Hugh Clapperton
Encyclopedia
Hugh Clapperton was a Scottish
traveller and explorer of West and Central Africa
.
He was born in Annan, Dumfriesshire, where his father was a surgeon. He gained some knowledge of practical mathematics and navigation, and at thirteen was apprenticed on board a vessel which traded between Liverpool
and North America
. After having made several voyages across the Atlantic Ocean
, he was impressed for the navy, in which he soon rose to the rank of midshipman
. During the Napoleonic Wars
he saw a good deal of active service, and at the storming of Port Louis, Mauritius, in November 1810, he was first in the breach and hauled down the French
flag.
In 1814 he went to Canada
, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and to the command of a schooner on the Canadian lakes. In 1817, when the flotilla on the lakes was dismantled, he returned home on half-pay
. In 1820 Clapperton removed to Edinburgh
, where he made the acquaintance of Walter Oudney
, who aroused his interest in African travel.
Lieutenant G. F. Lyon, having returned from an unsuccessful attempt to reach Bornu
from Tripoli
, the British government determined on a second expedition to that country. Walter Oudney was appointed by Lord Bathurst, then colonial secretary, to proceed to Bornu as consul, accompanied by Hugh Clapperton . From Tripoli, early in 1822, they set out southward to Murzuk
, where they were later joined by Dixon Denham
, who found both men in a wretched condition. Eventually proceeding south from Murzuk on 29 November 1822, a great antipathy soon developed between Clapperton and Denham, Denham at one stage openly accusing Clapperton of having homosexual relations with one of the Arab servant boys. The accusation was almost certainly unfounded, leading the historian E W Bovill to write that "it remains difficult to recall in all the checkered (sic) history of geographic discovery.... a more odious man than Dixon Denham".
The party eventually reached Kuka (now Kukawa
in Nigeria
) on 17 February 1823, having earlier become the first white men to see Lake Chad
. Whilst at Kuka, Clapperton and Oudney parted company with Denham to visit the Hausa
states. Denham remained behind to explore and survey the western, south and south-eastern shores of Lake Chad
, and the lower courses of the rivers Waube, Logone and Shari
. Clapperton and Oudney reached Bornu
where they were well received by the sultan, and after remaining in the region until 14 December, they again set out for the purpose of exploring the course of the Niger River
.
However only a few weeks later, Oudney died at Murmur http://travelingluck.com/Africa/Nigeria/Nigeria%20(general)/_2329689_Murmur.html#local_map on the road to Kano
. Undeterred, Clapperton continued his journey alone through Kano to Sokoto
, the capital of the Fulani Empire, where by order of Sultan Bello
he was obliged to stop, though the Niger was only a five day journey to the west. Exhausted by his travels, he returned by way of Zaria
and Katsina
to Kuka, where Denham found him barely recognizable after his privations. Denham departed Kuka alone for Tripoli in August, 1824; Clapperton followed, reaching Tripoli on 26 January, 1825. An account of his travels was published in under the title of Narrative of Travels and Discoveries in Northern and Central Africa in the years 1822 - 1823 and 1824 (1826).
Immediately after his return to England, Clapperton was raised to the rank of commander, and sent out with another expedition to Africa, the sultan Bello of Sokoto having professed his eagerness to open up trade with the west coast. Clapperton came out on HMS Brazen
, which was joining the West Africa Squadron
for the suppression of the slave trade. He landed at Badagry
in the Bight of Benin
, and started overland for the Niger on 7 December 1825, having with him his servant Richard Lemon Lander
, Captain Pearce, and Dr. Morrison, navy surgeon and naturalist. Before the month was out Pearce and Morrison were dead of fever. Clapperton continued his journey, and, passing through the Yoruba
country, in January 1826 he crossed the Niger at Bussa
, the spot where Mungo Park
had died twenty years before. In July he arrived at Kano. From there he went to Sokoto, intending afterwards to go to Bornu. The sultan, however, detained him, and being seized with dysentery
he died near Sokoto.
Clapperton was the first European to make known from personal observation the Hausa states, which he visited soon after the establishment of the Sokoto Caliphate by the Fula. In 1829 the Journal of a Second Expedition into the Interior of Africa, &c., by Clapperton appeared posthumously, with a biographical sketch of the explorer by his uncle, Lieutenant-Colonel S. Clapperton, as a preface.
Richard Lemon Lander
, who had brought back the journal of his master, also published Records of Captain Clapperton's Last Expedition to Africa . . . with the subsequent Adventures of the Author (2 volumes, London, 1830).
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
traveller and explorer of West and 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...
.
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. After having made several voyages across the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, he was impressed for the navy, in which he soon rose to the rank of midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
. During the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
he saw a good deal of active service, and at the storming of Port Louis, Mauritius, in November 1810, he was first in the breach and hauled down the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
flag.
In 1814 he went to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and to the command of a schooner on the Canadian lakes. In 1817, when the flotilla on the lakes was dismantled, he returned home on half-pay
Half-pay
In the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, half-pay referred to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service....
. In 1820 Clapperton removed to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, where he made the acquaintance of Walter Oudney
Walter Oudney
Walter Oudney was a Scottish physician and African explorer.In 1817 he received his medical doctorate at Edinburgh. A few years afterwards he was appointed by the British government as consul for promotion of trade to the Kingdom of Bornu in sub-Saharan Africa...
, who aroused his interest in African travel.
Lieutenant G. F. Lyon, having returned from an unsuccessful attempt to reach Bornu
Bornu
Bornu may refer to:* Bornu Empire, a historical state of West Africa* Borno State, Nigeria...
from Tripoli
Tripoli
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...
, the British government determined on a second expedition to that country. Walter Oudney was appointed by Lord Bathurst, then colonial secretary, to proceed to Bornu as consul, accompanied by Hugh Clapperton . From Tripoli, early in 1822, they set out southward to Murzuk
Murzuk
Murzuk is an oasis town and the capital of the Murzuq District in the Fezzan region of southwest Libya. Murzuk lies on the northern edge of the Murzuq Desert, a desert of ergs or great sand dunes, and section of the Sahara Desert.-History:...
, where they were later joined by Dixon Denham
Dixon Denham
Dixon Denham was an English explorer in West Central Africa.Denham was born in London. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, and was articled to a solicitor, but joined the army in 1811...
, who found both men in a wretched condition. Eventually proceeding south from Murzuk on 29 November 1822, a great antipathy soon developed between Clapperton and Denham, Denham at one stage openly accusing Clapperton of having homosexual relations with one of the Arab servant boys. The accusation was almost certainly unfounded, leading the historian E W Bovill to write that "it remains difficult to recall in all the checkered (sic) history of geographic discovery.... a more odious man than Dixon Denham".
The party eventually reached Kuka (now Kukawa
Kukawa
Kukawa is a town and Local Government Area in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno, close to Lake Chad.The town was founded in 1814 as capital of the Kanem-Bornu Empire by the Muslim scholar and warlord Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi after the fall of the previous capital, Ngazargamu, conquered in...
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...
) on 17 February 1823, having earlier become the first white men to see Lake Chad
Lake Chad
Lake Chad is a historically large, shallow, endorheic lake in Africa, whose size has varied over the centuries. According to the Global Resource Information Database of the United Nations Environment Programme, it shrank as much as 95% from about 1963 to 1998; yet it also states that "the 2007 ...
. Whilst at Kuka, Clapperton and Oudney parted company with Denham to visit the Hausa
Hausa people
The Hausa are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. They are a Sahelian people chiefly located in northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger, but having significant numbers living in regions of Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Chad and Sudan...
states. Denham remained behind to explore and survey the western, south and south-eastern shores of Lake Chad
Lake Chad
Lake Chad is a historically large, shallow, endorheic lake in Africa, whose size has varied over the centuries. According to the Global Resource Information Database of the United Nations Environment Programme, it shrank as much as 95% from about 1963 to 1998; yet it also states that "the 2007 ...
, and the lower courses of the rivers Waube, Logone and Shari
Chari River
The Chari or Shari River is a 949-kilometer-long river of central Africa. It flows from the Central African Republic through Chad into Lake Chad, following the Cameroon border from N'Djamena, where it joins the Logone River waters....
. Clapperton and Oudney reached Bornu
Bornu
Bornu may refer to:* Bornu Empire, a historical state of West Africa* Borno State, Nigeria...
where they were well received by the sultan, and after remaining in the region until 14 December, they again set out for the purpose of exploring the course of the Niger River
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...
.
However only a few weeks later, Oudney died at Murmur http://travelingluck.com/Africa/Nigeria/Nigeria%20(general)/_2329689_Murmur.html#local_map on the road to Kano
Kano
Kano is a city in Nigeria and the capital of Kano State in Northern Nigeria. Its metropolitan population is the second largest in Nigeria after Lagos. The Kano Urban area covers 137 sq.km and comprises six Local Government Area - Kano Municipal, Fagge, Dala, Gwale, Tarauni and Nassarawa - with a...
. Undeterred, Clapperton continued his journey alone through Kano to Sokoto
Sokoto
Sokoto is a city located in the extreme northwest of Nigeria, near to the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006 it has a population of 427,760...
, the capital of the Fulani Empire, where by order of Sultan Bello
Ahmadu Bello
Sir Ahmadu Bello was a Nigerian politician, and was the first premier of the Northern Nigeria region from 1954-1966. He was one of the prominent leaders in Northern Nigeria alongside Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, both of whom were prominent in negotiations about the region's place in an independent...
he was obliged to stop, though the Niger was only a five day journey to the west. Exhausted by his travels, he returned by way of Zaria
Zaria
Zaria may refer to:*Zaria, a city in Kaduna State, Nigeria*Zaria , or Zoria, the Slavic goddess of beauty*Countess Zaria of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg, a member of the Dutch royal family...
and Katsina
Katsina
Katsina is a city , and a Local Government Area in northern Nigeria, and is the capital of Katsina State. Katsina is located some 160 miles east of the city of Sokoto, and 84 miles northwest of Kano, close to the border with Niger. As of 2007, Katsina's estimated population was 459,022...
to Kuka, where Denham found him barely recognizable after his privations. Denham departed Kuka alone for Tripoli in August, 1824; Clapperton followed, reaching Tripoli on 26 January, 1825. An account of his travels was published in under the title of Narrative of Travels and Discoveries in Northern and Central Africa in the years 1822 - 1823 and 1824 (1826).
Immediately after his return to England, Clapperton was raised to the rank of commander, and sent out with another expedition to Africa, the sultan Bello of Sokoto having professed his eagerness to open up trade with the west coast. Clapperton came out on HMS Brazen
HMS Brazen (1808)
HMS Brazen was a Bittern-class 28-gun Royal Navy ship sloop, launched in 1808.Though she served during the Napoleonic Wars, she appears to have missed any combat whatsoever and to have taken few prizes in that conflict...
, which was joining the West Africa Squadron
West Africa Squadron
The Royal Navy established the West Africa Squadron at substantial expense in 1808 after Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act of 1807. The squadron's task was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa...
for the suppression of the slave trade. He landed at Badagry
Badagry
Badagry is a coastal town and Local Government Area in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is situated between Metropolitan Lagos, and the border with Benin at Seme...
in the Bight of Benin
Bight of Benin
The Bight of Benin is a bight on the western African coast that extends eastward for about 400 miles from Cape St. Paul to the Nun outlet of the Niger River. To the east it is continued by the Bight of Bonny . The bight is part of the Gulf of Guinea...
, and started overland for the Niger on 7 December 1825, having with him his servant Richard Lemon Lander
Richard Lemon Lander
Richard Lemon Lander was a Cornish explorer of western Africa.-Biography:Lander was the son of a Truro innkeeper, born in the Daniell Arms. Lander's explorations began as an assistant to the Scottish explorer Hugh Clapperton on an expedition to Western Africa in 1825...
, Captain Pearce, and Dr. Morrison, navy surgeon and naturalist. Before the month was out Pearce and Morrison were dead of fever. Clapperton continued his journey, and, passing through the Yoruba
Yoruba people
The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...
country, in January 1826 he crossed the Niger at Bussa
Bussa
Bussa was an African-born Barbadian slave who in 1816 led a slave uprising in Barbados popularly known as Bussa's Rebellion. Bussa was born a free man in Africa, possibly of Igbo origin, and was captured by African slave merchants, sold to the British, and brought to Barbados in the late 18th...
, the spot where Mungo Park
Mungo Park (explorer)
Mungo Park was a Scottish explorer of the African continent. He was credited as being the first Westerner to encounter the Niger River.-Early life:...
had died twenty years before. In July he arrived at Kano. From there he went to Sokoto, intending afterwards to go to Bornu. The sultan, however, detained him, and being seized with dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
he died near Sokoto.
Clapperton was the first European to make known from personal observation the Hausa states, which he visited soon after the establishment of the Sokoto Caliphate by the Fula. In 1829 the Journal of a Second Expedition into the Interior of Africa, &c., by Clapperton appeared posthumously, with a biographical sketch of the explorer by his uncle, Lieutenant-Colonel S. Clapperton, as a preface.
Richard Lemon Lander
Richard Lemon Lander
Richard Lemon Lander was a Cornish explorer of western Africa.-Biography:Lander was the son of a Truro innkeeper, born in the Daniell Arms. Lander's explorations began as an assistant to the Scottish explorer Hugh Clapperton on an expedition to Western Africa in 1825...
, who had brought back the journal of his master, also published Records of Captain Clapperton's Last Expedition to Africa . . . with the subsequent Adventures of the Author (2 volumes, London, 1830).