Thomas Edward Bowdich (20 June 179110 January 1824) was an English traveller and author.
Life
Bowdich was born at
Bristol and educated at
Bristol Grammar School
Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 mixed, independent day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowed by wealthy Bristol merchants Robert and Nicholas Thorn ...
. In 1813, he married
Sarah Wallis, who shared his subsequent career.
In 1814, through his uncle,
John Hope Smith, governor of the British
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 ...
settlements, he obtained a writership in the service of the
African Company of Merchants
The African Company of Merchants or Company of Merchants Trading to Africa was a British chartered company operating from 1752 to 1821 in the Gold Coast area of modern Ghana, engaged in the Atlantic slave trade.
Background
The company was estab ...
and was sent to
Cape Coast.
In 1817, he was sent, with two companions, William Hutchison and Henry Tedlie, 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 a mission to
Osei Bonsu, the
King of Asante, and chiefly through his skillful diplomacy the mission succeeded in its object of securing British control over the coast natives.
In 1818, Bowdich returned to England, and in 1819 published an account of his mission and of the study he had made of the court of Kumasi, entitled ''Mission from Cape Coast Castle to Ashantee, &c.'' (London, 1819). He donated his Ashanti collection to the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
on his return, although the items would not receive the attention of the museum's trustees until after his death.
His collection was an attempt to acquire items that depicted local crafts at the time. The collection remains the earliest documented one of Ashanti material, some of them the oldest surviving from that time, such as the oldest-known surviving
adinkra cloth.
Bowdich publicly attacked the management of the African committee who ran the African Company of Merchants. His strictures were instrumental in leading the British government to dissolve the African Company and assume direct control over the Gold Coast.
From 1820 to 1822, Bowdich lived in Paris, studying mathematics and the natural sciences, and was on intimate terms with
Georges Cuvier,
Alexander von Humboldt and other savants. During his stay in France he edited several works on Africa, and also wrote scientific works.
In 1822, accompanied by his wife, he went to
Lisbon, where, from a study of historic MSS., he published ''An Account of the Discoveries of the Portuguese in . . . Angola and Mozambique'' (London, 1824).
In 1823, Bowdich and his wife, after some months spent in
Madeira and
Cape Verde Islands
, national_anthem = ()
, official_languages = Portuguese
, national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole
, capital = Praia
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, demonym ...
, arrived at Bathurst (now
Banjul) at the mouth of the
Gambia, intending to go to
Sierra Leone and thence explore the interior. However, Bowdich died from
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
while in Bathurst on 10 January 1824, leaving his widow Sarah with three children.
His widow,
Sarah (Wallis) Bowdich Lee, published an account of his last journey, entitled ''Excursions in Madeira and Porto Santo . . . to which is added A Narrative of the Continuance of the Voyage to its Completion, &c'' (London, 1825).
Bowdich's daughter, Mrs Tedlie Hutchison Hale, republished in 1873, with an introductory preface, her father's ''Mission from Cape Coast Castle to Ashantee''.
Works
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Notes
References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowdich, Thomas Edward
English explorers
Explorers of Africa
People educated at Bristol Grammar School
Writers from Bristol
1791 births
1824 deaths
Deaths from malaria
19th-century English historians
African Company of Merchants