Captain Sir Donald William Stewart (1860 – 1 October 1905) was a British military officer and Commissioner of the

East Africa Protectorate East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Britai ...

Early life

He was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the son of

Sir Donald Stewart, 1st Baronet Field Marshal Sir Donald Martin Stewart, 1st Baronet, (1 March 182426 March 1900) was a senior Indian Army officer. He fought on the Aka Khel Expedition to the North-West Frontier in 1854, took part in the response to the Indian Rebellion in 18 ...

, a former Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army.

Career

Stewart followed his father into the army and was commissioned with the

Gordon Highlanders Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gord ...

. He served in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and between 1879 and 1880 took part in the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...

, during which he was severely injured.Wertheim, Stanley (1997), ''A Stephen Crane Encyclopedia'', Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 323. He went on to serve in the

First Boer War The First Boer War ( af, Eerste Vryheidsoorlog, literally "First Freedom War"), 1880–1881, also known as the First Anglo–Boer War, the Transvaal War or the Transvaal Rebellion, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 betwee ...

in 1881 and the Mahdist War between 1884 and 1885. He left the army in 1888. In 1894 he was sent to

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is t ...

on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

as a political agent. In 1896 he became the first British Resident in Kumasi, and served during the Second Ashanti Expedition. He remained on the Gold Coast until August 1904, when he was made Commissioner of the

. At the beginning of his term he was involved in discussions with the

Maasai Maasai may refer to: * Maasai people *Maasai language * Maasai mythology * MAASAI (band) See also * Masai (disambiguation) * Massai Massai (also known as: Masai, Massey, Massi, Mah–sii, Massa, Wasse, Wassil or by the nickname "Big Foot" Mas ...

over land rights and signed the First Maasai Treaty in 1904.Waller, Richard (1976)
"The Maasai and the British 1895-1905. the Origins of an Alliance"
''The Journal of African History'' 17, no. 4: 529–53. His tenure, however, was short-lived and he died while in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

on 1 October 1905. He is buried at Nairobi South Cemetery.

Personal life

In 1889 he met his wife Cora Howarth while in New York. They were married in London the following year, but by 1892 she had left him for another man.

References

1860 births 1905 deaths British Kenya people Colonial governors and administrators of Kenya British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War British people of the Mahdist War Gordon Highlanders soldiers Younger sons of baronets Military personnel from London British military personnel of the First Boer War Burials in Kenya {{UK-bio-stub