Eduard Vogel
Encyclopedia
Eduard Vogel was a German
explorer
in Central Africa
.
. He studied mathematics
, botany
and astronomy
at Leipzig
and Berlin
, studying with Encke
at the latter institution. In 1851, he was engaged as assistant astronomer to director John Russel Hind at George Bishop's private observatory
in London
. That year August Heinrich Petermann
introduced Vogel to the Royal Geographical Society
.
, Overweg
and Barth
expedition with supplies. That expedition had been sent to Africa
in 1849 to find a trade route that bypassed the Arabs. Vogel was to be a replacement for Richardson who had died two years earlier and was tasked to make geographical
and meteorological
observations and to collect botanical specimens. In 1853, the expedition was in the western Sudan
.
Vogel sailed from England, 20 February 1853. The day Vogel left London, news had arrived that Overweg had also died, leaving Barth on his own.
with a caravan
to catch up with Barth. Vogel arrived at the end of the Trans-Saharan trade route
, Kuka
, the capital of Bornu
on 13 January 1854. Vogel's specimens, and the fact that both expedition engineers were soldiers, made the king there suspicious of his intentions, and Vogel's movements were severely restricted.
Instead of waiting for Barth to return, on July 19, Vogel joined a steamboat
expedition heading up the Niger
and Benue River
s to the Mandara Mountains
where he was imprisoned by the king of Mora
who had received a message about the suspicious stranger from Bornu. Vogel eventually escaped to Marghi in Nigeria
where he waited for news of Barth.
Upon hearing of a change of king in Bornu, Vogel returned to wait for Barth, who he met December 1854.
By some accounts Vogel was disliked by the other members of the expedition due to his poor attitude, difficult personality and unwillingness to learn Arabic, the lingua franca
of north Africa. The arrival of Barth helped defuse some of the conflict, although one of the two engineers refused to travel any further while Vogel was part of the expedition. Barth himself contemplated getting rid of Vogel and stealing his equipment.
where he ingratiated himself with the Emir
by killing a man the Emir disliked. He then became the first European to cross the Muri mountains angering the Tangale
people in the process as he desecrated their shrines by sleeping in them during the journey. He penetrated south to the upper course of the Benue, returning to Kuka 1 December 1855. From this date, the notes of his expedition cease.
) in southern Sudan. MacGuire may have known of Vogel's fate but was killed by brigands
while returning to Tripoli. Several search expeditions were organized to ascertain Vogel's fate and to recover his papers, but it was not until 1873 that Gustav Nachtigal
, on reaching Wadai, learnt of the circumstances of Vogel's February 1856 death in Wara, the capital of Wadai.
Nachtigal's account was that Vogel's odd habit of existing almost solely on eggs and writing with a pencil
rather than the expected ink was of concern to the Sultan
's advisors who had advised the Sultan to kill him "just in case". The sultan was hesitant but Vogel then climbed Mount Treya which was sacred and off limits to all but the highest officials. Vogel was beaten to death by Kubartu with iron tipped cudgels. According to Nachtigal, Kubartu were a Wadai clan consisting of musicians and executioners.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
explorer
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
in Central Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
Early career
Vogel was born in KrefeldKrefeld
Krefeld , also known as Crefeld until 1929, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its centre lying just a few kilometres to the west of the River Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine...
. He studied mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
and astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
at Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
and Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
, studying with Encke
Johann Franz Encke
Johann Franz Encke was a German astronomer. Among his activities, he worked on the calculation of the periods of comets and asteroids, measured the distance from the earth to the sun, and made observations on the planet Saturn.-Biography:Encke was born in Hamburg, where his father was a...
at the latter institution. In 1851, he was engaged as assistant astronomer to director John Russel Hind at George Bishop's private observatory
Regent's Park
Regent's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the north-western part of central London, partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. That year August Heinrich Petermann
August Heinrich Petermann
August Heinrich Petermann was a German cartographer.-Early years:Petermann was born in Bleicherode, Germany. When he was 14 years old he started grammar school in the nearby town of Nordhausen...
introduced Vogel to the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
.
Africa commission
In 1853 Petermann arranged for Vogel to be chosen by the British government to join the RichardsonJames Richardson (explorer of the Sahara)
James Richardson Richardson made an expedition in 1845 from Tunis and Tripoli in Libya to Ghadames and Ghat in the middle of the Sahara. Here he collected information about the Tuareg and arrived after nine months back again in Tripoli...
, Overweg
Adolf Overweg
Adolf Overweg was a German geologist, astronomer, and traveler from Hamburg. As a member of a mission to fix trade routes in Central Africa he became the first person of European origin to circumnavigate Lake Chad...
and Barth
Heinrich Barth
Heinrich Barth was a German explorer of Africa and scholar.Barth is one of the greatest of the European explorers of Africa, not necessarily because of the length of his travels or the time he spent alone without European company in Africa, but because of his singular character.-Biography:Barth...
expedition with supplies. That expedition had been sent to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
in 1849 to find a trade route that bypassed the Arabs. Vogel was to be a replacement for Richardson who had died two years earlier and was tasked to make geographical
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
and meteorological
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
observations and to collect botanical specimens. In 1853, the expedition was in the western Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
.
Vogel sailed from England, 20 February 1853. The day Vogel left London, news had arrived that Overweg had also died, leaving Barth on his own.
Meeting Barth
On 25 July, Vogel left TripoliTripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
with a caravan
Camel train
A camel train is a series of camels carrying goods or passengers in a group as part of a regular or semi-regular service between two points. Although they rarely travelled faster than the walking speed of a man, camels' ability to handle harsh conditions made camel trains a vital part of...
to catch up with Barth. Vogel arrived at the end of the Trans-Saharan trade route
Trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade requires travel across the Sahara to reach sub-Saharan Africa. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the late 16th century.- Increasing desertification and economic incentive :...
, Kuka
Kuka
Kuka may refer to:*KUKA, a German based manufacturer of industrial robots*The Namdhari sect of Sikhism*Pavel Kuka *The Kuka people, a Chadian ethnic group*Kukawa, a town in Borno State, Nigeria*Kuka is also a nickname....
, the capital of Bornu
Bornu Empire
The Bornu Empire was an African state of Nigeria from 1396 to 1893. It was a continuation of the great Kanem Empire founded centuries earlier by the Sayfawa Dynasty...
on 13 January 1854. Vogel's specimens, and the fact that both expedition engineers were soldiers, made the king there suspicious of his intentions, and Vogel's movements were severely restricted.
Instead of waiting for Barth to return, on July 19, Vogel joined a steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
expedition heading up the Niger
Niger River
The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...
and Benue River
Benue River
The Benue River is the major tributary of the Niger River. The river is approximately 1,400 km long and is almost entirely navigable during the summer months...
s to the Mandara Mountains
Mandara Mountains
The Mandara Mountains are a volcanic range extending about 200km along the northern part of the Cameroon-Nigeria border, from the Benue River in the south to the north-west of Maroua in the north . The highest elevation is 1,494 m , the summit of Mount Oupay .The region is densely populated,...
where he was imprisoned by the king of Mora
Maroua
Maroua is the capital of the Far North Region of Cameroon, on the Ferngo and Kaliao Rivers. The city had 201,371 inhabitants at the 2005 Census,and is a centre of cotton industry. The city also has an airport located near the town of Salak, an agricultural school and ethnographic museum. To the...
who had received a message about the suspicious stranger from Bornu. Vogel eventually escaped to Marghi in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
where he waited for news of Barth.
Upon hearing of a change of king in Bornu, Vogel returned to wait for Barth, who he met December 1854.
By some accounts Vogel was disliked by the other members of the expedition due to his poor attitude, difficult personality and unwillingness to learn Arabic, the lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
of north Africa. The arrival of Barth helped defuse some of the conflict, although one of the two engineers refused to travel any further while Vogel was part of the expedition. Barth himself contemplated getting rid of Vogel and stealing his equipment.
Further exploration
Vogel left Barth, and taking one engineer and four servants headed for BauchiBauchi
Bauchi is a city in northeast Nigeria, the capital of Bauchi State, of the Bauchi Local Government Area within that State, and of the traditional Bauchi Emirate. The city has a population of 316,173...
where he ingratiated himself with the Emir
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...
by killing a man the Emir disliked. He then became the first European to cross the Muri mountains angering the Tangale
Gombe, Nigeria
Gombe is a city in northeastern Nigeria . It is the capital city of Gombe State and has an estimated population of 261,536. The city is the headquarters of the Gombe Emirate, a traditional state that covers most of Gombe State...
people in the process as he desecrated their shrines by sleeping in them during the journey. He penetrated south to the upper course of the Benue, returning to Kuka 1 December 1855. From this date, the notes of his expedition cease.
Death
Vogel left Kuka for the Nile Valley, leaving his engineer, MacGuire, with his notes and specimen collections. Vogel got as far as Wadai (also spelled OuaddaiOuaddai Kingdom
The Ouaddai Empire was originally a non-Muslim kingdom, located to the east of Lake Chad in present-day Chad...
) in southern Sudan. MacGuire may have known of Vogel's fate but was killed by brigands
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
while returning to Tripoli. Several search expeditions were organized to ascertain Vogel's fate and to recover his papers, but it was not until 1873 that Gustav Nachtigal
Gustav Nachtigal
Gustav Nachtigal was a German explorer of Central and West Africa. He is further known as the German Empire's consul-general for Tunisia and Commissioner for West Africa. His mission as commissioner resulted in Togoland and Kamerun becoming the first colonies of a German colonial empire...
, on reaching Wadai, learnt of the circumstances of Vogel's February 1856 death in Wara, the capital of Wadai.
Nachtigal's account was that Vogel's odd habit of existing almost solely on eggs and writing with a pencil
Pencil
A pencil is a writing implement or art medium usually constructed of a narrow, solid pigment core inside a protective casing. The case prevents the core from breaking, and also from marking the user’s hand during use....
rather than the expected ink was of concern to the Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
's advisors who had advised the Sultan to kill him "just in case". The sultan was hesitant but Vogel then climbed Mount Treya which was sacred and off limits to all but the highest officials. Vogel was beaten to death by Kubartu with iron tipped cudgels. According to Nachtigal, Kubartu were a Wadai clan consisting of musicians and executioners.