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Why did David Livingstone return to Africa in 1866?
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David Livingstone
Portrait of Scottish missionary. physician, and explorer David Livingstone, albumen silver print by John Jabez Edwin Mayall, c. 1857; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
David Livingstone returned to Africa in 1866 with several primary objectives. As in his previous travels, he remained committed to the extension of the Gospel and the abolition of the slave trade along the East African coast.1
Additionally, he undertook a new scientific and geographical mission: to explore the central African watershed and determine the ultimate sources of the Nile. During this expedition, he traveled with the status of a British consul at large and was supported by both private and public bodies.1