Paul Erdmann Isert (1756-January 21, 1789) was a German botanist. Year 1756 ( MDCCLVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 1189 - Philip II of France and Richard I of England begin to assemble troops to wage the Third Crusade. Year 1789 ( MDCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Botany, plant science(s, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of Biology and is the scientific study of plant Life Isert was born in Angermünde/Brandenburg, but educated in Denmark. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe He was the first scientist to identify the Violet Turaco, Musophaga violacea. The Violet Turaco ( Musophaga violacea) is a large Turaco, a group of African Near-passerines It is a resident breeder in the forests of tropical He is also known for his attempts to end the Danish-Norwegian slave trade. Denmark–Norway ( Danish: Danmark-Norge Norwegian: Danmark-Norge or Danmark-Noreg is the historiographical name for a former political entity union As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another
He was appointed Chief Surgeon to Christiansborg (Osu, Accra) in Danish Guinea, arriving there in 1783. The Danish Gold Coast was a part of the Gold Coast (roughly present-day Ghana) which is on the West African Gulf of Guinea (hence the territory Year 1783 ( MDCCLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or He obtained this position even though he was very young, because it was a job no one wanted. At the time the average life expectancy of European expats to the area was only a few months.
After a few years in Christiansborg, Isert signed on as a physician aboard a slave ship. Slave ships were cargo Ships specially converted for the purpose of transporting slaves, especially newly purchased African slaves En route from Danish Guinea, on the second day at sea, he witnessed a slave rebellion on the open sea, which almost cost him his life. The cargo of 452 blacks rose against the whites, with a resulting loss of 34 of their number and 2 of the crew wounded after a heated battle. In the West Indies, he visited Saint Croix, Saint. Thomas, Saint John, Guadeloupe and Martinique. Saint Thomas is an Island in the Caribbean Sea, a County and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI an unincorporated DSC00835JPG|thumb|250px| Trunk Bay Beach in St John US Virgin Islands. Guadeloupe is an island group or Archipelago located in the eastern Caribbean Sea at, with a land area of 1628 square kilometres (629 sq Martinique is an Island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, having a land area of 1128 km²
Sickened by the horror and human misery he saw, both in the slave-processing bins of Christiansborg and aboard the ship, Isert came up with an alternative to the abhorrent practice of slavery. He found it not only inhumane, cruel and immoral, but also absurdly stupid. In a letter sent from Saint Croix in 1787 to his father, Isert asked these questions:
- "Why did our forefathers not have the sense to found plantations right there on the fertile continent of Africa; plantations for sugar, coffee, cacao, cotton and other articles that had become so necessary in Europe. Year 1787 ( MDCCLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
- "Had we gone to Africa with the leaf of the olive tree in our hands rather than weapons of murder, willingly would the natives have given us access to the best and most fertile parts of their lands, areas which for untold years had been lying desolate. Why was not our approach more Christian, more intelligent and humane? Why?
- "These African people would have helped us in freedom and, for low wages would have given us greatness and riches with no offense against nature, or our personal and national consciences.
- "Why did we have to uproot vast numbers of people from their homelands, subject them to agony, torture, humiliation, and death; transplant them to alien continents, Caribbean islands, big and small? Why?"
Isert wanted to demonstrate that the establishment of working plantations on the continent of Africa could be practical and profitable. To this end, he enlisted the aid of Ernst Heinrich Schimmelmann, who was then the Danish-Norwegian Minister of Finance. Schimmelmann, a well-known and well-off liberal, who was instrumental in the passage of the law ending the Danish-Norwegian slave trade, agreed to finance Isert's endeavor.
In 1788, Isert published his famous book Reise nach Guinea und den Caribäischen Inseln in Columbia (Journey to Guinea and the Caribbean Islands in Columbia), wherein he described his experiences with and his views on the slave trade. Year 1788 ( MDCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap Later in the summer, he sailed for Africa and established a crown plantation, Frederiksnopel, near Akropong in the fertile and cool Akwapim Hills reminiscent of the Mediterranean, purchasing the land from the Akwapim chief, Nana Obuobi Atiemo, on behalf of the King Christian VII of Denmark. Akropong is a town in Ghana. It is the capital of Akwapim North District. Christian VII ( January 29, 1749 - March 13, 1808) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his Isert had once tended the chief's sister and subsequently the African and the European had become good friends.
With the help of Nana Obuobi Atiemo, who shared Isert's enthusiasm about the plan, paid workers cleared the land and began cultivation of sugar and coffee.
On January 16, 1789, Isert wrote a report to the King of Denmark in which he expressed the fine initial success that he was enjoying. Events 27 BC - The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate. Year 1789 ( MDCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Isert and his family died on January 21, 1789, just five days after writing the report. At first it was believed that Isert had died from a tropical fever. However, it was later revealed that he and his family had been murdered by corrupt government officials and their henchmen at Christiansborg, who were not adverse to the idea of ending the slave trade.
Isert's assistants attempted to carry on the project at Frederiksnopel and even founded less successful plantations, like Frederiksgave near Kpompo, on the less fertile plain between Accra and the hills.
Convinced of the feasibility of the plantations, an edict was issued in the name of King Christian VII by his son Prince Frederick (who was then Regent because of his father's mental illness) on 16 March 1792 and came into effect on 1 January 1803. Frederick VI ( January 28, 1768 - December 3, 1839) reigned as King of Denmark from 1808 to 1839 and as king of Norway Denmark-Norway thus bears the honour of being the first established sovereign state to prohibit the slave trade. But ultimately, the experimental plantations proved to be unsuccessful. Denmark-Norway's African business partners were suppressed by the Ashanti and the plantations were eventually abandoned.
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