This is the only movie, unless one recalls Spencer Tracy and Sir Cedric Hardwick in STANLEY AND LIVINGSTONE, that deals with the "Golden Age" of European exploration in Africa. It began in 1769 when James Bruce went to Ethiopia and did a remarkable job finding the source of the Blue Nile, and doing yeoman work on the anthropology of the Ethiopian people. Then there was the work of Mungo Park and the River Niger (until his death in 1806) and there were naval expeditions up the Congo (in 1819), and various internal expeditions. By far the greatest African explorer would be David Livingston, a missionary who captured the hearts of Victorian Britain. Most of Livingston's work involved Lake Nyasa, but he tried to also solve the greatest African (possibly global) geographic question: the source of the Nile River.
In the 1850s two British officers from India, Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke, mounted two expeditions into the interior of Africa from the island of Zanzibar. Burton was already a famous man - the first Christian to travel to Mecca and Medina. He was also a remarkable linguist. But Burton was a moody person, who could be insulting. Speke was avid to go on both journeys, but he lacked Burton's driving curiosity about the people of the continent of Africa. Speke also was extraordinarily ambitious, and wanted to find the source of the Nile. So did Burton, but he felt there was more to life than just settling a map problem.
This film deals with what turned these two friends into enemies, and how a remarkable series of explorations,where Burton and Speke traveled together,and where Speke led his own exploration with James Grant, settled the mystery - but still left matters into greater confusion. On the second Burton - Speke journey, they both saw a large lake. Burton, with typical sense, named it Tanganyika, after the African languages he studied. But Burton became ill and was unable to continue circumnavigating this lake. Speke, meanwhile, had heard of another body of water to the north (Burton believed it was part of Tanganyika). Speke went on alone and saw this huge inland sea. He was convinced that he found the real source of the Nile but his proof was insufficient to Burton.
Speke took advantage of Burton's illness to get back to England first, publish his findings only, and get official support from Sir Roderick Murchison and the Royal Society for his own expedition. He and Grant returned to Africa, just as Burton came home - to find himself being jeered at as having been lying on a cot while Speke was busy finding the source of the Nile.
Speke came back with more details about his great discovery. He named this magnificent lake (the largest in the world) Lake Victoria. But his ego caused him to keep Grant from accompanying him on the final portion of this journey (wherein he circled the lake, and found the point it led to the Nile - which he called the Murchison Falls after the head of the Royal Society). So when he returned to England with his facts, Grant couldn't corroborate them.
Burton and his friends began showing that some of Speke's observations and facts were odd to say the least (he had the Nile running up a mountain for ten miles). Soon a debate was arranged between Burton and Speke - a debate that Speke dreaded. Burton happened to be a very gifted writer and speaker and Speke was not.
The debate was to occur at Bath in September 1864. It never occurred. As this film shows, Speke was killed in a hunting accident the day of the debate - whether it was a real accident or suicide has never been settled. Speke's friends blamed Burton, who was called a murderer by some of them. Burton never made a public comment again about the incident.
It would not be until the late 1870s when Livingston's successor in Central Africa, Henry Morton Stanley, proved that Lake Victoria was the source of the Nile, and that Burton's Lake Tangayika was the source of the Congo.
The film faithfully tells the tragic tale of how a great explorer was destroyed by his ambition, and how a close friendship was destroyed by a rivalry spurred on by a busy-body - in this case a man who was jealous of both Burton and Speke, Laurence Oliphant. Oliphant did not care who got injured. He is, in many ways, the real villain in this tragedy.
In the 1850s two British officers from India, Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke, mounted two expeditions into the interior of Africa from the island of Zanzibar. Burton was already a famous man - the first Christian to travel to Mecca and Medina. He was also a remarkable linguist. But Burton was a moody person, who could be insulting. Speke was avid to go on both journeys, but he lacked Burton's driving curiosity about the people of the continent of Africa. Speke also was extraordinarily ambitious, and wanted to find the source of the Nile. So did Burton, but he felt there was more to life than just settling a map problem.
This film deals with what turned these two friends into enemies, and how a remarkable series of explorations,where Burton and Speke traveled together,and where Speke led his own exploration with James Grant, settled the mystery - but still left matters into greater confusion. On the second Burton - Speke journey, they both saw a large lake. Burton, with typical sense, named it Tanganyika, after the African languages he studied. But Burton became ill and was unable to continue circumnavigating this lake. Speke, meanwhile, had heard of another body of water to the north (Burton believed it was part of Tanganyika). Speke went on alone and saw this huge inland sea. He was convinced that he found the real source of the Nile but his proof was insufficient to Burton.
Speke took advantage of Burton's illness to get back to England first, publish his findings only, and get official support from Sir Roderick Murchison and the Royal Society for his own expedition. He and Grant returned to Africa, just as Burton came home - to find himself being jeered at as having been lying on a cot while Speke was busy finding the source of the Nile.
Speke came back with more details about his great discovery. He named this magnificent lake (the largest in the world) Lake Victoria. But his ego caused him to keep Grant from accompanying him on the final portion of this journey (wherein he circled the lake, and found the point it led to the Nile - which he called the Murchison Falls after the head of the Royal Society). So when he returned to England with his facts, Grant couldn't corroborate them.
Burton and his friends began showing that some of Speke's observations and facts were odd to say the least (he had the Nile running up a mountain for ten miles). Soon a debate was arranged between Burton and Speke - a debate that Speke dreaded. Burton happened to be a very gifted writer and speaker and Speke was not.
The debate was to occur at Bath in September 1864. It never occurred. As this film shows, Speke was killed in a hunting accident the day of the debate - whether it was a real accident or suicide has never been settled. Speke's friends blamed Burton, who was called a murderer by some of them. Burton never made a public comment again about the incident.
It would not be until the late 1870s when Livingston's successor in Central Africa, Henry Morton Stanley, proved that Lake Victoria was the source of the Nile, and that Burton's Lake Tangayika was the source of the Congo.
The film faithfully tells the tragic tale of how a great explorer was destroyed by his ambition, and how a close friendship was destroyed by a rivalry spurred on by a busy-body - in this case a man who was jealous of both Burton and Speke, Laurence Oliphant. Oliphant did not care who got injured. He is, in many ways, the real villain in this tragedy.