Mary Henrietta Kingsley Facts & Worksheets

Mary Henrietta Kingsley was an English traveler who, defying societal norms at the time, traveled through western and equatorial Africa and was the first European to set foot in parts of Gabon. On October 13, 1862, she was born in London, England, and passed away in Simon’s Town, close to Cape Town, in the Cape Colony (now the Western Cape) in South Africa. Historians believe Kingsley’s writings significantly influenced how the West saw colonialism and African culture.

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Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE

• On October 13, 1862, in London, Kingsley was born. She was the oldest child and the daughter of novelist, adventurer, and physician George Kingsley and Mary Bailey. Descended from a lineage of writers, she was also the niece of novelists Henry and Charles Kingsley. 
• In Highgate, where her brother Charles George R. (“Charley”) Kingsley was born in 1866, the family moved less than a year after her birth. By 1881, the family resided in Southwood House, Bexley, Kent.
• Her father, a doctor, regularly left the house on his travels while working for George Herbert, the 13th Earl of Pembroke, and other nobility.
• He gathered the information for his research while on these expeditions. From 1870 until 1875, Dr. Kingsley traveled to North America with Lord Dunraven. While on the journey, Dr. Kingsley was allowed to join George Armstrong Custer’s expedition against the Sioux. 
• The Kingsley family was relieved to discover that severe weather had prevented Dr. Kingsley from joining Custer because they were scared of the ensuing Battle of the Little Bighorn. 
• Mary’s eventual views on European colonialism in West Africa may have been influenced by her father’s thoughts on the terrible treatment of Native Americans in the United States during that era.
• Compared to her brother, Kingsley received less formal education, except for some early German lessons; this is because, at the time and in her level of society, girls were not considered to need a formal education. 
• However, she had access to her father’s extensive library and enjoyed listening to his travel tales. She liked works on the sciences and explorers’ memoirs rather than novels considered more suitable for young girls of the day, including those by Jane Austen or Charlotte Bronte. 
• When her brother Charley enrolled in Christ’s College, Cambridge, to study law in 1886, Mary established several academic ties and made a few acquaintances.
• In terms of religion, there is no evidence that Kingsley was raised as a Christian; instead, she was a self-described believer with “an utter faith in God,” as she put it, and even strongly associated with what was called “the African religion.”
• She is well known for decrying Christian missionaries and their campaign for eradicating native African civilizations without offering any concrete benefits in return.
• Mary’s mother and her two children are recorded as residing at 7 Mortimer Road in Cambridge, England, in the 1891 census. Charles is listed as a BA Student of Law, and Mary is listed as a Student of Medicine. 
• Kingsley’s mother became ill in her later years, and she was obliged to look after her health. She had little opportunity to travel because she could not leave her mother’s side. After an outing, her father soon developed a rheumatic illness and was confined to bed.
• In February 1892, Dr. Kingsley passed away, as did Mrs. Kingsley in April of the same year. Kingsley could now pursue her lifelong ambition of traveling after being “freed” from her family’s obligations and receiving an inheritance of £8,600 to be split equally with her brother.

ADVENTURES TO AFRICA

• Kingsley decided to go to the west coast of Africa after making a preliminary stop in the Canary Islands. 
• The only non-African women who went on these (often dangerous) missions were the wives of missionaries, government officials, or explorers. 
• Before the advent of individuals like Isabella Bird and Marianne North, exploration and adventure were not considered appropriate roles for English women. Kingsley was regularly questioned about why her husband was not traveling with her by African women perplexed that a female her age traveled alone.
• On August 17, 1893, Kingsley arrived in Sierra Leone and continued to Luanda, Angola. She resided with locals who provided her guidance and taught her the skills she needed to survive in the woods. She frequently entered risky situations by herself. 
• She had been prepared for minor injuries and jungle illnesses by training as a nurse at the Kaiserswerther Diakonie. In December 1893, Kingsley traveled back to England.
• When she got back, Kingsley got help from renowned biologist Dr. Albert Günther at the British Museum and signed a writing contract with publisher George Macmillan because she wanted to publish her journey diaries.
• On December 23, 1894, she returned to Africa again, this time with more English assistance and supplies and more confidence in her abilities. 
• She had a deep desire to learn about “cannibal” people and the traditional religious rituals that were known as “fetish” during the Victorian era. 
• She met Mary Slessor, a Scottish missionary who was also a European woman who was single and living among a native African group, in April.
• Kingsley first learned about the practice of twin killing during her meeting with Slessor, an approach Slessor was anxious to eradicate. The natives thought that one of the twins was the result of the devil impregnating the mother covertly, and because it was hard to tell which was the innocent child, both were slain. 
• The mother was also frequently killed for luring the devil to impregnate her. Kingsley came to Slessor’s home shortly after taking in a recent twin mother and her survivor child.
• Ultimately, Kingsley paddled up the Ogooué River in Gabon to collect fish specimens that Western science had not yet discovered. 
• Three of these fish were ultimately given her name. She bravely attempted to climb Mount Cameroon, which rises to 4,040 meters, after meeting the Fang people and traversing undiscovered Fang territory. Her boat was anchored at Donguila.

RETURN TO ENGLAND

• In November 1895, Kingsley returned home and was met by reporters eager to speak with her. 
• However, the press coverage of her journey was harrowing because it depicted her as a “New Woman,” a label she did not embrace. 
• Her persistent lack of involvement with women’s rights movements may be attributed to various reasons, such as her desire to have her work accepted more favorably.
• Some claim that this may be a direct allusion to her conviction that protecting the rights of British traders in West Africa was crucial.
• She lectured to various audiences on life in Africa for three years as she toured England. She was the first woman to address the business chambers in Manchester and Liverpool.
• When Kingsley criticized missionaries for attempting to convert Africans and distort their beliefs, she angered the Church of England.
• In this regard, she highlighted various features of African life that shocked English people, such as polygamy, which, in her view, was a necessary practice.
• Kingsley lived among the Africans and gained firsthand knowledge of how their civilizations operated and why it would be damaging to their way of life to outlaw practices like polygamy. 
• She was aware that typical African wives were overburdened with responsibilities.
• In Africa, missionaries frequently demanded that converted men abandon all but one of their wives, leaving the other women and children without a husband’s support and leading to significant social and economic issues. 
• Kingsley also criticized teetotal missionaries, claiming that those who consumed tiny amounts of alcohol fared better in survival.
• Kingsley held complex and hotly contested views on current economic and cultural imperialism. She believed that African people and cultures needed to be protected and preserved. However, she also felt that indigenous populations were required to adopt European culture and technology and that indirect rule was necessary. 
• She insisted that white men had to do some work in West Africa. Nevertheless, she states in “West African Studies:” “Despite being a staunch supporter of Darwin, I don’t believe that evolution can be represented by a neat, vertical line with Fetish at the bottom and Christianity at the top.”
• Various people in Western European civilization, including traders, colonists, women’s rights campaigners, and others, perceived and employed alternative, more acceptable views. 
• When presented stylishly, these beliefs helped form the public’s perception of “the African” and “his” territory.

WRITINGS

• Kingsley chronicled her travels in two volumes “West African Studies” (1899) and “Travels in West Africa” (1897), both of which earned her respect and status among academics. “Travels in West Africa” (1897) was an instant bestseller. 
• Some publications like “The Times,” which had pro-imperialist Flora Shaw as editor, refused to run evaluations of her writings.
• Although some have claimed that these rejections were justified by the anti-imperialist justifications offered in Kingsley’s works, this is unlikely to explain why she was frequently met with hostility in Europe, given that she supported both indirect rule and the activities of European traders in West Africa.
• “Travels in West Africa” was a significant success mainly because of the vigor and sardonic humor of the writing, which, despite appearing to be a gripping yarn, never strays from its underlying goal—to finish the work her father had left unfinished.
• Between the poles of overt wit and covert analysis, Kingsley creates in images a discourse of poetic thought, a phenomenon frequently noticed in the writings of Walter Benjamin. 
• These images are “… not an artist’s picture, but a photograph, an overladen with detail, colorless version. “I just have the power to bring out in my fellow creatures, white or black, their virtues, in a way that is honorable to them and fortunate for me,” she stated of her approach. 
• She explained her motivation for traveling to West Africa: “[M]y motivation for traveling there was a study; this study was of native concepts and practices in religion and law. 
• I started this research because I wanted to finish the fantastic book my father, George Kingsley, left unfinished when he passed away.” 
• She stated that her father’s work appeared to portend a distinguished and brilliant career. “Unfortunately, that promise was never fully fulfilled.” In reality, George Kingsley only produced a few random pieces, and not one made it into Mary Kingsley’s famous book. 
• Her father’s dream wish was finally fulfilled, and family honor is upheld in the text of his daughter, a predecessor of Lévi-Strauss and his “Tristes Tropiques.”

DEATH

• Following the start of the Second Boer War, Kingsley volunteered to become a nurse and landed in on the SS “Moor” in March 1900.
• She cared for Boer POWs when stationed at the hospital in Simon’s Town. She volunteered her services to the sick for almost two months before experiencing typhoid symptoms and passing away on June 3, 1900. 
• She briefly rallied but soon realized she was losing it, according to an eyewitness.
• She requested to be left alone while she passed away because she did not want others to see her frailty. She claimed that animals went to perish on their own. 
• She was buried at sea as she had requested, the one favor and distinction she ever asked for herself, and it was granted with every honor and circumstance. 
• A group of West Yorkshire residents brought the coffin to the dock from the hospital on a gun carriage while a band played in front of them. As it rounded Cape Point, Torpedo Boat No. 29 set out at sea and committed the woman to the element of her choice. 
• When the casket refused to sink and had to be brought back on board before being tossed over again, this time laden down with an anchor, a touch of comedy was added, which “would have amused” Kingsley herself.

LEGACY

• African local customs that were previously poorly addressed and misunderstood by people in Europe were brought to light by Kingsley’s stories and ideas about life there. 
• Soon after her passing, the Fair Commerce Party was established to advocate for better living circumstances for the inhabitants of British territories. 
• In her honor, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine established a medal. In Sierra Leone, The Institute of African Studies at Fourah Bay College, also called the University of Sierra Leone, has a building named the Mary Kingsley Auditorium in her honor.

Mary Henrietta Kingsley Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Mary Kingsley across 32 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about Mary Kingsley. Mary Henrietta Kingsley was an English traveler who, defying societal norms at the time, traveled through western and equatorial Africa and was the first European to set foot in parts of Gabon.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

1. Mary Henrietta Kingsley Facts
2. Sentences to Fill
3. Discover Her Journey
4. Interactive Reading
5. Study of Groups
6. Words to Define
7. Kingsley vs. Livingstone
8. Symbol of Dedication
9. Scene to Remember
10. Cultural Exploration
11. Kingsley’s Impact

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Mary Henrietta Kingsley?

Mary Henrietta Kingsley was a British explorer and writer who lived in the late 19th century. She is known for her pioneering travels in West Africa, particularly in what is now Cameroon and Gabon.

What were Mary Kingsley’s major accomplishments as an explorer?

Mary Kingsley made significant contributions to the understanding of African cultures and ecosystems. She conducted extensive research on African ethnography and traditional beliefs and collected plant and animal specimens. Her travel writings and books, such as “Travels in West Africa” and “West African Studies,” are still widely read today.

How did Mary Kingsley become an explorer?

Mary Kingsley’s exploration of Africa was unusual for a woman of her time. After the death of her parents, she decided to embark on journeys to Africa to complete her father’s work on tribal art. She was largely self-taught and learned many of her skills during her travels.

What was Mary Kingsley’s attitude towards colonialism?

Mary Kingsley was critical of European colonialism and its impact on African societies. She expressed concern about the mistreatment of indigenous people and the destruction of local cultures by European powers. Her views on colonialism were progressive for her time.

What is Mary Kingsley’s legacy?

Mary Henrietta Kingsley’s legacy lies in her contributions to African ethnography, her writings, and her advocacy for African cultures and traditions. She challenged prevailing stereotypes and offered a more nuanced understanding of the peoples she encountered. Her work continues to be studied and appreciated by historians, anthropologists, and those interested in African exploration.

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