Autorentext

Sir Samuel W. Baker was an English explorer who, along with John Hanning Speke, contributed to the discovery of the Nile River's headwaters (born June 8, 1821, London, England-died December 30, 1893, Sanford Orleigh, Devon). Sir Samuel W. Baker, a merchant's son, spent time in Ceylon (1846-55) and Mauritius (1843-45) before journeying across the Middle East (1856-60). Together with Florence von Sass, who would later become his second wife, he traveled to Africa in 1861 and spent nearly a year studying the tributaries of the Nile near the boundary between Ethiopia and Sudan. The Baker expedition started out in February 1863 in search of the Nile's source using maps provided by Speke. Baker discovered the spring in March 1864, and he named lake Albert Nyanza (Lake Albert), which was located between contemporary Uganda and Congo (Kinshasa). After returning to England, he was knighted in 1866. Isml Pasha, the Ottoman viceroy of Egypt, requested Baker to lead a military expedition to the equatorial parts of the Nile in 1869. The explorer seized territory there and assisted in ending the slave trade before being named governor-general for four years. The Rifle and the Hound in Ceylon (1854) and The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia are two of his publications (1867).

Klappentext

Ismailia (1874) can be considered an autobiography of Sir Samuel W. Baker as it describes the author's expedition to Central Africa. An exceptional narrative of Sir Samuel W. Baker's mission to stop the slave trade in Central Africa. Baker took charge of the Sudanese area in southern Egypt alongside a force of 1700 men from the Khedive Authority. He engaged in multiple conflicts with slave traders before establishing a reliable trading territory in Equatoria. The heroics of Sir Samuel are apparent throughout the novel and the realistic situation keeps the readers wanting more. The anecdotes and episodes are written beautifully as it transports the readers. Baker's second expedition, which is documented here, was to annex Sudan for Egypt and eliminate the slave trade there. He brought his second wife, who provided military and domestic assistance to the expedition party. The Bakers engaged in big game hunting and fought several fierce battles against the slave traders. The second expedition started in 1869, the same year Baker was appointed governor-general of the equatorial Nile basin for a four-year tenure by Khedive Ismailia.