William Henry Koebel (1872–1923) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

author and businessman. He is best remembered today for his books on trade and travel within

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

(and

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

).,

the Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. His books continue to be studied today by academics.

Life

Koebel was born in

Forest Hill, London Forest Hill is a district of the London Borough of Lewisham in south London, south east London, England, on the South Circular Road, London, South Circular Road, which is home to the Horniman Museum. History Like much of London, Forest Hil ...

, England. Having focussed on Portugal in his earlier years as a writer, painting a detailed and colourful portrait of the country in its final months under a monarchy, he travelled the Caribbean, Central and South America. He worked to expand British trade in the regions, most successfully in Chile and especially the port of Valparaiso which was a major British trading port before the construction of the Panama Canal. His most successful and influential book is the

South American Handbook The ''South American Handbook'' is a travel guide to South America, published in the United Kingdom by Footprint Books. It is the longest-running travel guide in the English language. In 2010 it was chosen as the Best South American Handbook by '' ...

which he first published in 1921 and continues to be edited and reprinted as recently as 2014.

Works

*''Portugal, Its Land and People'' (1909) *''Madeira: old and new'' (1909) *''In the Maoriland bush''

911 911 or 9/11 may refer to: Dates * AD 911 * 911 BC * September 11 ** 9/11, the September 11 attacks of 2001 ** 11 de Septiembre, Chilean coup d'état in 1973 that outed the democratically elected Salvador Allende * November 9 Numbers * 911 ...

*''

'' (1921) *''British Exploits in South America: A History of British Activities in Exploration, Military Adventure, Diplomacy, Science, and Trade, in Latin America'' (1917) *''Argentina, Past & Present'' (1922) *''Uruguay...'' (1923) *''South America'' (1923) *''Modern Argentina, the El Dorado of To-Day, with Notes on Uruguay and Chile'' (1923) *''South America: An Industrial and Commercial Field'' (1923) *''In Jesuit Land, the Jesuit Missions of Paraguay'' (1923) *''Modern Chile; With Illustrations and Map '' (1923) *''The Great South Land; the River Plate and Southern Brazil of To-day'' (1923)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Koebel, W. Henry. 1872 births 1923 deaths English travel writers