Frederick Stanley Arnot
| Frederick Stanley Arnot | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 12 September 1858 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 14 May 1914 Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Missionary |
| Known for | Explorations |
Frederick Stanley Arnot (12 September 1858 – 14 May 1914) was a Scottish missionary who did much to establish missions in what are now Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Arnot was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 12 September 1858. His family lived in the town of Hamilton, southeast of Glasgow, for several years. There he became close to his neighbors, the family of the medical missionary David Livingstone. He looked up to Livingstone as a hero and determined to emulate him. He felt practical skills would be needed in his future missionary career. At fourteen he left school to become an apprentice joiner in the Glasgow shipyards. Arnot was brought up in the Church of Scotland, but became a member of the Plymouth Brethren.
In July 1881, aged 22, Arnot embarked for Cape Town. He was not associated with a missionary board, although in his work he was always glad to cooperate with those who were. He aimed to find a region in the interior that would be healthy for Europeans. They could train the local Africans in the Christian religion, and these Africans could in turn act as missionaries in the less healthy regions.
Arnot traveled by coastal steamer to Durban. In August 1881 he left for the interior, traveling slowly through the Transvaal to Shoshong in Botswana where he was welcomed by King Kama, who had been converted to Christianity. Arnot arrived in Shoshong on 11 March 1882. There he met the missionary J.D. Hepburn and observed him at work. He called Hepburn "a faithful man, who sought the conversion not only of the natives of the tribe but also of every man who passed through Shoshong white or black".
After a three-month stay Arnot continued northward across the Kalahari Desert to the Barotse kingdom, in what is now western Zambia. In December 1882 he reached Lealui, the capital. Arnot was present when the Lozi King Lewanika received a proposal from the Ndebele for an alliance to resist the white men. Arnot may have helped Lewanika to see the advantages of a British protectorate in terms of the greater wealth and security it would provide. Lewanika kept him here for the next eighteen months.
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