James Bruce (December 14, 1730 – April 27, 1794) was a Scottish traveller and travel writer who spent more than a dozen years in North Africa and Ethiopia, where he traced the origins of the Blue Nile. Events 1287 - St Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses killing over 50000 people Year 1730 ( MDCCXXX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 1124 - David I becomes King of Scotland. 1296 - Battle of Dunbar: The Scots are defeated Year 1794 ( MDCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Travel literature is Travel writing considered to have value as Literature. North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page The Blue Nile ( Amharic: ዓባይ transliterated ʿ Abbai, but pronounced Abbai; Arabic: النيل الأزرق transliterated
Contents |
Biography
Youth
James Bruce was born at the family seat of Kinnaird, Stirlingshire, and educated at Harrow School and Edinburgh University, and began to study for the bar; but his marriage to the daughter of a wine merchant resulted in his entering that business. Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling ( Siorrachd Sruighlea in Gaelic) is a Registration county of Scotland, based around Stirling The University of Edinburgh (Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann founded in 1582 is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. His wife died in October 1754, within nine months of marriage, and Bruce thereafter travelled in Portugal and Spain. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The examination of oriental manuscripts at the Escurial led him to the study of Arabic and Ge'ez and determined his future career. A manuscript is any Document that is Written by hand as opposed to being printed or reproduced in some other way Escurial is a village in Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Ge'ez (ግዕዝ, ɡɨʕɨz also transliterated Gi'iz, and referred to as Ethiopic) is an ancient South Semitic Language In 1758 his father's death placed him in possession of the estate of Kinnaird.
To North Africa
On the outbreak of war with Spain in 1762 he submitted to the British government a plan for an attack on Ferrol. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. This article refers to Ferrol Galicia For other uses see Ferrol (disambiguation. His suggestion was not adopted, but it led to his selection by the 2nd Earl of Halifax for the post of British consul at Algiers, with a commission to study the ancient ruins in that country, in which interest had been excited by the descriptions sent home by Thomas Shaw (1694–1751), who was consular chaplain at Algiers. George Montagu-Dunk 2nd Earl of Halifax, KG, PC ( 6 October 1716 &ndash 8 June 1771) was a British statesman of the Georgian Algiers (الجزائر Algerian Arabic: Dzayer ( (From kabyle pronunciation Kabyle: Ledzayer, Alger) is the Capital and largest Thomas Shaw is the name of several notable people Thomas Shaw 1st Baron Craigmyle, (1850-1937 Scottish politician and judge Thomas Shaw (Medal Having spent six months in Italy studying antiquities, Bruce reached Algiers in March 1763. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Year 1763 ( MDCCLXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The whole of his time was taken up with his consular duties at the piratical court of the dey, and he was kept without the assistance promised. But in August 1765, a successor in the consulate having arrived, Bruce began his exploration of the Roman ruins in Barbary. Year 1765 ( MDCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The Barbary Coast, or Barbary, was the term used by Europeans from the 16th until the 19th century to refer to the middle and western coastal regions of North Africa—what Having examined many ruins in eastern Algeria, he travelled by land from Tunis to Tripoli, and at Ptolemeta took passage for Candia; but was shipwrecked near Bengazi and had to swim ashore. Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's Tunis ( Arabic: تونس Tūnis) is the Capital of the Tunisian Republic and also the Tunis Tripolis ( Arabic: طرابلس Ṭarābulus - also طرابلس الغرب Ṭarā-bu-lus al-Gharb Libyan vernacular: Heraklion or Iraklion (Ηράκλειο Irákleio, iˈɾaklio̞ Candia is the largest city and capital of Crete. Benghazi or Bengasi ( Arabic بنغازي, transliterated Banġāzī,) is the second largest city in Libya and the He eventually reached Crete, and sailing thence to Sidon, travelled through Syria, visiting Palmyra and Baalbek. Crete ( Greek: Κρήτη transliteration: Krētē, modern transliteration Kriti) is the largest of the Greek islands and the Sidon,or Saïda, ( Arabic ar صيدا; Phoenician phoenician yodh Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Palmyra ( Arabic: تدمر Tadmor) was in ancient times an important city of central Syria, located in an Oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus Baalbek (بعلبك is a town in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude 1170 m (3850 ft situated east of the Litani River. Throughout his journeyings in Barbary and the Levant, Bruce made careful drawings of the many ruins he examined. See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the He also acquired a sufficient knowledge of medicine to enable him to pass in the East as a physician.
The Nile and Ethiopia
In June 1768 he arrived at Alexandria, having resolved to endeavour to discover the source of the Nile, which he believed to rise in Ethiopia. Alexandria ( Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه Eskendereyya; Standard Arabic: ar الإسكندرية Al-Iskandariyya; Ἀλεξάνδρεια The Nile (النيل, Ancient Egyptian iteru or Ḥ'pī, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing River NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page At Cairo he gained the support of the Mamluk ruler, Ali Bey; after visiting Thebes (where he entered the tomb of Ramesses III, KV11) he crossed the desert to Kosseir, where he embarked in the dress of a Turkish sailor. Cairo () which means "the Vanquisher" or "the Triumphant" is the capital and largest city of Egypt. Ali Bey Al-Kabir (Arabic علي بك الكبير lived 1728 &ndash May 8, 1773) was a politician and general Mamluk Sultan of Egypt Thebes ( Thēbai) was a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean on the east bank of the river Nile ( Usimare Ramses III (also written Ramesses and Rameses) was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty and is considered to be the last great Tomb KV11 is the tomb of Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses III. Al-Qusair (Arabic القصير, sometimes romanized as Al Qusayr, El Quseir, Quseir, Quesir, Qusseir, Qosseir He reached Jidda in May 1769, and after a stay in Arabia he recrossed the Red Sea and landed at Massawa, then in possession of the Turks, on September 19. Jeddah (also spelled Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda; جدّة Ǧiddah) is a Saudi Arabian city located on the coast of the Year 1769 ( MDCCLXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The Arabian Peninsula (in Arabic: شبه الجزيرة العربية šibh al-jazīra al-ʻarabīya or جزيرة العرب jazīrat al-ʻarab) The Red Sea is a Salt water Inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. Massawa, formerly known as Mitsiwa ( Ge'ez ምጽዋ miṣṣiwa, Arabic مصوع maṣṣawaʿ Events 335 - Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle Constantine I. He reached Gondar, then the capital of Ethiopia, on February 14, 1770, where he was well received by the nəgusä nägäst Tekle Haymanot II, by Ras Mikael Sehul, the real ruler of the country, by Wozoro Esther, wife of the Ras, and by the Ethiopians generally. Gondar or Gonder ( Ge'ez: ጎንደር Gōnder, older ጐንደር Gʷandar, modern pronunciation Gʷender) is a city in Events 842 - Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German Year 1770 ( MDCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Friday The Emperor ( Ge'ez: ንጉሠ ነገሥት nəgusä nägäst " King of Kings " of Ethiopia was the hereditary Tekle Haymanot II ( Ge'ez ተክለ ሃይማኖት "Plant of the faith" 1754 – 7 September 1777) was {{IPA|nəgusä nägäst}} Mikael Sehul ( Tigrinya "Mikael the Astute" – his name at birth was Blatta Mikael; c His fine presence (he was 6 ft. 4 in. . high), his knowledge of Ge'ez, his excellence in sports, his courage, resource and self-esteem, all told in his favor among a people who were in general distrustful of all foreigners. He stayed in Ethiopia for two years, gaining knowledge which enabled him subsequently to present a perfect picture of Ethiopian life. Determined to reach the source of the Blue Nile, and after recovering from malaria, in October 1770 he decides to set out again. This time he travelled with his own small party, which included Balugani (trustee of the King) and a Greek names Strates. Strates was from the Greek island of Cephalonia who was living in Ethiopia, maybe also born there. The party of James Bruce included porters as well carrying the quadrant as before. The final march was made on November 4, 1770, through charming country filled with flowering shrubs and tropical birds and with a view of vast mountains in the distance. Late in the afternoon, when they had climbed to 9,500 feet, they came on a rustic church, and the guide, pointing beyond it, indicated a little swamp with a hillock rising from the centre; that, he declared, was the source of the Nile. On November 14, 1770 he reached Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile. Events 1533 - Conquistadors from Spain under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro arrive in Cajamarca, Inca Year 1770 ( MDCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Friday Lake Tana (also spelled T'ana, Amharic: ጣና ሐይቅ Ṭānā Hāyḳ,"Lake Tana" an older variant is Tsana, Ge'ez The Blue Nile ( Amharic: ዓባይ transliterated ʿ Abbai, but pronounced Abbai; Arabic: النيل الأزرق transliterated When they reached the lake, James Bruce determined to be merry, picked up a half coconut shell he used a drinking cup. Filling it from the spring he oblidged Strates to drink a toast to "His Majesty King George III and a long line of princes" and another to "Catherine, Empress of all the Russians" - this last was a gesture to Strates' Greek origin, since Catherine (the Great) just then was attacking the Turks in he Aegean Sea. More toasts followed. Though admitting that the White Nile was the larger stream, Bruce argued that the Blue Nile was the Nile of the ancients and thus he was the discoverer of its source. The White Nile ( Arabic: النيل الأبيض transliterated: an-Nīl al-Ābyadˤ) is a River of Africa, one of the two main The Jesuit missionary Pedro Paez is widely regarded by historians as having been the first European to reach the site; Bruce, however, disputed his claim and suggested that the relevant passage in Paez's memoirs had been fabricated by Athanasius Kircher. The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order Pedro Páez or Pêro Pais ( 1564 - May 25, 1622) was a Jesuit Missionary in Ethiopia. Athanasius Kircher (sometimes erroneously spelled Kirchner) was a 17th century German Jesuit Scholar who published around 40 works most On the other side, it would be more appropriate to accept the fact that Strates the Greek have been a European who lived in Ethiopia before James Bruce and he was the one who led James Bruce to the source of the Nile. Strates the Greek therefore must securely be the first European who discovered the source of the Blue Nile. This is based on Alan Moorehead's Blue Nile, p. 32-34
The Return
Setting out from Gondar in December 1771, Bruce made his way, in spite of enormous difficulties, by Sennar to Nubia, being the first to trace the Blue Nile to its confluence with the White Nile. Year 1771 ( MDCCLXXI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The Funj sultanate of Sinnar, also Sennar, was a Sultanate in the north of Sudan, named Funj after the ethnic group of its dynasty or Sinnar (or Sennar This article is about the region in Africa for other uses see Nubia (disambiguation. On November 29, 1772 he reached Aswan, presently returning to the desert to recover his journals and his baggage, which had been abandoned in consequence of the death of all his camels. Events 1777 - San Jose California, is founded as el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe Year 1772 ( MDCCLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Aswan (formerly spelled Assuan (in standard أسوان Aswān) Egyptian: Swenet ( trade) Coptic: Swān; Greek Cairo was reached in January 1773, and in March Bruce arrived in France, where he was welcomed by Buffon and other savants. Year 1773 ( MDCCLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Georges-Louis Leclerc fr Comte de Buffon ( September 7, 1707 April 16, 1788) was a French naturalist, mathematician biologist He came to London in 1774, but, offended by the incredulity with which his story was received, retired to his home at Kinnaird. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Year 1774 ( MDCCLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a It was not until 1790 that, urged by his friend Daines Barrington, he published his Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772 and 1773, but was assailed by other travellers as being unworthy of credence. Daines Barrington, FRS (1727 – 14 March 1800 was an English Lawyer, Antiquary and naturalist Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile In the Years 1768 1769 1770 1771 1772 and 1773 is an multi-volume account of the Scottish traveller James Bruce of The substantial accuracy of his Abyssinian travels has since been demonstrated, and it is considered that he made a real addition to the geographical knowledge of his day.
Legacy
- Several of Bruce's drawings were presented to King George III and are in the royal collection at Windsor Castle. George III (George William Frederick 4 June 1738 George III's long reign was marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdom much of the rest of Europe and places Windsor Castle, in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, is the largest inhabited Castle in the world and dating back to the time of
- Bruce was the first to ever use the word "Wonderland" thus predating Lewis Carroll.
- Bruce's travels and discoveries inspired the founders of the British African Association (1788) in their efforts to promote exploration to discover the course of the Niger and the city of Timbuktu. The Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa (commonly known as the African Association) founded in London on June 9 Niger ( or /ˈnaɪdʒɚ/) officially the Republic of Niger, is a Landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. Timbuktu ( Timbuctoo; Koyra Chiini: Tumbutu; French: Tombouctou) is a city in Tombouctou Region, in the West African
Biographies
- Major (afterwards Sir Francis) Head, editor of an abridgment of the Travels, wrote the well-informed Life of Bruce (London, 1830). Sir Francis Bond Head 1st Baronet KCH PC ( 1 January 1793 &ndash 20 July 1875) known as "Galloping Head" was
- The best 19th Century account of Bruce's travels is contained in Sir R. Lambert Playfair's Travels in the Footsteps of Bruce (London, 1877), in which a selection of his drawings was published for the first time.
- Bredin, Miles (2001), The Pale Abyssinian: A Life of James Bruce, African Explorer and Adventurer, Flamingo.
References
- Bruce, James, Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, In the Years 1768, 1769,1770, 1771, 1772 and 1773. Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile In the Years 1768 1769 1770 1771 1772 and 1773 is an multi-volume account of the Scottish traveller James Bruce of Five Volumes, G. G. J. and J. Robinson, London, 1790.
- Bruce, James, Travels. Abridged edition. Horizon Press, New York, 1964.
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
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