The Lost Diary of Dr. Livingstone

David Livingstone—doctor, author, missionary, explorer, and anti-slavery activist—remains one of the 19th century's most enigmatic figures. At great personal sacrifice and peril to his health, this Scotsman traversed what was once called "darkest Africa," launching several expeditions in search of the source of the Nile river. Filmmaker Melisa Akdogan's PBS-aired documentary looks at Livingstone's heroic quest, one that eventually became something of a dark obsession—perhaps an attempt to atone for the death of his wife on Livingstone's second expedition. Of particular interest here is his “lost” journal, which was written during a critical period when Livingstone witnessed a massacre of innocent villagers, including women and children, by slave traders. The slave trade was a brutal, sordid business, with slaves forced to carry ivory from central Africa to the coast, sometimes with their heads trussed and speech silenced with medieval-looking masks. Stragglers were whipped or tied to trees, and left as prey for wild animals. Following the massacre, Livingstone tried to make a record of what he witnessed, using old newspapers for writing paper, and crushed berry juice for ink. Livingstone was a contradictory figure, a man of medicine who sometimes consulted witch doctors, and a staunch opponent of slavery who formed alliances with slave traders. Although Livingstone hoped that his mapping of the trade route (and description of the horrors of slavery) would "open up" the continent, ending its isolation and encouraging honest trade, a tragically ironic consequence of the European "scramble for Africa" was that it led to a century of European imperialist exploitation. An informative film about a key figure in the history of 19th-century exploration (who has been reduced to the familiar punch-line, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”), this is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)