Mary Henrietta Kingsley (13 October 1862 – 3 June 1900) was an British explorer and writer who greatly influenced European ideas about Africa and its people. Kingsley was an outspoken critic of European colonialism, a champion for indigenous customs, and a dedicated campaigner for a revised British policy which supported traders and merchants over the needs of settlers and missionaries. Her adventures were extraordinary and fascinating. Among other things she fought with crocodiles, fell into native spear traps and was caught in a tornado on the slopes of Mount Cameroon. She traveled in West Africa wearing the same clothes she always wore in England: long, black, trailing skirts, tight waists, high collars and a small fur cap. These same clothes saved her life when she fell into a game pit, the many petticoats protecting her from being impaled on the stakes below. This is her story in her own words of her adventures and the people and culture of West Africa.

Latest episodes of the podcast Travels in West Africa by Mary H. Kingsley

• 00 – Preface & Introduction
• 01 – Liverpool to Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast
• 02 – Fernando Po and the Bubis
• 03 – Voyage Down Coast
• 04 – The Ogowe
• 05 – The Rapids of the Ogowe
• 06a – Lembarene, Part 1
• 06b – Lembarene, Part 2
• 07a – On the Way from Kangwe to Lake Ncovi, Part 1
• 07b – On the Way from Kangwe to Lake Ncovi, Part 2
• 08a – From Ncovi to Esoon, Part 1
• 08b – From Ncovi to Esoon, Part 2
• 09 – From Esoon to Ajongo
• 10 – Bush Trade and Fan Customs
• 11 – Down the Rembwe
• 12 – Fetish
• 13 – Fetish (cont.)
• 14 – Fetish (cont.)
• 15 – Fetish (cont.)
• 16 – Fetish (concluded)
• 17 – Ascent of the Great Peak of Cameroons
• 18 – The Great Peak of Cameroons (cont.)
• 19 – The Great Peak of Cameroons (cont.)
• 20 – The Great Peak of Cameroons (concluded)
• 21a – Trade and Labour in West Africa, Part 1
• 21b – Trade and Labour in West Africa, Part 2
• 21c – Trade and Labour in West Africa, Part 3
• 22 – Disease in West Africa
• 23 – Appendix: The Invention of the Cloth Loom