David Livingstone Legacy

David Livingstone can still be seen as a great example of what people can achieve.

After his death, in some ways, David Livingstone became even more famous than before. The famous meeting with Stanley, the manner of his death, his return to England, and his funeral captured the British public’s imagination and people were fascinated by him and remained so until the mid 20th century. David Livingstone was instrumental in forcing the abolition of the east African slave trade and because of this and his fundamental belief in human equality, David Livingstone remains well respected in many parts of Africa today. In contrast, in Britain, Livingstone became associated with the Empire and fell out of favour.

A major achievement and legacy of David Livingstone was that his account of the Nyangwe massacre caused public outcry in Britain and forced the government to act. In 1873 the Sultan of Zanzibar signed a treaty which abolished the East African slave trade. However David Livingstone remains a controversial figure when considering the colonisation of Africa.