River of the Gods: Genius, Courage and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile

The Dangers of Obsession, Arrogance, and Ignorance haunted Speke’s expedition, with Speke’s arrogance being a key focus in these two chapters. His arrogance almost ruined his friendship with Bombay. Bombay tried to prevent Speke from leaving one morning when the expedition’s camp guide did not return. Bombay understood that Speke was growing increasingly frustrated that the expedition was behind schedule, but he also realized that they would not be able to find their way to Nyanza without the camp guide. Bombay refused to blindly follow orders, pushing back at Speke. Speke lashed out at Bombay, hitting him twice. Although Bombay forgave Speke, Speke believed he was blameless in the argument. Millard notes, “Speke never admitted remorse for his actions, seeming to believe that what had been at risk was not Bombay’s safety and self-respect, his friendship with Speke, or even his continued loyalty to the expedition, but Speke’s own dignity” (222). Speke seemed willing to throw away years of friendship and mutual respect to preserve his own dignity in front of the expedition team.

Petherick and his wife, Katherine, also almost nearly died due to Speke’s arrogance. Speke did not bother to check in with Petherick before leaving for Zanzibar. Instead, Speke assumed that Petherick would do anything to help him. As a result, he did not realize that Petherick was having a hard time getting money for travel to Gondokoro. The limited funding made the travels even more challenging and dangerous. Despite these mishaps, Speke refused to take into account what Petherick and Katherine went through in trying to fulfill their promise to Speke.

This event also shows how easily Speke could be influenced by others. Despite knowing that Petherick and Katherine were reliable and trustworthy, Speke listened to Petherick’s rival. This rival weaved lies, including that Petherick was involved in the ivory trade. When Speke returned to London, he wrote about these lies in his book, despite lacking proof. Speke was still angry with Petherick for his delay in getting to Gondokoro and wanted to punish Petherick. Speke’s repeating of these lies resulted in Petherick losing his career, much like Burton. People took advantage of Speke’s insecurities to manipulate him. Unfortunately, Speke’s actions from these manipulations had terrible consequences for those he once considered friends.

Millard also continues to document the ferociousness of Speke and Burton’s rivalry. The two continued to attack one another. Burton’s book about the East Africa Expedition, entitled The Lake Regions of Central Africa, highlighted Speke’s shortcomings, further worsening their relationship. Speke desired retaliation. Despite advice from his family, friends, and publisher, Speke wrote about how he would get revenge against Burton in his personal letters. Burton and Speke became obsessed with trading barbs.

Finally, Millard also continues to show how Burton’s anger and depression changed him. Burton espoused “polygenism, the belief that different races had different origins” (237). This pseudoscience was extremely destructive. Burton’s support of such racist ideology seemed to go against everything he had once stood for. His personal writings show that Burton did not like slavery, although he viewed it as a necessary evil. Moreover, he also saw firsthand how his expedition would have been unsuccessful without the help of African porters and guides, like Bombay. Despite these experiences, Burton threw his support behind an ideology that saw non-Europeans as inferior to Europeans.