3-101-689 - LTL/Heritage Images

Richard Lander, (Richard Lemon Lander), (1804-1834), under trial by ordeal, 1827. British explorer of Western Africa. Illustration depicting an episode in which Lander, upon his arrival in Badagry in 1827, was accused of spying by the Portuguese before the King of Yoruba. To ascertain the truth of the charge, he was subjected to the "trial by ordeal'. It consisted of swallowing a beverage prepared with the bark of a mimosa tree. If it did not cause the person who drank it to vomit, it was a sign of guilt, and that person would be stoned to death. Lander was found not guilty. (Colorised black and white print).