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The Nile quest

Chapter 3: PREFATORY NOTE
By Harry Johnston
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About This Book

A chronological account traces efforts to locate and map the Nile and its basin, surveying ancient and classical knowledge, medieval and early modern inquiries, and nineteenth‑century expeditions. The narrative outlines competing theories and describes successive journeys that explored the Blue and White Nile systems, lakes, and tributaries, noting the roles of missionaries, traders, and military or private explorers in expanding geographic knowledge. Richly illustrated with maps, drawings, and photographs, the work summarizes cartographic revisions, synthesizes physical and basin geography, and concludes with biographical notes and a bibliography to document the progression of discovery and the evolving understanding of the river’s sources and drainage.

PREFATORY NOTE

When the author of this book was composing his recent work on the Uganda Protectorate, he was led through the history of its discovery into the general consideration of Nile exploration, since it was in the search for the Nile sources that the territories now forming the Uganda Protectorate were laid bare to the gaze of the civilised world. But as anything like a detailed review of the exploration of the Nile basin by the Caucasian race would have unduly extended a book dealing more particularly with Uganda, he gladly took advantage of the suggestion made by Dr. Scott Keltie (Editor of this series) that these studies should be applied to the present volume, which is one of a series on the history of great geographical discoveries.

It is not for the author to say that his book on the Nile Quest will prove interesting; but he has striven to make it as accurate as possible, and he hopes it may be permanently useful as a faithful record of the names and achievements of those who solved the greatest geographical secret, after the discovery of America, which remained for the Caucasian’s consideration.

H. H. JOHNSTON.

London, 1903.