Quest For The Jade Sea: Colonial Competition Around An East African Lake

363 Pages·2001·37.08 MB·English

by  Pascal James Imperato

Praise for Quest the Tade Sea
A vivid and well-researched account of the men who led
. . . . . .
expeditions in Northern Kenya. Entertaining reading for
anyone interested in colonial travel literature . . . it is a
valuable resource for the student and scholar of Africa's past.
History
A well-researched overview of the nineteenth-century
. . .
geographical exploration around Lake Turltana. Its clear
style and rich details will appeal to a wide audience.
African Studies Quarterly
In this book Pascal Imperato writes engagingly and
sympathetically about a succession of European travelers to
the shores of Lake Turkana in the late nineteenth century.
The book is important for two reasons. First, it helps us to
understand the motives and ~udgeth e achievements of these
men in the light of the social norms and cultural values of
their own time. Second, it brings together in a readable and
accessible form, a vast amount of previously scattered
information about one of the last episodes in the story of
European competition for colonial lands in Africa.
David mrtorr!
Director, Refugee Studies Programme
University of Oxford
Interesting, extremely well researched, rich with rare
and intriguing anecdotes, Quest for the lade Sea is a must
for lovers of Africa and its complex, irresistible history.
It is compelling reading. I could not put it down.
Kuki Galfmaam
author of I Dreamed of Africa
The Jade Sea lured a series of mystical idealists,
amateur scientists, wealthy hunters, colonial agents
and greedy desperadoes to set off from the coast and walk
to it across the arid expanses which separate the Kenyan
and Ethiopian highlands. Dr. Imperato makes each of
their individualities shine while setting each in the
historical context of mean and aggressive colonial
rivalries. I have learned a great deal pleasurably.
Dr. Paul Baxter
author of The Boran of Northern Kenya
Quest for the lade Sea is a vivid and overdue account
of one of the most intriguing rivalries of discovery
in the history of colonial Africa:
Bartle Bail
author of Safari: A Chronical of Adventure
and The mite Rhino Hotel
Entertaining for the casual reader and a mine of
information for the student and scholar, everyone can
now proceed through eastern African history with
more confidence and conviction than in the past.
ROb ert Q. C~l1r"nrs
Professor of History, Emeritus
Univmsity of Callifornr'a at Santa Rarbara

This page intentionally left blank
for the
Quest
Sea
Jade
-
A Mcmbcr of the Pcrseus Books Group
AXI rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America, No part of this publication
may be repxoduccd or transmitted in any form ar by any xneans, electronic or mechani-
cal, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the pubfisher.
Gopyri&t O 1998 by Pascal James Imperato.
Published in 1998 in the United States of America by Westview Press, 5500 Central Av-
enue, Boulder, Colnradcz R0301 -2877, and in the United Kingdom by Westview Press, 12
Hid" Copse Road, Curnnor Hill, Oxford OX2 9JJ
Library of Congress Gatalugng-in-Publieation Data
Imperato, Pascal Tames
Quest for the jade Sea : colonial competition around an East
Affican lake / Pascal Iames Imperato,
p. cm.
Includes biblio~aphicalr eferences and index,
ISBM 0-8 133-2791- l [he)- --ISBN 0-8 133-2792-X( pb)
1. RudoXfp Lake, Region (Kenya and EtXriopia~Discoverya nd
ewlaration-Etlxopean. 2. RudoXf! Lake, Region {Kenyaa nd
Etl~iopia)-Politics and governlnent. d. Great Britain-Foreign
relations-Ethiopia. 4, Ethiopia-Fnreim relation*Great Britain,
I, Titje.
DTiS34.K7,5147 X998
967.62' 7-de2 1 98-4983
CIF"
Tile paper used in this publication xneets the requirements of the American National
Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1984,
Dedicated with admiration and affection to
the Reverend I)a& Tablino,
who has given a lifetime of service
to the peoples of the lake
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
List czf I~lustuatl'c~ns
AcknowIedgments
Introduction
x The Sources of the Nile
z A Whispexcd Rcality
3 A Race Across Maasai Land
4 Visitors from Vienna
5 An American Approaches from the Sr~uth
G An. A~nexicanA rrives from the North
7 Sp~rtslin-cna nd Ivory Hunters
8 Italians at the Source
c) Showdown on the Uppex Nile
xo An Orthadrrx Partnership
r s A Cour;tlfeous Young Soldier
12 D~ctaSr mith Returns
I 3 Replacing the Union Jacks
Vif