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On November 10, 1871, David Livingstone had been sitting on a straw mat on the mud veranda of his house in Ujiji when he heard a commotion. Slowly rising to his feet, he brushed through the gathering crowds to find a contingent of porters bearing an incredible assortment of goods: bales of cloth, huge kettles, and tents. Suddenly, a formal American traveler stepped forward, removed his helmet, and extended his hand. The words that adventurer Henry M. Stanley spoke to the aging explorer at this very moment are perhaps the most famous in history: “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” Since the famous meeting of Stanley and Livingstone at Ujiji, the two have been permanently linked. The ambitious adventurer had finally found the lost missionary and explorer in one of the most remote places on earth. Headlines across the world had proclaimed both of these men as heroes and their reputations have been solidified in the history books ever since Livingstone died nearly two years later and his body transported nearly fifteen-hundred miles to London where he was given a grand funeral in Westminster Abbey. Thousands turned out to see the great man who just eight years before was dismissed by his nation as an untrustworthy romantic dreamer. Upon his death in 1874, Livingstone became the champion of colonialism and promoter of Social Darwinism that Britain needed. According to his biographers, his travels and work justified the need for Britain to bring “civilization, Christianity, and commerce” to Africa.
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