A Tourist in Africa

Last updated

A Tourist in Africa
Author Evelyn Waugh
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre Travel literature
Publisher Chapman & Hall (UK)
Little Brown (USA)
Publication date
1960
Pages167

A Tourist in Africa is a travel book by the British writer Evelyn Waugh. It appeared in 1960, many years after his travel writings of the 1930s. [1]

Contents

The book is in the form of a diary, describing a tour of East Africa from January to April 1959. Events and sights are described with perception and clarity, and the history associated with a particular place is often discussed.

Tour

Departure

After a channel crossing, Waugh travels by train from Paris to Genoa. There he meets a friend he has portrayed in fiction as Mrs. Stitch, and they go sightseeing, particularly looking at the marble tombs in the Campo Santo (cemetery).

Voyage

He travels by sea from Genoa in the Rhodesia Castle. It pauses at Port Said and Aden, and the ship spends five days in Mombasa; he has visited these places before. At Mombasa he visits Fort Jesus, a Portuguese fort, describing its history. Along the coast, he visits the Ruins of Gedi, an Arab town several centuries ago. He sees Mount Kilimanjaro, and visits the town of Pangani, and Zanzibar.

Tanganyika

At Dar es Salaam in Tanganyika (now part of present-day Tanzania) he leaves the Rhodesia Castle. He visits Bagamoyo, where there are ruined mosques nearby. He describes the town's history, describing an episode there, a dinner-party to welcome the return of Emin Pasha who was rescued by an expedition led by Henry Morton Stanley.

He goes by aeroplane to visit the island of Kilwa Kisiwani and describes the remains of the medieval Arab town, where there are the Sultan's palace and ruined mosques. He takes a trip to the area in the Dodoma Region where there was once a groundnut scheme, and describes this failed project of the late 1940s to cultivate peanuts; he sees the abandoned buildings.

The Rhodesias

He flies to Salisbury (present-day Harare) in Southern Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe) in two stages, staying overnight at Ndola in Northern Rhodesia (present-day Zambia). In Salisbury he stays with friends who live there. He visits Umtali, and Great Zimbabwe, the ruins of an ancient city.

He visits Serima Mission, a church in the diocese of Gwelo, where he meets Fr John Groeber, its architect. He describes the artwork created for the church, which Groeber has encouraged. He flies to Bulawayo, and describes Lobengula's part in the local history. He visits Matobo National Park, where there is the grave of Cecil Rhodes; he discusses Rhodes.

He leaves Salisbury and flies to Cape Town, and returns to Britain in the ship Pendennis Castle.

Critical reception

When the book appeared, Waugh was well established as a writer, and reviewers gave this work careful consideration. However, it was compared unfavourably with his earlier travel writing. Cyril Connolly wrote: "A Tourist in Africa is quite the thinnest piece of book-making which Mr. Waugh has undertaken and must be viewed in relation to the labours on Father Ronald Knox which preceded it." [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cecil Rhodes</span> English mining magnate and colonialist (1853–1902)

Cecil John Rhodes was an English colonialist, mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. He and his British South Africa Company founded the southern African territory of Rhodesia, which the company named after him in 1895. He also devoted much effort to realising his vision of a Cape to Cairo Railway through British territory. Rhodes set up the Rhodes Scholarship, which is funded by his estate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Zimbabwe</span> Ruins of a medieval city in southeast Zimbabwe

Great Zimbabwe is a medieval city in the south-eastern hills of the modern country of Zimbabwe, near Lake Mutirikwe and the town of Masvingo. It is thought to have been the capital of a kingdom during the Late Iron Age. Construction on the city began in the 11th century and continued until it was abandoned in the 15th century. The edifices were erected by ancestors of the Shona people, currently located in Zimbabwe and nearby countries. The stone city spans an area of 7.22 square kilometres (2.79 sq mi) and could have housed up to 18,000 people at its peak, giving it a population density of approximately 2,500 inhabitants per square kilometre (6,500/sq mi). It is recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Rhodesia</span> British colony from 1923 to 1964 and from 1979 to 1980

Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as south Zambesia until annexed by Britain at the behest of Cecil Rhodes's British South Africa Company, for whom the colony was named. The bounding territories were Bechuanaland (Botswana), Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), Moçambique (Mozambique), and the Transvaal Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matabeleland</span> Region of southwestern Zimbabwe

Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers and are further separated from Midlands by the Shangani River in central Zimbabwe. The region is named after its inhabitants, the Ndebele people who were called "Amatabele"(people with long spears – Mzilikazi 's group of people who were escaping the Mfecani wars). Other ethnic groups who inhabit parts of Matabeleland include the Tonga, Bakalanga, Venda, Nambya, Khoisan, Xhosa, Sotho, Tswana, and Tsonga. The population of Matabeleland is just over 20% of the Zimbabwe's total.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nyanga National Park</span> National park in Zimbabwe

Nyanga National Park lies in the north of Zimbabwe's Eastern Highlands. One of the first national parks to be declared in the country, it contains the highest land in Zimbabwe, with green hills and perennial rivers. Most of its terrain consists of rolling downland, sometimes lightly wooded, lying at altitudes between 1,800–2,593 metres. Mount Nyangani, the highest point in Zimbabwe, lies in the centre of the park and Mutarazi Falls, Zimbabwe's highest waterfall, is in the south of the park. Nyanga National park incorporates the former Mutarazi Falls National Park on its southern boundary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coat of arms of Zimbabwe</span> National coat of arms of the Republic of Zimbabwe

The current coat of arms of Zimbabwe was adopted on 21 September 1981, one year and five months after the national flag was adopted. Previously the coat of arms of Zimbabwe was identical to the former coat of arms of Rhodesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zimbabwe Bird</span> National emblem of Zimbabwe

The stone-carved Zimbabwe Bird is the national emblem of Zimbabwe, appearing on the national flags and coats of arms of both Zimbabwe and Rhodesia, as well as on banknotes and coins. It probably represents the bateleur eagle or the African fish eagle. The bird's design is derived from a number of soapstone sculptures found in the ruins of the medieval city of Great Zimbabwe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pioneer Column</span> Military force of the British South Africa Company

The Pioneer Column was a force raised by Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company in 1890 and used in his efforts to annex the territory of Mashonaland, later part of Zimbabwe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Theodore Bent</span> Explorer, archaeologist and author

James Theodore Bent was an English explorer, archaeologist, and author.

<i>Pole to Pole with Michael Palin</i> 1992 British television travel documentary series

Pole to Pole with Michael Palin is an eight-part television documentary travel series made for the BBC, and first broadcast on BBC1 in 1992. The presenter is Michael Palin, this being the second of Palin's major journeys for the BBC. The first was Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin, a 7-part series first broadcast on BBC One in 1989, and the third was Full Circle with Michael Palin, a 10-part series first broadcast on BBC One in 1997.

Joseph Ndandarika was a Zimbabwean sculptor known for his figurative works.

The history of cricket in Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia and before 1965 Southern Rhodesia, includes Rhodesia first forming a first-class cricket team in August 1890, and the inaugural Test appearance of Zimbabwe in October 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudd Concession</span> 1888 written concession for mining rights in what is now Zimbabwe

The Rudd Concession, a written concession for exclusive mining rights in Matabeleland, Mashonaland and other adjoining territories in what is today Zimbabwe, was granted by King Lobengula of Matabeleland to Charles Rudd, James Rochfort Maguire and Francis Thompson, three agents acting on behalf of the South African-based politician and businessman Cecil Rhodes, on 30 October 1888. Despite Lobengula's retrospective attempts to disavow it, it proved the foundation for the royal charter granted by the United Kingdom to Rhodes's British South Africa Company in October 1889, and thereafter for the Pioneer Column's occupation of Mashonaland in 1890, which marked the beginning of white settlement, administration and development in the country that eventually became Rhodesia, named after Rhodes, in 1895.

The colonial history of Southern Rhodesia is considered to be a time period from the British government's establishment of the government of Southern Rhodesia on 1 October 1923, to Prime Minister Ian Smith's unilateral declaration of independence in 1965. The territory of 'Southern Rhodesia' was originally referred to as 'South Zambezia' but the name 'Rhodesia' came into use in 1895. The designation 'Southern' was adopted in 1901 and dropped from normal usage in 1964 on the break-up of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and Rhodesia became the name of the country until the creation of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979. Legally, from the British perspective, the name Southern Rhodesia continued to be used until 18 April 1980, when the name Republic of Zimbabwe was formally proclaimed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Zimbabwe</span> Aspect of history

The history of the Jews in Zimbabwe reaches back over one century. Present-day Zimbabwe was formerly known as Southern Rhodesia and later as Rhodesia.

<i>When the Going Was Good</i> Book by Evelyn Waugh

When The Going Was Good (1946) is an anthology of four travel books written by English author Evelyn Waugh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public holidays in Rhodesia</span>

Public holidays in Rhodesia, a historical region in southern Africa equivalent to today's Zimbabwe and Zambia—formerly Southern and Northern Rhodesia, respectively—were largely based around milestones in the region's short history. Annual holidays marked various aspects of the arrival of white people during the 1880s and 1890s, as well as the respective unilateral declarations of independence (1965) and of republican government (1970). On these days, most businesses and non-essential services closed. A number of Christian holidays were also observed according to custom, in the traditional British manner, and referred to in official documents by name—Christmas Day, for example, or Easter Monday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pioneers' Day</span> Former public holiday in Rhodesia

Pioneers' Day or Pioneer Day was a public holiday in Rhodesia. The day was created to commemorate the Pioneer Column led by Cecil Rhodes and the British South Africa Company on 12 September 1890. It was originally called Occupation Day when established in 1920 but was renamed as Pioneers' Day in 1961. The day was abolished as a public holiday following Rhodesia becoming Zimbabwe in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State House, Bulawayo</span> Presidential house in Bulawayo

State House, formerly called Government House, is a former Government House in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. It was used by the British South Africa Company during their rule in Rhodesia. It was built by Cecil Rhodes in 1897 as his personal residence. It is now used as the official Bulawayo residence for the President of Zimbabwe.

References

  1. 1 2 Page 52 Stannard, Martin. Evelyn Waugh. Routledge, 2013.