Scottish surgeon and explorer Mungo Park was sent to Africa by the Association for the Promotion of the Discovery of the Interior of Africa in order to discover the course of the Niger River after achieving great fame on his first voyage and returning to Africa alone after 40 European men lost their lives in the adventure.

Mungo Park was born in 1771, near Selkirk in Scotland, the seventh child of a wealthy farmer. He was trained by a local surgeon and conducted medical studies in Edinburgh and obtained a diploma in medical sciences. Because of his desire for fame and fortune, Park set out for London, and through his sister-in-law , William Dixon, a man from Covent Garden, got his chance when he introduced him to Sir Joseph Banks, the famous English botanist and explorer who traveled around the world with Captain James Cook.

The unofficial Association or Society for the Promotion of the Discovery of the Interior of Africa had previously financed (for a pittance) the exploration of an Irish soldier, Major Daniel Hutton, headquartered at Gorey on the West African coast. Two important questions have dominated discussions of the interior of West Africa: the exact location of Semi-legendary Timbuktu, the Niger River Trail In 1795, the Union appointed Mongo Park to explore the Niger River Trail.

Until Hutton reported that the Niger flows from west to east, it was believed that the Niger was a tributary, and the assembly wanted evidence of the course of the river and know where it finally appeared. There were three theories: that it was emptied into Lake Chad, so that it pivoted around a great arc to join Zaire, or It reached the coast at the rivers.

Set out from the Gambia River, with the help of the West African League, and Dr. Laidley who provided equipment, a guide, and served as a postal service, Park began his journey dressed in European clothing, with an umbrella and a tall hat He was accompanied by a former slave named Johnson who had returned from the West Indies, and a slave named Dimba , who had promised him his freedom upon completion of the trip.

Park knew a little Arabic—he had two books with him, Richardson's Arabic Grammar and a copy of Houghton's magazine which he had read on a trip to Africa served him well, and he was warned to hide his most valuable equipment from the local tribesmen. On his first stop with Bondo, Park had to give up About his umbrella and his best blue coat, a short time later, on his first encounter with the locals, Park is captured.

It was taken and sold and Johnson considered valuable four months later, and with Johnson's help, Park was finally able to escape. He had few possessions other than his hat and compass but refused to give up the expedition, even as Johnson refused to travel further, relying on the kindness of the African villagers. Park on his way to the Niger River, reached the river on July 20, 1796 AD, and Park traveled to the side of Ségou before returning to the coast and then to England.

Park was an instant success, the first edition of his book (Tours in the Interior of Africa) sold quickly, and the £1,000 money allowed him to settle in Selkirk to practice medicine (he married Alice Anderson, the daughter of the surgeon he was training). But life soon bore him, and he looked for a new adventure - but only under the right circumstances.

Banks were offended when Park demanded a large sum for exploration, eventually in 1805 the banks filled the expedition with 30 soldiers from the Royal African Legion, plus officers including his brother-in-law Alexander Anderson, who agreed to join the expedition). and four boat builders from Portsmouth in order to build a forty-foot boat when they reached the river, they were about 40 traveled with Park.

Mungo Park set out from the Gambia in the rainy season - within ten days his men had dysentery and after five days a man died, he lost seven mules, and most of the campaign's cargo destroyed, but he did not mention in his letters to London the problems he had encountered. The journey reached the sands of Sandandeng in Niger. Only survivors and deaths continued, and by November 19, only five men remained alive and the number kept decreasing and 3 soldiers reached the river.

In the end, he was shot by the locals after a trip of more than 1,000 miles on the river, Park and his entourage drowned after avoiding contact with the locals, the residents mistakenly shot them in the center of the river.