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Mungo Park

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Artist

Attributed to Henry Dawe (1790-1848)

Collection

Private Collection

Description

Inscribed, on the reverse "Mungo Park". This work illustrates the life of Mungo Park (1771-1806), a Scottish explorer who achieved fame for his expeditions to West Africa. On his first expedition he reached the Niger River in 1796, but became dangerously ill with a fever and was looked after by the local people for seven months before returning to the coast. He was killed on his second expedition while travelling down the River Niger. Park published accounts of his travels to great popular interest. His theorising of the flows of the Niger and Congo Rivers was influential in his day. However, his theory that the two rivers converged was disproven after his death. A mezzotint matching this composition, and accompanied by several lines of verse, is in the British Museum (museum number 2010,7081.4791).

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Location

Niger River