Not every aspect of Theodore Roosevelt’s [African Safari](https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryMemes/s/fp6SVb8wzp) was exciting. For one thing, the journey entailed much tedious slogging through country that, though often scenic, was rarely spectacular: Indeed, Roosevelt remarked that it reminded him of Dakota. He and his companions alternately roasted and shivered -the first during the equatorial day, the second in the highland night. Insect pests were a constant trial. Ticks were every-where: in the grass, in the bushes, in the bedding, under one’s trousers, stockings, shirt. Humans had to pick them off carefully and frequently or risk tick fever, which even the most stringent precautions frequently failed to avert. The horses had things worse; every evening the aboriginal attendants, called saises, spent hours plucking the ticks off the party’s mounts.
Roosevelt’s guides in this venture were British, though they weren’t the only Whites in the region. Among those already in East Africa were members of a group toward which Roosevelt felt a particular affinity. The Boers, descendants of Dutch settlers who left Holland about the same time Roosevelt’s Dutch ancestors departed for America, had reached East Africa from the south. In their new home they continued to display the singular late South African war. Roosevelt was as thoroughly taken by the Boers he met as they, fully aware of his Dutch roots, were by him. He congratulated them on their large families and joined them in singing a Dutch lullaby he remembered from childhood. Ever the proponent of “civilizing imperialism”, Roosevelt looked upon both people’s presence in the Dark Continent favorably. “There could be no better and manlier people than those, both English and Dutch, who are at this moment engaged in the great and difficult task of adding East Africa to the domain of civilization.”
Source: T.R., The Last Romantic, pages 647-650
Sir-Toaster- on
I keep forgetting that Boers were Dutch descendants and not native African tribes
Overly-Mannly-Mann on
The more I learn about teddy roosevelt the more I realize he was just doing side quests
blue-eyedTapir on
Oh funny I didn’t know that, I do hope they did the hand movements that go with the song
UC_Scuti96 on
Never reallised untill this meme that Roosvelt actually does sound very dutch.
5 Comments
Not every aspect of Theodore Roosevelt’s [African Safari](https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryMemes/s/fp6SVb8wzp) was exciting. For one thing, the journey entailed much tedious slogging through country that, though often scenic, was rarely spectacular: Indeed, Roosevelt remarked that it reminded him of Dakota. He and his companions alternately roasted and shivered -the first during the equatorial day, the second in the highland night. Insect pests were a constant trial. Ticks were every-where: in the grass, in the bushes, in the bedding, under one’s trousers, stockings, shirt. Humans had to pick them off carefully and frequently or risk tick fever, which even the most stringent precautions frequently failed to avert. The horses had things worse; every evening the aboriginal attendants, called saises, spent hours plucking the ticks off the party’s mounts.
Roosevelt’s guides in this venture were British, though they weren’t the only Whites in the region. Among those already in East Africa were members of a group toward which Roosevelt felt a particular affinity. The Boers, descendants of Dutch settlers who left Holland about the same time Roosevelt’s Dutch ancestors departed for America, had reached East Africa from the south. In their new home they continued to display the singular late South African war. Roosevelt was as thoroughly taken by the Boers he met as they, fully aware of his Dutch roots, were by him. He congratulated them on their large families and joined them in singing a Dutch lullaby he remembered from childhood. Ever the proponent of “civilizing imperialism”, Roosevelt looked upon both people’s presence in the Dark Continent favorably. “There could be no better and manlier people than those, both English and Dutch, who are at this moment engaged in the great and difficult task of adding East Africa to the domain of civilization.”
Source: T.R., The Last Romantic, pages 647-650
I keep forgetting that Boers were Dutch descendants and not native African tribes
The more I learn about teddy roosevelt the more I realize he was just doing side quests
Oh funny I didn’t know that, I do hope they did the hand movements that go with the song
Never reallised untill this meme that Roosvelt actually does sound very dutch.