Prince Lee Boo or Lebu (1764 – 27 December 1784) was the second son of

Abba Thulle Abba Thulle was the ibedul, of Koror whom the sailor Henry Wilson and his crew met on their voyage to Palau in 1783. His second son Prince Lee Boo became one of the first people from the Pacific Islands to visit Great Britain, but died six mon ...

(

Ibedul Ibedul is a title given to the high chief of Koror, in Palau.{{cite book, access-date=2022-12-19, date=1996, first1=Arnold H., isbn=978-0-275-95390-4, language=en, last1=Leibowitz, page=103, publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group, title=Embattled Isl ...

), the ruler of

Koror Koror is the state comprising the main commercial centre of the Republic of Palau. It consists of several islands, the most prominent being Koror Island (also ''Oreor Island''). It is Palau’s most populous state. History In the oral tradition ...

in the Pelew Islands, now called

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...

. Prince Lee Boo was one of the first people from the

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

to visit

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. When the China trader ''

Antelope The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...

'', on a voyage to China for the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

, was wrecked on the island of Oroolong in Western Palau in 1783, its survivors, including Captain

Henry Wilson Henry Wilson (born Jeremiah Jones Colbath; February 16, 1812 – November 22, 1875) was an American politician who was the 18th vice president of the United States from 1873 until his death in 1875 and a senator from Massachusetts from 1855 to ...

, spent three months on Palau. When the survivors were finally rescued, Captain Wilson agreed to take Lee Boo to

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to acquire more knowledge about Europe. He arrived about a decade after the Tahitian

Omai Mai (c.1751-late 1779), known as Omai in Britain, was a young Ra'iatean man who became the second Pacific Islander to visit Europe, after Ahu-toru who was brought to Paris by Bougainville in 1768. Life Ma'i, born c.1751, described himself ...

, on 14 July 1784, in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, aboard the ''Morse'', and was quickly dubbed "The Black Prince" by London society, who were charmed by his poise and intelligence. The Wilson family took him into their home in London, where he attended church ceremonies, dinner parties and European school for several months. However, he died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

on 27 December 1784, some six months after his arrival in London. He was 20 years old. He was buried at

St Mary's Church, Rotherhithe St Mary's Church, Rotherhithe, is the local Church of England parish church in Rotherhithe, formerly in Surrey and now part of south east London. The parish is now within the diocese of Southwark and under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Fulham ...

. Prince Lee Boo's story appeared in a book by

George Keate George Keate (1729–1797) was an English poet and writer. He was a versatile author, also known as an artist, who travelled and became a friend of Voltaire. Life He was son of George Keate of Isleworth, Middlesex, who married Rachel Kawolski ...

(1729–97), titled: ''An Account of the Pelew Islands, Situated in the Western Part of the Pacific Ocean. Composed from the Journals and Communications of Captain Henry Wilson, and some of his Officers, who, in August 1783, were there Shipwrecked, in the Antelope, a Packet belonging to the Hon. East India Company.'' The author's daughter, Georgiana Jane Keate (1770–1850, later Mrs. Georgiana Henderson), painted the portrait of Prince Lee Boo in the book. It was painted from memory, fifteen months after Prince Lee Boo's death. This book was quite popular. It was translated into over 20 languages between 1789 and 1850. An abridged version, titled: ''The Interesting History of Prince Lee Boo, Brought to England from the Pelew Islands'', is available online.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee Boo 1764 births 1784 deaths History of Palau History of London People from Rotherhithe Palauan expatriates in the United Kingdom People from Koror Deaths from smallpox Infectious disease deaths in England