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Joseph Thomson (explorer)
Encyclopedia
Joseph Thomson was a Scottish
geologist
and explorer who played an important part in the Scramble for Africa
. Thomson's Gazelle
is named for him. Excelling as an explorer rather than an exact scientist, he avoided confrontations among his porters or with indigenous peoples, neither killing any native nor losing any of his men to violence. His motto is often quoted to be "He who goes gently, goes safely; he who goes safely, goes far."
, Dumfriesshire
, he was apprenticed into his father's stone
-masonry
and quarry
ing business. He developed a keen amateur interest in geology and botany
which eventually led to his formal education at the University of Edinburgh
, studying under Archibald Geikie
and Thomas Henry Huxley.
to Alexander Keith Johnston
's Royal Geographical Society
expedition to establish a route from Dar es Salaam
to Lake Nyasa and Lake Tanganyika
. Johnston perished during the trip and it was left to Thomson to take over the leadership. Thomson successfully led the expedition over 3000 miles in 14 months, collecting many specimens and making sundry observations.
In 1883, he embarked on a further Royal Geological Society expedition to explore a route from the eastern coast of Africa to the northern shores of Lake Victoria
. British Empire
traders were demanding a route that would avoid the fearsome Maasai and the hostile Germans
who were competing for trade in the area. The expedition set out a few months behind the rival German expedition of Gustav A. Fischer. The expedition was again a success demonstrating the feasibility of the route and making many important biological, geological and ethnographic
observations, though Thomson's attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro
in a day failed. However, on the return journey, Thomson was gored by a buffalo
and subsequently suffered from malaria
and dysentery
.
He recovered in time to give a sensational account of his experiences at a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society in November 1884. His book Through Masai Land followed in January 1885 and was a best-seller. One of the first to read it was the young Henry Rider Haggard. Imagination fired by Thomson's expedition, Haggard promptly wrote a book of his own, King Solomon's Mines
. Thomson was outraged. He had provided the first credible reports of snow-capped mountains on the Equator and had terrified the Maasai warriors by removing his false teeth and claiming to be a magician. Captain Good did the same in King Solomon's Mines, encountering snow on the mountains and then frightening the Kukuana tribe by removing his teeth. Thomson wrote a novel of his own: Ulu - an African romance, but it failed to sell.
influence in the vicinity of the Niger River
, but returned the following year to the UK to lecture, disillusioned that there were no further opportunities for large-scale exploration in the continent. He was discontented with his life in the UK and struggled to identify new opportunities for exploration. A modest expedition to the Atlas Mountains
of Morocco
was marred by trouble with porters and local political difficulties. He spent a month in 1889 traveling in central Europe with budding author J. M. Barrie
.
and gain treaties
and mining concessions
from chiefs on behalf of his British South Africa Company
which had been chartered by the British Government
to claim the territory known as Zambezia
(later Rhodesia, modern day Zimbabwe
and Zambia
) as far north as the African Great Lakes
. Though he made a sequence of important treaties on the trip, he was blocked by a smallpox
epidemic in the intervening country from reaching the ultimate goal, which was to meet Alfred Sharpe
at the court of Msiri, King of Katanga
, and to assist Sharpe in incorporating the mineral-rich country by treaty into Zambezia. Thomson's role was to bring supplies of cloth, gunpowder, and other gifts with which to impress Msiri. Without them, Sharpe was rebuffed, and a year later the Stairs Expedition, believing itself to be in race with another attempt by Thomson to reach Katanga, killed Msiri and took Katanga for King Leopold II of Belgium
. Unknown to the Stairs Expedition, by this time Thomson had been instructed by the British government not to go.
, schistosomiasis
, and pyelo-nephritis
. In 1892, he contracted pneumonia
and, seeking the right climate in which to recuperate, spent time in England
, South Africa
, Italy
, and France
. He died in London.
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...
geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
and explorer who played an important part in the Scramble for Africa
Scramble for Africa
The Scramble for Africa, also known as the Race for Africa or Partition of Africa was a process of invasion, occupation, colonization and annexation of African territory by European powers during the New Imperialism period, between 1881 and World War I in 1914...
. Thomson's Gazelle
Thomson's Gazelle
The Thomson's gazelle is one of the best-known gazelles. It is named after explorer Joseph Thomson and, as a result, is sometimes referred to as a "tommie"...
is named for him. Excelling as an explorer rather than an exact scientist, he avoided confrontations among his porters or with indigenous peoples, neither killing any native nor losing any of his men to violence. His motto is often quoted to be "He who goes gently, goes safely; he who goes safely, goes far."
Early life
Born in PenpontPenpont
Penpont is a small village in the region of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, two miles west of Thornhill.It is situated near the confluence of the Shinnel Water and Scaur Water rivers in the foothills of the Southern Uplands, and has a population of roughly 400 people...
, Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The lieutenancy area of Dumfries has similar boundaries.Until 1975 it was a county. Its county town was Dumfries...
, he was apprenticed into his father's stone
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
-masonry
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
and quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
ing business. He developed a keen amateur interest in geology and 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...
which eventually led to his formal education at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, studying under Archibald Geikie
Archibald Geikie
Sir Archibald Geikie, OM, KCB, PRS, FRSE , was a Scottish geologist and writer.-Early life:Geikie was born in Edinburgh in 1835, the eldest son of musician and music critic James Stuart Geikie...
and Thomas Henry Huxley.
Royal Geographical Society
On graduating in 1878, he was appointed geologist and naturalistNatural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
to Alexander Keith Johnston
Alexander Keith Johnston (1844-1879)
Alexander Keith Johnston was a Scottish explorer and geographer.He was the son of Alexander Keith Johnston ....
's Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
expedition to establish a route from Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
to Lake Nyasa and Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is estimated to be the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, and the second deepest, after Lake Baikal in Siberia; it is also the world's longest freshwater lake...
. Johnston perished during the trip and it was left to Thomson to take over the leadership. Thomson successfully led the expedition over 3000 miles in 14 months, collecting many specimens and making sundry observations.
In 1883, he embarked on a further Royal Geological Society expedition to explore a route from the eastern coast of Africa to the northern shores of Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....
. British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
traders were demanding a route that would avoid the fearsome Maasai and the hostile Germans
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...
who were competing for trade in the area. The expedition set out a few months behind the rival German expedition of Gustav A. Fischer. The expedition was again a success demonstrating the feasibility of the route and making many important biological, geological and ethnographic
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
observations, though Thomson's attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is a dormant volcano in Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania and the highest mountain in Africa at above sea level .-Geology:...
in a day failed. However, on the return journey, Thomson was gored by a buffalo
African Buffalo
The African buffalo, affalo, nyati, Mbogo or Cape buffalo is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild Asian water buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear...
and subsequently suffered from malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
and 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 recovered in time to give a sensational account of his experiences at a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society in November 1884. His book Through Masai Land followed in January 1885 and was a best-seller. One of the first to read it was the young Henry Rider Haggard. Imagination fired by Thomson's expedition, Haggard promptly wrote a book of his own, King Solomon's Mines
King Solomon's Mines
King Solomon's Mines is a popular novel by the Victorian adventure writer and fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. It tells of a search of an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain for the missing brother of one of the party...
. Thomson was outraged. He had provided the first credible reports of snow-capped mountains on the Equator and had terrified the Maasai warriors by removing his false teeth and claiming to be a magician. Captain Good did the same in King Solomon's Mines, encountering snow on the mountains and then frightening the Kukuana tribe by removing his teeth. Thomson wrote a novel of his own: Ulu - an African romance, but it failed to sell.
Hiatus
In 1885 Thomson was employed by the National African Company to forestall GermanGermany
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...
influence in the vicinity 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...
, but returned the following year to the UK to lecture, disillusioned that there were no further opportunities for large-scale exploration in the continent. He was discontented with his life in the UK and struggled to identify new opportunities for exploration. A modest expedition to the Atlas Mountains
Atlas Mountains
The Atlas Mountains is a mountain range across a northern stretch of Africa extending about through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The highest peak is Toubkal, with an elevation of in southwestern Morocco. The Atlas ranges separate the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert...
of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
was marred by trouble with porters and local political difficulties. He spent a month in 1889 traveling in central Europe with budding author J. M. Barrie
J. M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...
.
British South Africa Company
In 1890, Cecil Rhodes employed Thomson to explore north of the ZambeziZambezi
The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa, and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. The area of its basin is , slightly less than half that of the Nile...
and gain treaties
Treaty
A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...
and mining concessions
Mineral rights
- Mineral estate :Ownership of mineral rights is an estate in real property. Technically it is known as a mineral estate and often referred to as mineral rights...
from chiefs on behalf of his British South Africa Company
British South Africa Company
The British South Africa Company was established by Cecil Rhodes through the amalgamation of the Central Search Association and the Exploring Company Ltd., receiving a royal charter in 1889...
which had been chartered by the British Government
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
to claim the territory known as Zambezia
Rhodesia (disambiguation)
Rhodesia refers primarily to a country formed by two land-locked territories in southern Africa, which are today Zambia and Zimbabwe. British colonisers named this territory after Cecil Rhodes and it was separated by a natural border provided by the Zambezi River. Occasionally they are informally...
(later Rhodesia, modern day Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
and Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
) as far north as the African Great Lakes
African Great Lakes
The African Great Lakes are a series of lakes and the Rift Valley lakes in and around the geographic Great Rift Valley formed by the action of the tectonic East African Rift on the continent of Africa...
. Though he made a sequence of important treaties on the trip, he was blocked by a smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
epidemic in the intervening country from reaching the ultimate goal, which was to meet Alfred Sharpe
Alfred Sharpe
Sir Alfred Sharpe was a professional hunter who became a British colonial administrator and Commissioner of the British Central Africa Protectorate from 1896 until 1910...
at the court of Msiri, King of Katanga
Yeke Kingdom
The Yeke Kingdom of the Garanganze people in Katanga, DR Congo was short-lived, existing from about 1856 to 1891 under one king, Msiri, but it became for a while the most powerful state in south-central Africa, controlling a territory of about half a million square kilometres...
, and to assist Sharpe in incorporating the mineral-rich country by treaty into Zambezia. Thomson's role was to bring supplies of cloth, gunpowder, and other gifts with which to impress Msiri. Without them, Sharpe was rebuffed, and a year later the Stairs Expedition, believing itself to be in race with another attempt by Thomson to reach Katanga, killed Msiri and took Katanga for King Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...
. Unknown to the Stairs Expedition, by this time Thomson had been instructed by the British government not to go.
Death
Thomson's health deteriorated from cystitisCystitis
Cystitis is a term that refers to urinary bladder inflammation that results from any one of a number of distinct syndromes. It is most commonly caused by a bacterial infection in which case it is referred to as a urinary tract infection.-Signs and symptoms:...
, schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by several species of trematodes , a parasitic worm of the genus Schistosoma. Snails often act as an intermediary agent for the infectious diseases until a new human host is found...
, and pyelo-nephritis
Nephritis
Nephritis is inflammation of the nephrons in the kidneys. The word "nephritis" was imported from Latin, which took it from Greek: νεφρίτιδα. The word comes from the Greek νεφρός - nephro- meaning "of the kidney" and -itis meaning "inflammation"....
. In 1892, he contracted pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
and, seeking the right climate in which to recuperate, spent time in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and France
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...
. He died in London.
Taxa named in honor
Taxa named in honor of Joseph Thomson include:- freshwater snail Limnotrochus thomsoniLimnotrochus thomsoniLimnotrochus thomsoni is a species of tropical freshwater snail with gills and an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Paludomidae.Limnotrochus thomsoni is the only species in the genus Limnotrochus....
E. A. Smith, 1880 - land snail Achatina thomsoni E. A. Smith, 1880 is a synonym of Achatina spekei Dohrn
- freshwater bivalve Unio thomsoni E. A. Smith, 1880 is a synonym of Grandideriera burtoni (Woodward, 1859)
Works by Thomson
- To the Central African Lakes and Back (2 vols., 1881)
- Through Masai Land (1885)
- Through Masai Land - A Journey of Exploration Among the Snowclad Volcanic Mountains and Strange Tribes of Eastern Equatorial Africa (New and revised edition, 1887)
- Travels in the Atlas and Southern Morocco (1889)
- Mungo Park and the Niger (1890)
Works about Thomson
- Rotberg, R.I. (1971) Joseph Thomson and the exploration of Africa
- Thomson, J.B. (1896) Joseph Thomson: African explorer
External links
- Penpont's Joseph Thomson Project
- Google translation of kenyalogy.com article
- An account of Thomson and Rider Haggard by author Nicholas BestNicholas BestNicholas Best is a British author of Anglo-Irish origin. He grew up in Kenya and was educated there, at King's School, Canterbury and at Trinity College, Dublin. He served with the Grenadier Guards in Windsor and Belize and worked in London as a journalist before becoming a full time author...