Following the Equator is basically a tour of the British Empire undertaken by Mark Twain as a response to regain his financial status and extricate himself from debt incurred from his failed investment in the revolutionary typesetting machine. Twain basically lectures because he needs the money to pull himself out of debt and the only locations where he can really lecture are those of English speaking nations, which are all under the British Empire, such as India. Twain was bankrupt in 1894 and went on his world tour in 1895, with a debt of $100,000, a significant sum back then. He vowed to repay every cent of his debt, and this was the reason behind his lecturing tour and the book, Following the Equator. The book has among many things, an underlying criticism of racism and imperialism, woven into his story with the usual ingenuity.