans-continental voyage that no European had ever made before, despite several efforts.

The missionary-explorer had left Linyanti, in what is now Namibia, in 1853 in search of a passage to the Atlantic coast that he hoped would pave the way for Western trade and Christianity to spread throughout the interior of the continent. He traveled north along the Zambezi, then north-west. He arrived at the Angolan port of Luanda, which Livingstone despised, at the end of May 1854 with his small escort of Makololo, warlike tribesmen from the Linyanti region. On November 16, 1855, Livingstone arrived at Victoria Falls after a protracted period of exploration. His subsequent works, in which he states: "Scenes so exquisite must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight," give us an idea of his awe at the sight.