Tippu Tip : ivory, slavery and discovery in the scramble for Africa / Stuart Laing

Bibliogr. p. 312-316

Foreword and acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. A young Arab in Est Africa -- 2. Nile-seekers, Africa-crossers -- 3. Boy trader -- 4. Business start-up -- 5. The far side of the lake -- 6. Between the two rivers -- 7. Down the Lualaba: Nile or Congo? -- 8. Tippu Tip and the scramble -- 9. Fourth journey: back to the centre -- 10. Fifth journey: what a relief! -- 11. The British and the Germans: protection or occupation? -- 12. Arabs versus the Congo Free State -- 13. Last judgments

Tippu Tip, notorious to some, intriguing to others, was a Zanzibari Arab trader living in the turbulent and rapidly changing Africa of the late 19th century. This biography transports the reader into his extraordinary world, describing its exotic cast of characters and the principal factors that shaped it. His colorful life culminated in his engagement as governor of a province in the 'Congo Free State' of the Belgian King Leopold, and in his involvement in Stanley's astonishing expedition to relieve Emin Pasha, governor of the Egyptian southern province of Equatoria...