Henry Morton Stanley: An Explorer of Africa as a Popular Guest of Geographical Societies, 1872-1891

Before there were chairs, institutes and courses of geography at universities, the discipline had its institutional basis in "Geographical Societies". The purpose of these more or less amateur associations, which started emerging in the 1820s, was to promote and disseminate geographical knowledge. When it came to distant, unknown lands, they received such knowledge especially from travelers. One of the most famous (or, given his involvement in the Belgian colonization of the Congo, infamous) travelers of the 19th century was the British-American Henry Morton Stanley who, between 1871 and 1889, conducted four explorations in central Africa. Upon his returns, he paid a total of twenty visits to a total of thirteen Geographical Societies in Europe, Africa, America, and Australia. He received honors from them, and gave talks about his journeys and geographical findings, concerning most importantly the sources of the Nile and the rest of the central African water system. In my paper, I analyze Stanley's talks to the Societies as they are recorded in the latter's journals. What knowledge did he convey to them, and how did he adapt his communications to the specifics of Geographical Societies of different cities and countries? Moreover, as it was an age of intense colonialism, Stanley's knowledge on Africa had, at least for European Geographical Societies, colonialist dimensions. How did these dimensions materialize in Stanley's visits to, and invitations by, the associations?