Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon

serving in the Austrian and Franco-Prussian wars, he became increasingly fascinated by the prospect of steerable balloons and devoted himself to their development. By the turn of the century, his name was synonymous with rigid-framed powered airships.

ALEISTER CROWLEY (1875–1947)

An influential occultist, Crowley challenged the moral and religious values of his time, promoting a libertine philosophy-“Do what thou wilt”-that earned him notoriety and the reputation for being “the wickedest man in the world.”

He said:

“Ordinary morality is only for ordinary people.”

SIDI MUBARAK BOMBAY (1820–1885)

Captured by Arab slave traders when he was a young boy, Bombay was sold in exchange for some cloth, and was taken to India where he lived as a slave for many years. When his owner died, he was emancipated and returned to Africa, where he gained fame as a guide, working with Burton, Speke, Stanley, and Livingstone. In 1873 he traversed the continent from its east coast to its west.

MTYELA KASANDA (AKA MIRAMBO)

A Wanyamwezi warlord, he started out as a slave and ivory trader, travelling between Africa's great lakes and the coast, but later installed himself as king of the Urambo region. He was a sworn enemy of the Arabic traders at Kazeh. He died aged 44, after becoming too ill to rule.

GENERALMAJOR PAUL EMIL VON LETTOW-VORBECK (1870–1964)

The commander of the German East Africa campaign during the First World War.

MAJOR GENERAL ARTHUR EDWARD AITKEN (1861–1924)

Commander of the Indian Expeditionary Force “B” in Africa during the First World War.

JANE DIGBY (LADY ELLENBOROUGH) (1807–1881)

An English aristocrat, Digby was involved in numerous romantic scandals. She had four husbands and countless lovers before eventually settling in Damascus, where she married Sheikh Medjuel el Mezrab, who was twenty years her junior.

BLUT UND EISEN

Otto von Bismarck made his famous speech in support of increased military spending on 29th September 1862. “Blood and iron” was, in fact, “Eisen und Blut.” The words were reversed almost immediately by press reports and have remained that way in most accounts.

HMS ORPHEUS

The Orpheus was a Jason-Class Royal Navy corvette, constructed in Chatham Dockyard, England, in 1861. She was commanded by Captain Robert Burton and served as the flagship of the Australian squadron. On 7th February 1863, while navigating Manukau Harbour, New Zealand, the ship hit a sandbar and sank, with a loss of 189 men, including Captain Burton. Frederick Butler, a convicted deserter, served as quartermaster aboard the vessel.

THE BOMBING OF DAR ES SALAAM

Despite a number of prior skirmishes between British and German troops, the First World War didn't properly begin in East Africa until 8th August 1914, when the British launched an attack against Dar es Salaam. The naval vessels HMS Astraea and HMS Pegasus bombarded the city, the Astraea hitting and destroying the German radio station. The Germans responded by sabotaging the harbour so the British couldn't use it, which also had the effect of preventing their own ship, SMS Konigsberg, from returning to port. Just over a month later, the Pegasus was docked at Zanzibar for repairs when the Konigsberg launched a surprise attack and sank her. The Konigsberg was herself eventually knocked out of action by British ships on 11th July 1915.

THE BATTLE OF THE BEES

Also known as the Battle of Tanga, this was an attempt by the British Indian Expeditionary Force to capture the German port, and became one of the worst defeats for the British in Africa during the First World War. The incident commenced when HMS Fox arrived at the port and gave the authorities an hour to surrender. The hour passed but no action was taken, which gave Generalmajor Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck time to move German reinforcements into position. On 4th November 1914, street-to-street fighting began in the north and jungle skirmishes in the south. The British found themselves hard pressed, and when swarms of bees, disturbed by the conflict, attacked both sides, the British were routed and took to their heels. In retreating, they left behind all their equipment, which the Germans appropriated. In later propaganda, the British suggested that the bees had somehow been a fiendish trap set by the enemy.

L.59 ZEPPELIN

A German dirigible used during the First World War, L.59 Zeppelin was known as Das Afrika-Schiff (“The Africa Ship”). In 1917, it was commissioned to resupply Generalmajor Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck's troops. Its journey to Africa was intended to be a one-way voyage-upon delivering its 50 tons of supplies, the ship would be cannibalised, its outer envelope used for tents, its frame used to build radio towers, etc. Following the course of the Nile, L.59 Zeppelin was halfway along the river when she received an “abort” order transmitted by Lettow-Vorbeck, who, in his battle with British forces, had been unable to secure a safe landing place for her. She returned to Germany. The following year, the dirigible mysteriously exploded over the Strait of Otranto in the Mediterranean, with a loss of all twenty-one crew.

THE SECOND SCHLESWIG WAR

Beginning on 1st February 1864, this was a renewal of hostilities between Prussia, Austria, and Denmark over control of the Duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, and Saxe-Lauenburg. The conflict continued until the end of October, when the Treaty of Vienna saw the territories ceded to Prussia and Austria. It confirmed Prussia's military might and thus advanced the cause of those who supported German unification.

THE BURNING OF SIR RICHARD FRANCIS BURTON'S JOURNALS AND PAPERS

Of all the controversies concerning Burton during his lifetime, none compared with what happened after his death in 1890. His widow, Isabel, made a bonfire of his personal journals, the vast majority of his papers, and the unpublished book he regarded as his magnum opus, his new translation of The Perfumed Garden, which he'd retitled The Scented Garden. Her act incited such anger and condemnation from those who'd known Burton, including Swinburne, that she lost many friends and badly stained her own reputation.