Interestingly, famous British-American explorer Henry Morton Stanley, who was later hired by king Leopold to lobby American businessmen tp invest in Congo, was also the guy who made up the Tarzan story. Stanley was a global celebrity in the 1800s for is exploits in Africa
Henry Morton Stanley was the first European to reach the interior of Congo. He lived & explored the heart of Africa for several years. He later wrote several books about Africans & his exploits in Central Africa which made him one of the most famous people in Europe & America
Many of his stories about Africa were outlandish, but they were nonetheless believed by the western masses, who knew very little about Africa. One such story was about his encounter with a white blond hair blue eyed tribe at the foothill of the Rwenzori mountains in Congo.
The story of his encounter with this white African tribe caused a global sensation in both the academic world & the larger public. Soon after, many fictionalized versions of the story began to emerge. One of which was the story of Tarzan.
Many attempts were made to locate this white African tribe, with no success. Some researchers speculated that Stanley had encountered a tribe of Albinos & mistaken them for white, but the died man insisting he encountered white people in the heart of Congo.
Henry Morton Stanley was a very cruel individual, who routinely abused his African hosts & guides. He encouraged Western visitors to Africa to whip Africans. He also published a famous album of weird photographs of himself with half naked African boys.
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