Thomas Shaw (1694–1751) was an English cleric and traveller.
Life
He was born about in
Kendal, Westmorland
Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...
. From the
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
of his native town, he went to
The Queen's College, Oxford
The Queen's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its pred ...
, where he took his
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in 1719.
On entering holy orders, he was appointed chaplain to the factory at
Algiers
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
. While in north Africa he traveled through
Algiers
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
,
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
,
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, and
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
in the first half of the eighteenth century. He is best known for his account of his travels, first published in Oxford in 1738 and published in a French translation in The Hague by Jean Neaulme in 1743; another translation of J. MacCarthy is published by Marlin in Paris in 1830. The preface of this edition indicates that he would have lived twelve years in Algiers (1720-1732).
He became a Fellow of his college in 1727, in his absence.
During his travels he made crude daily geodetic surveys from which he draws maps attached to his work. he also made use of the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
Itinerary of Antoninus and the
12th century Arab geographer
Medieval Islamic geography and cartography refer to the study of geography and cartography in the Muslim world during the Islamic Golden Age (variously dated between the 8th century and 16th century). Muslim scholars made advances to the map-maki ...
Al Idrissi in his works.
On his return, in 1733, Shaw took his doctor's degree, and was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
. In 1740, on the death of Henry Felton, he was nominated principal of
St Edmund Hall
St Edmund Hall (sometimes known as The Hall or informally as Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university ...
, with which he held the Greek professorship, and the
vicarage
A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage.
Function
A clergy house is typically own ...
of
Bramley in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
, till his death in 1751.
In the 19th century, his century-old work again gained favor during the French conquest of Algiers in 1830. In fact, apart from the spy mission in the vicinity of Algiers led by the engineer Vincent-Yves Boutin in 1808, it seems that the France very little information on Algeria more recent than that of Shaw.
Also, the geographical and "sociological" part of his 1830 edition named Historical, statistical and topographical facts on the State of Algiers, and was used of the expeditionary army of Africa.
↑ Aperçu historique, statistique et topographique sur l'État d'Alger à l'usage de l'armée expéditionnaire d'Afrique, Paris, 1830
Works
The first edition of Shaw's ''Travels in Barbary and the Levant'' was printed at Oxford, in 1738. Richard Pococke
Richard Pococke (19 November 1704 – 25 September 1765)''Notes and Queries'', p. 129. was an English-born churchman, inveterate traveller and travel writer. He was the Bishop of Ossory (1756–65) and Meath (1765), both dioceses of the Church ...
commented unfavourably on parts of the work in his ''Description of the East'' (1745), and Shaw published two supplements in vindication, which were incorporated in the edition of 1757.
Today Shaw is better known in France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
than his native England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
References
External links
A painting of Thomas Shaw, DD, FRS from the official site of the BBC.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Thomas
People from Kendal
1694 births
1751 deaths
Fellows of the Royal Society
18th-century English Anglican priests
Principals of St Edmund Hall, Oxford
Fellows of The Queen's College, Oxford
People from Bramley, Hampshire