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In Chapter 2 of Lauren Benton’s Work A Search for Sovereignty the establishment of European riverside expeditions is discussed. These expeditions were established on the idea that travelling alongside the rivers of the African continent and the “New World” would prove to be lucrative as well as provide the opportunity for exploration. In reality these expeditions proved to be quite treacherous in more ways than one. The terrain of these environments proved to be quite hazardous resulting in many expeditions resulting in failure and the harsh environment seemed to embolden some of the lower ranking members of the expeditionary teams making insurrection and treason common. In an attempt to curb the number of mutinies, public execution of traitors became standard. This made sure that potential mutineers knew what they were getting themselves into. To top it all off since the European expedition teams were heading into unknown territory, they had to rely on native guides which is strange as my peer Tyler points out because, they did not trust them and thought of them as being inferior. This false sense of superiority makes native peoples an odd shoulder to lean on.
On a personal note Lauren Benton seems to have an odd set of interests if she is writing works that involve both roman laws and colonial era commerce. Despite her love for the study of colonial era commerce she seems to have forgotten the one thing that prevented Europeans from trading with the African continent for the longest time, disease. Malaria and other African born diseases decimated European explorers almost as hard as European born diseases rocked the new world, yet they receive very little attention in this chapter.