James Johnston

James Johnston (1851 – November 1921) was a British missionary, early photographer, doctor and explorer. He created his own mission at Brown's Town in Jamaica. He took six Jamaicans to help him on his journey across central Africa from west to east to cross the continent and rediscover David Livingstone's mission. Johnston's book and photographs record the journey and his observations on many things but particularly overly ambitious missionaries. Johnston later created slideshows to market Jamaica to potential tourists.

Life Johnston was born in Scotland in 1851. He had read of the exploits of David Livingstone and attended his funeral in 1873. He broke away from the Baptist church and he started his Jamaican Evangelical mission in 1876. He created nine churches but the base of his medical mission and his religious assemblies was in Brown's Town.

Johnston introduced new tunes and he would punctuate the service with unplanned singing. He would tour the area on Tuesdays and Fridays handing out prescriptions and his wife would follow turning the prescriptions into the required medicines.

Explorer

Six to two On 3 August 1891 he gets to the mission station at Cisamba. Here he makes the decision to leave behind four of the Jamaicans and to continue with just Johnathon and Frater for company. He leaves the four in the care of the Reverend Saunders. Johnston is aware that he has no interpreter for the land ahead so he spends several weeks at Cisamba so that he can learn the basics of the Umbundu language. Kazungula where there is a mission headed by Monsieur and Madame Jolla. Johnston finds another mission which is unusually well run. Monsieur Jolla is keen to extend his mission and he volunteers to travel with Johnston. Madame Jolla impresses Johnston by volunteering to stay behind. Johnston loses his staff around this point but M. Jolla acts as an excellent interpreter and with his help Johnston, Johnathon, Frater and Jolla travel to the Victoria Falls. Johnston notes that his photographs fail to capture the sight. The falls had been named by Livingstone and Johnston gets to meet Makumba and Ratau who served Livingstone and Chief Mosatane who knew him. By the end of February Johnston has returned to the Jolla mission and he sets out to cross the Kalahari Desert.

The journey ended in October 1892. After Johnston sets sail for home he finds out that all six of his Jamaican companions are safe.

Johnston wrote his book "Romance versus Reality" which was published in 1893.

Slideshows

He gave lectures for over a decade explaining the benefits of visiting and migrating to Jamaica using slideshows. These were paid for by the shipping company Elder, Dempster and Company.

Works James Johnston M.D, Reality versus Romance in South Central Africa, 1893 James Johnston M.D, Jamaica: The New Riviera, 1903