Difference between revisions of "Alexander Gordon Laing" - New World Encyclopedia
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| − | '''Alexander Gordon Laing''' (December 27, 1793–September 26, 1826) was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[exploration|explorer]] and army officer who contributed to mapping the source of the Niger and was the first [[Europe]]an to reach [[Timbuktu]]. | + | '''Alexander Gordon Laing''' (December 27, 1793–September 26, 1826) was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[exploration|explorer]] and army officer who contributed to mapping the source of the Niger and was the first [[Europe]]an in centuries to reach [[Timbuktu]]. He was murdered before he could return to Europe to claim the prize offered by the French Geographical Society. |
==Biography== | ==Biography== | ||
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While in England in 1824 he prepared a narrative of his earlier journeys, which was published in 1825 and entitled ''Travels in the Timannee, Kooranko and Soolima Countries, in Western Africa''. | While in England in 1824 he prepared a narrative of his earlier journeys, which was published in 1825 and entitled ''Travels in the Timannee, Kooranko and Soolima Countries, in Western Africa''. | ||
| − | [[Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst|Henry, 3rd Earl Bathurst]], then secretary for the colonies, instructed Captain Laing to undertake a journey, via [[Tripoli]] and Timbuktu, to further elucidate the hydrography of the Niger basin. Laing left England in February 1825, and at Tripoli on the 14th of July he married Emma Warrington, daughter of the British consul. Kryza describes him at this point as "a tall, trimly built man ... who carried himself with ... self-assurance" <ref> p 1</ref> who fell "instantly in love" with Emma.<ref>p 26</ref>. Two days later, leaving his bride behind, he started to cross the [[Sahara]], being accompanied by a sheikh who was subsequently accused of planning his murder. [[Ghadames]] was reached, by an indirect route, in October 1825, and in December Laing was in the [[Tuat]] territory, where he was well received by the [[Tuareg]]. | + | [[Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst|Henry, 3rd Earl Bathurst]], then secretary for the colonies, instructed Captain Laing to undertake a journey, via [[Tripoli]] and Timbuktu, to further elucidate the hydrography of the Niger basin. Laing left England in February 1825, and at Tripoli on the 14th of July he married Emma Warrington, daughter of the British consul. Kryza describes him at this point as "a tall, trimly built man ... who carried himself with ... self-assurance" <ref>Kryza, p 1</ref> who fell "instantly in love" with Emma.<ref>Kryza, p 26</ref>. Two days later, leaving his bride behind, he started to cross the [[Sahara]], being accompanied by a sheikh who was subsequently accused of planning his murder. [[Ghadames]] was reached, by an indirect route, in October 1825, and in December Laing was in the [[Tuat]] territory, where he was well received by the [[Tuareg]]. |
====Timbuktu==== | ====Timbuktu==== | ||
| − | On the 10th of January 1826, now a Major, he left Tuat and made for the almost legendary Timbuktu, believed to be a "city of gold" across the desert of [[Tanezroft]]. He was actually taking part in a race Letters | + | On the 10th of January 1826, now a Major, he left Tuat and made for the almost legendary Timbuktu, believed to be a "city of gold" across the desert of [[Tanezroft]]. He was actually taking part in a race for the fabled city, launched in 1824 when the French Geographical Society offered a prize of 10,000 frands for the first perosn to reach Timbuktu, and "live to tell the tale". <ref>Kryza, p 47</ref>. The British wanted to beat the French. However, as well as commissioning Laing, they also commissioned Hugh Clapperton, expecting that the two men would co-operate. Instead, Copperton planned his own mission. This may account for lack of careful planning by Laing, whose 2,000 mile journey quickly encountered problems. His Letters written in the following May and July tell of his nsufferings from fever and of the plundering of his caravan by Tuareg, In January, 2006 his camp was attacked and Laing himself was seriosuly wounded - in twenty-four places - during the fighting. He refers to these injuries in a letter to his father-in-law dated May 10th, 2006. Another letter dated from Timbuktu on the 21st of September announced his arrival in that city on the preceding 18th of August, and the insecurity of his position owing to the hostility of the [[Fula]] chieftain Bello, then ruling the city. He added that he intended leaving Timbuktu in three days time. No further news was received from the traveller. In their dealings with African leaders, the British tended to assume that their presence in Africa would be welcome, even that territory would be ceded or trade concessions made almost as if they had an automatic right to these. On route, says Kryza, the caravan master faced a dilemma, of which Laing was propably unaware: |
| − | :On the one hand, as a traveler who was undoubdebtly rich (in Babani's eyes, all Englishmen were rich), Laing occupied a place near the top of the ladder. On the other hand, as an infidel from a country populated by unclean ''kafirs'', Laing was lucky to be tolerated at all, and surely | + | :On the one hand, as a traveler who was undoubdebtly rich (in Babani's eyes, all Englishmen were rich), Laing occupied a place near the top of the ladder. On the other hand, as an infidel from a country populated by unclean ''kafirs'', Laing was lucky to be tolerated at all, and surely meritted the bottom rung.<ref>Kryza p 200</ref> |
===Death=== | ===Death=== | ||
| Line 33: | Line 33: | ||
==Legacy== | ==Legacy== | ||
| − | Kyrza says that men such as Laing changed Africa for ever. | + | Kyrza says that men such as Laing changed Africa for ever. Kryza (2006) has used Laing's correspondence to rconstruct the story of his race for Timbuktu, which he sets in the broader context of what was effectively the beginning of the [[Scramble for Africa]]. Laing's exploration ensured that the Niger river region was within the British sphere of infuence, a rich prize given the usefulnes of the [[Niger river]] for purposes of [[communication]] and [[transportaion]]. Within a century, with the exception of [[Ethiopia]], the whole of Africa was under European rule. |
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
Revision as of 00:58, 17 October 2007
Alexander Gordon Laing (December 27, 1793–September 26, 1826) was a Scottish explorer and army officer who contributed to mapping the source of the Niger and was the first European in centuries to reach Timbuktu. He was murdered before he could return to Europe to claim the prize offered by the French Geographical Society.
Biography
Laing was born at Edinburgh. He was educated by his father, William Laing, a private teacher of classics, and at Edinburgh University. After assisting his father running the Academy, and for a short time a scholl master in Newcastel, he volunteered for military service in 1809, becoming and ensign in the Prince of Wales Volunteers. In 1811 he went to Barbados as clerk to his maternal uncle Colonel (afterwards General) Gabriel Gordon, then deputy quarter-master general, hoping for a transfer to the regular army. Through General Sir George Beckwith, governor of Barbados, he obtained a commission in the York Light Infantry, He was employed in the [[West Indies]. A bout of illness followed, during which he recuperated in Scotland. He was also on half-pay during this eihteen-month period. However, by 1819 he was fully restored to health and looking to rejoin his regiment. He was promoted to a lieutenant in the Royal African Corps and despatched to Sierra Leone.
Exploring Africa
It was in 1822 that his exploits as an explorer began when he was sent by the governor Sir Charles MacCarthy, to the Mandingo country, with the double object of opening up commerce and endeavouring to abolish the slave trade in that region. Later in the same year, promoted to Captain, Laing visited Falaba, the capital of the Solimana country, and ascertained the source of the Rokell. Laing requested this mission, suggesting to the Governor that Falaba was rich in gold and ivory. He also tried to reach the source of the Niger, but was stopped by the local population within about three days distance of the source. He did, though, fix the location with approximate accuracy. He later reported that he was the first whiteman seen by the Africaans in that region. His memoir tells us of his attitude towards Africans at this point:
- Of the Timmanees he writes in his journal very unfavourably; he found them depraved, indolent, avaricious, and so deeply sunk in the debasement of the slave traffic, that the very mothers among them raised a clamour against him for refusing to buy their children. He further accuses them of dishonesty and gross indecency, and altogether wonders that a country so near Sierra Leone, should have gained so little by its proximity to a British settlement[1].
Promises by the King of Soolima to send back with him a company of traders never materialized. He returned to bas empty handed but with data on the topography.
Ashanti War
During 1823 and 1824, he took an active part in the Ashanti War, which was part of the anti-slave campaign and was sent home with the despatches containing the news of the death in action of Sir Charles MacCarthy.
While in England in 1824 he prepared a narrative of his earlier journeys, which was published in 1825 and entitled Travels in the Timannee, Kooranko and Soolima Countries, in Western Africa.
Henry, 3rd Earl Bathurst, then secretary for the colonies, instructed Captain Laing to undertake a journey, via Tripoli and Timbuktu, to further elucidate the hydrography of the Niger basin. Laing left England in February 1825, and at Tripoli on the 14th of July he married Emma Warrington, daughter of the British consul. Kryza describes him at this point as "a tall, trimly built man ... who carried himself with ... self-assurance" [2] who fell "instantly in love" with Emma.[3]. Two days later, leaving his bride behind, he started to cross the Sahara, being accompanied by a sheikh who was subsequently accused of planning his murder. Ghadames was reached, by an indirect route, in October 1825, and in December Laing was in the Tuat territory, where he was well received by the Tuareg.
Timbuktu
On the 10th of January 1826, now a Major, he left Tuat and made for the almost legendary Timbuktu, believed to be a "city of gold" across the desert of Tanezroft. He was actually taking part in a race for the fabled city, launched in 1824 when the French Geographical Society offered a prize of 10,000 frands for the first perosn to reach Timbuktu, and "live to tell the tale". [4]. The British wanted to beat the French. However, as well as commissioning Laing, they also commissioned Hugh Clapperton, expecting that the two men would co-operate. Instead, Copperton planned his own mission. This may account for lack of careful planning by Laing, whose 2,000 mile journey quickly encountered problems. His Letters written in the following May and July tell of his nsufferings from fever and of the plundering of his caravan by Tuareg, In January, 2006 his camp was attacked and Laing himself was seriosuly wounded - in twenty-four places - during the fighting. He refers to these injuries in a letter to his father-in-law dated May 10th, 2006. Another letter dated from Timbuktu on the 21st of September announced his arrival in that city on the preceding 18th of August, and the insecurity of his position owing to the hostility of the Fula chieftain Bello, then ruling the city. He added that he intended leaving Timbuktu in three days time. No further news was received from the traveller. In their dealings with African leaders, the British tended to assume that their presence in Africa would be welcome, even that territory would be ceded or trade concessions made almost as if they had an automatic right to these. On route, says Kryza, the caravan master faced a dilemma, of which Laing was propably unaware:
- On the one hand, as a traveler who was undoubdebtly rich (in Babani's eyes, all Englishmen were rich), Laing occupied a place near the top of the ladder. On the other hand, as an infidel from a country populated by unclean kafirs, Laing was lucky to be tolerated at all, and surely meritted the bottom rung.[5]
Death
Local information indicates that he left Timbuktu on the day he had planned and was murdered on the night of the 26th of September 1826. His papers were never recovered, though it is believed that they were secretly brought to Tripoli in 1828. In 1903 the French government placed a tablet bearing the name of the explorer and the date of his visit on the house occupied by him during his thirty-eight days stay in Timbuktu.
Context of his life
Africa was regarded by the European powers as ripe for commerce and colonization. Europe needed raw materials to fuel its Industrial Revolution, and Africa was an obvious source of resources. Encounter with Africans led Europeans to posit their own superiority, and soon the expolitative aim of colonization was accompanied by the conviction that by dominating Africa, they were also civilizing it. Laing's countryman, David Livingstone, who first went to Africa in 1841, set three goals, to end slavery, to convert Africans and to spread civilization. In fact, the developmental gap between Africa and Europe was not that wide. Europe's advantage lay mainly in navigation and warfare. Before Africa could be expolited, it first had to be explored. Quite a few early exploreres were missionaries but government employed explorers, such as Laing, also played key roles. Niger became contested territory between the French and the British. The region known later as Nigeria, however, became an area of British influence and eventually a colony. Laing's early explorations contributed significantly to British ambition in this area. Kryza paints a picture of Laing as a new type of explorer, who, in pursuit of a "new and glorious calling" penetrated the African interior "for the sole purpose of finding out" what was there. This soon captured the European imagination, and filled it literature. [6]. In this view, Laing fits the Orientalist mold of someone who saw Africa as something to be possessed.
Legacy
Kyrza says that men such as Laing changed Africa for ever. Kryza (2006) has used Laing's correspondence to rconstruct the story of his race for Timbuktu, which he sets in the broader context of what was effectively the beginning of the Scramble for Africa. Laing's exploration ensured that the Niger river region was within the British sphere of infuence, a rich prize given the usefulnes of the Niger river for purposes of communication and transportaion. Within a century, with the exception of Ethiopia, the whole of Africa was under European rule.
Notes
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Bovill, E. W. Missions to the Niger. Nendeln, Liechtenstein: Kraus Reprint, 1975.
- Kryza, Frank T. The Race for Timbuktu In Search of Africa's City of Gold. New York: Ecco, 2006 ISBN 9780060560645
- Laing, Alexander Gordon Travels in the Timannee, Kooranko and Soolima Countries, in Western Africa, London: John Murray, 1825; Boston, MA: Adamant Media, 2001 ISBN 978-1402173912
- Fleming, Fergus. Off the Map Tales of Endurance and Exploration. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2005, ISBN 9780871138996
- McCullin, Don. Hearts of Darkness. New York: Knopf, 1981 ISBN 9780394514765
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
External Links
- Laing at "Significant Scots" includes some of his correspindence Retrieved October 16, 2007.
- Biography at NNDB Retrieved October 16, 2007.
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