Mungo Park (1771–1806)
Teoksen Travels in the Interior of Africa tekijä
Tietoja tekijästä
Image credit: From Wikipedia
Tekijän teokset
Travels of Park, Travels of Bruce 2 kappaletta
Travels and recent discoveries in the interior districts of Africa in the years 1796 & '97 2 kappaletta
I morernas händer 1 kappale
Associated Works
Merkitty avainsanalla
Yleistieto
- Syntymäaika
- 1771-09-11
- Kuolinaika
- 1806
- Sukupuoli
- male
- Kansalaisuus
- Scotland
- Syntymäpaikka
- Foulshiels, Selkirkshire, Scotland, UK
- Kuolinpaikka
- Bussa, Nigeria
- Asuinpaikat
- Peebles, Scotland, UK
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK - Koulutus
- Selkirk Grammar School
University of Edinburgh - Ammatit
- explorer
- Palkinnot ja kunnianosoitukset
- Mungo Park Medal (named in his honour)
Jäseniä
Kirja-arvosteluja
Listat
Palkinnot
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Tilastot
- Teokset
- 14
- Also by
- 3
- Jäseniä
- 459
- Suosituimmuussija
- #53,510
- Arvio (tähdet)
- 3.7
- Kirja-arvosteluja
- 7
- ISBN:t
- 63
- Kielet
- 4
I think the one thing that stands out from the account is what a lovely guy Mungo Park is. Having read various old travelogues, the writers tend very much to a jingoistic scorn for the locals...Park treats those he meets as his equals, his assessment based solely on their actions.
But the Moors truly merit their description as "the rudest savages on earth"; the highlight for me was their effort to humiliate the 'kaffir' Park by bringing a wild hog into the assembly for him to eat. Park notes (with, we feel, considerable satisfaction) that far from running at the Christian, the hog "began to attack indiscriminately every person that came in his way, and at last took shelter under the couch upon which the king was sitting."
After Park's year long odyssey, the endless difficulties, the heroism, one feels that the following years, publishing his memoirs, marrying and working as a doctor in Peebles, is a huge anti-climax.
The short second part tells of his second trip to the Niger, leading a military expedition ten years later (1805.) Setting off ill-advisedly in the rainy season, and hampered by a bunch of men less resiliant than himself, this is a very different journey, as fever, dysentery, animals, hunger...and Moors...bring endless insurmountable challenges. The final section is based on account by an African guide, and is very sad after such amazingly determined efforts.
A total hero, up there with Ernest Shackleton and Belarusian war hero Tuvia Bielski in my pantheon of Incredible People.… (lisätietoja)