The major event in the latter half of the 19th century exploration of the African continent is the well-publicized misadventure of Stanley and Livingston. Much less is known about the expeditions that followed those famous gentlemen, despite the fact that the subsequent exploration of the region offered perhaps more knowledge advancement and significant discoveries in the realms of cartography, biology, archaeology and anthropology.

Engraving of Stanley Falls by Earnest Boyd (British National Archives)

The De Wilde expedition was one of these. Its primary focus was mapping Lake Victoria and its surrounding waterways. This idea was not unique to the Belgian Bernard De Wilde and his team, but his approach was a novel one. Rather than spending days skirting the unfriendly shores of the world's third largest lake, or long hours in cramped tribal canoes, De Wilde opted to build sailing ships using local resources, insisting that traveling the massive expanse of the lake and its major waterways would be easier and more comfortable in fast, spacious wind-aided vessels.

So did his grand scheme work? In a way. Due to the disappearance of the party members and most of their research, it is hard to tell whether De Wilde's ships were in fact more efficient. Based on subsequent expeditions which discovered clues left behind by the De Wildes, scholars acknowledge that the Belgian team covered a great deal of territory over several years, from the shores of Lake Baringo in the east to the upper stretch of the Cunene River.

Copy of Map by Bernard De Wilde, Redrawn by Earnest Boyd (British National Archives)

What do we know of Bernard De Wilde? Very little in fact. He was a major player in Belgium's forays into central Africa during the colonial period, but it's hard to say whether his quest to map Lake Victoria (which was in British territory) was actually sanctioned by his government. Little is known of the rest of De Wilde's traveling party, with the exception of his secretary Sylvie. Most remaining first-hand accounts of the expedition are related through Sylvie's journal, of which only scant pages exist today. It is believed that at some point during the expedition, Bernard and Sylvie married. Unfortunately, this union is presumed short-lived and met an unhappy end. The newlyweds never returned to Europe.

Nobody knows what truly happened to the Belgian expedition, but over the years many have tried to solve the mystery of its disappearance. The most successful attempt was made around the turn of the 20th century by Earnest Boyd. Boyd managed to come home with a few items found on the Belgians' trail, but his own fate is nearly as shady as that of the De Wildes. The Englishman disappeared mysteriously soon after his return to England. Other attempts at uncovering the De Wilde mystery followed Boyd, notably the Cocteau/St. Antoine journeys in 1948-50, and the disastrous Jameson rafting expedition of 1978. None came close to recreating Boyd's success, though they didn't necessarily avoid his ignominious fate.