Anthony Bannister Swinburne (c. 1858 – 1889) was a British explorer and ivory trader who served as an assistant to Henry Morton Stanley.
Swinburne was 15 and had just left Christ's Hospital School to work as an apprentice tea broker in the City of London.
The other ten were the officers and sailors of the steamers Belgique, Espérance, En Avant, Royal and Jeune Africaine.
Disasi found that Swinburne was a good person to work for, and conditions in the Kinshasa station were comfortable and interesting.
[3] Brazza crossed the river in May 1884 with four canoes, and offered a higher price to the local chief if he would abandon his treaty with the Belgians.
He felt that the French might respond with anger to the story of Swinburne's confrontation with Brazza and decide to seize Léopoldville.
He found a plentiful supply of ivory on sale in Kinshasa, and at one point had 60 tusks weighing 10 to 50 kilograms (22 to 110 lb).
[8] Stanley was charged with leading the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition, which was to travel up the Congo River and overland to Equatoria rather than take the shorter route from the east coast.
On 1 April 1887 Swinburne lent Stanley the Florida for use as a barge, despite knowing his boss Sanford would be furious about the loan.
On the way they stopped at the mission station in Gombe, where the British Baptist George Grenfell took care of the invalid for two weeks.