E X T E N S I O N MARLOW S JOURNEY A 19th century steamboat Marlow s journey takes him from England to the Congo River in the centre of Africa, and back. He starts in London, where he has returned after navigating for years in the East, and goes to Brussels, the capital of Belgium. Here he visits the headquarters1 of the Trading Company he wants to apply to in order to get the command of a steamboat along the Congo River. Since childhood, in fact, he has been fascinated by the representation on maps of the Congo and its big river. When he gets the job, he leaves for Africa on a French steamer. It takes him thirty days to get to the mouth of the Congo River. Here Marlow leaves the French steamer and boards a smaller one, which will take him to the Company Station. This is his first stop and also his first meeting with the brutality2 of the white people towards the natives. Marlow has to wait 10 days at the station (which was situated in Boma, a port town about 100 km from the mouth of the river, and was at the time a slave market and trading centre). 1. headquarters: the main administrative and managerial offices of an organisation. 2. brutality: extremely cruel and violent behaviour. 90