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Simon Lucas
Simon Lucas ( fl.c.1766–1799) was an English diplomat and explorer for the African Association. Life The son of a vintner in Greyfriars, London, who was admitted to St. Paul's School, he was sent to Cadiz while still young, to be trained in commerce. He was captured on his return voyage by a Sallee rover, and enslaved in Morocco. After three years' captivity Lucas went to Gibraltar. Edward Cornwallis, Gibraltar's governor, sent him back to Morocco as a vice-consul. He spent 16 years there. In 1785 Lucas returned to England, and was appointed oriental interpreter at court. He undertook a journey in Africa for the Association for Promoting African Exploration, set up in 1788. He left England in August 1788 with the intention of crossing the desert from Tripoli to Fezzan, in what is now Libya. The plan was to collect information in Fezzan, and from traders, on the interior, and to return home by way of The Gambia or the Guinea coast. At the end of October 1788, Lucas landed at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Association
The Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa (commonly known as the African Association), founded in London on 9 June 1788, was a British club dedicated to the exploration of West Africa, with the mission of discovering the origin and course of the Niger River and the location of Timbuktu, the "lost city" of gold. The formation of this group was effectively the "beginning of the age of African exploration". Organized by a dozen titled members of London's upper-class establishment and led by Sir Joseph Banks, the African Association felt that it was the great failing of the Age of Enlightenment that, in a time when men could sail around the world, the geography of Africa remained almost entirely uncharted (leading to the now-offensive nickname, the "Dark Continent"). The Ancient Greeks and Romans knew more about the interior of Africa than did the British of the 18th century.Kryza p. 12. Motivated by desires for scientific knowledge and seeking oppo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |