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Richard LenderTalented self-taught scientist and researcher
Country:
 Great Britain |
Biography of Richard Lander
Richard Lander was a talented self-taught explorer and scientist. In 1825, he joined the expedition led by Hugh Clapperton to Africa as a servant. The expedition ventured deep into the continent and reached the south of the Niger River, a place previously unexplored by Europeans. Tragically, Clapperton passed away on April 11, 1827, in Sokoto. In early 1828, Richard Lander returned to England and brought Clapperton's travel journals with him, which were later published by John Barrow in London in 1829. Lander's own two-volume work, "Materials of Clapperton's Last Expedition to Africa" (London, 1829-1830), was a valuable addition to these journals. He proved himself to be a talented self-taught scholar and an exceptional explorer.
The devastating loss of most expedition members had a profound impact, and as an encouragement for further exploration, the London Geographical Society, the successor to the "African Association," awarded a special prize to anyone who could solve the "mystery" of the Niger River. Major Lander managed to approximately determine the location of the Niger's source. Mungo Park and Clapperton had attempted to explore the middle course of the river, and now the goal was to study its mouth and lower course. Before dissolving, the "African Association" sent a new expedition to the Niger under the leadership of Richard Lander, who took his younger brother John (1807-1839) with him.
The travelers set sail on a military ship to Badagri, where they arrived on March 19, 1830. On March 31, after a clash with the locals, Richard and John Lander left Badagri. They passed through Uwo, a significant city, and then through Bida, Jenna, Chou, Eggu, and the ancient capital of the Yoruba region, Bochu. They arrived in Katunga on May 13. Concerned that the ruler of Mansola would detain them until the beginning of the rainy season, the Lander brothers did not mention their desire to reach the Niger. They only explained that twenty years ago, one of their compatriots died in Bussa, and that the English king had sent them to Sultan Yauri to find the deceased's papers. Mansola allowed the Europeans to leave only a week after their arrival.
The Lander brothers passed through BumBum, a city frequently visited by Hausa merchants, Borgu, and other countries trading with Gungu. They also passed through Kishi on the border of the Yoruba state and, finally, through Musu on the river of the same name. On June 17, the travelers saw the city of Bussa. To their surprise, they discovered that it was situated on land, not on an island in the middle of the Niger, as Clapperton had claimed.
The Lander brothers descended to the Niger, which flowed near the city. Richard Lander inquired about books and papers, likely those left behind by Mungo Park, and asked about the unfortunate end of the explorer. The Sultan promised to find all the surviving belongings of the renowned traveler. On June 23, after thanking the Sultan for his hospitality, the Landers left Bussa. The Sultan gave them generous gifts and advised them to only accept provisions from the rulers of the cities they passed through to avoid being poisoned. They traveled along the river until Kaggaj, where they boarded a fragile local canoe.
The journey down the Niger began. They passed through Badgiebo, a bustling and sprawling town; Lichi, populated by people from the Niffe tribe, and Maji, near which the Niger divides into three channels. Moving away from the city and bypassing another island, the travelers saw the Keza (or Kezi) rock rising steeply in the middle of the river, 281 feet high. The locals believed it to be the favored dwelling place of a benevolent spirit. As they descended the river, which constantly changed in width, they tried to avoid large cities as they had no gifts for the rulers.
The journey to Eggi was peaceful. In this area, the Niger almost always flowed east and southeast, reaching a width of two to eight miles. The current was so fast that the boat traveled at a speed of four to five miles per hour.
On October 19, the Landers passed the mouth of the Kudunia and soon saw the significant city of Eggu, the last city in the Niffe region. The Niger transformed into a wide and deep stream, receiving the full-flowing Benue River (the largest tributary of the Niger) from the left. On October 25, the travelers found themselves at the mouth of the wide river. It was the Chadda or Benue River. On the banks of the Niger and Benue near their confluence stood the large city of Koton-Karofa.
About 100 kilometers downstream from the Benue, the Niger entered a flat plain that expanded southward. After another 200 kilometers from the main channel, the river began to split into branches, and the extensive Niger Delta began, covering an area of 24,000 square kilometers, rivaling the Nile Delta in size.
Thus, the geographical puzzle that had fascinated the scientific world for centuries and led to various assumptions was finally and completely solved. The Niger did not connect with the Nile, get lost in the sands of the desert, or merge with the waters of Lake Chad. Instead, it divided into multiple branches, flowing into the Gulf of Guinea near a place known as Cape Formoso.
The credit for this discovery, which had been foreseen by science, belongs entirely to the Landers. The vast territory they covered from Yauri to the sea had been entirely unexplored before their journey.
In 1832, Richard Lander's second work, "Travels in Africa to Explore the Niger to Its Mouth," was published in three volumes. By the time Richard and John Lander returned to England, the London Geographical Society had been established, into which the "African Association" eventually merged.
In the same year, Liverpool merchants formed the "Company for Trade with the Interior of Africa." They equipped two steamships, the "Quorra" (displacement 145 tons) and the "Alburkah" (displacement 55 tons), as well as a brig loaded with coal and goods. Richard Lander and his team of about 50 people set off on these ships in July 1832 to reach the Niger Delta.
They traveled up the Niger to the Benue River and 150 kilometers above its mouth. Unfortunately, many of the sailors fell ill and died. With the remaining crew, Richard Lander descended to the sea. He handed over the trading transactions to his successor and began to survey the extensive delta of the river in a boat. During a clash with locals near the village of Brass, he was shot in the thigh. The bullet could not be removed, and Richard Lander, barely reaching the age of thirty, died of gangrene in early February 1834 on Fernando Po Island. His accompanying brother, John, returned to England.
