John Petherick (1813 – 15 July 1882), was a Welsh traveller, trader and consul in East Central Africa.

Life

Petherick was born in

Glamorganshire Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the south of Wales. Originally an early medieval petty kingdom of varying bo ...

, and adopted the profession of mining engineer. In 1845 he entered the service of Mehemet Ali, and was employed in examining

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ', shortened to , , locally: ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the Nile River valley south of the delta and the 30th parallel North. It thus consists of the entire Nile River valley from Cairo south to Lake N ...

Nubia Nubia (, Nobiin language, Nobiin: , ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the confluence of the Blue Nile, Blue and White Nile, White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), and the Cataracts of the Nile, first cataract ...

, the Red Sea coast and Kordofan in an unsuccessful search for coal. In 1848 Petherick left the Egyptian service and established himself at El Obeid, the capital of

Kordofan Kordofan ( ') is a former province of central Sudan. In 1994 it was divided into three new federal states: North Kordofan, South Kordofan and West Kordofan. In August 2005, West Kordofan State was abolished and its territory divided between N ...

, as a trader, dealing largely in

gum arabic Gum arabic (gum acacia, gum sudani, Senegal gum and by other names) () is a tree gum exuded by two species of '' Acacia sensu lato:'' '' Senegalia senegal,'' and '' Vachellia seyal.'' However, the term "gum arabic" does not indicate a partic ...

. He was at the same time made British consular agent for the Sudan. In 1853 he moved again to

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

and became an ivory trader. He travelled extensively in the Bahr-el-Ghazal region, then almost unknown, exploring the Jur River, Yalo and other affluents of the

Bahr el Ghazal river The Bahr el Ghazal () or Naam River ( Nuer) is a river in South Sudan. The South Sudanese region of Bahr el Ghazal takes its name from the river. The Bahr el Ghazal is the main western tributary of the Nile. It is long, flowing through the Sud ...

. In 1858 he penetrated to the Niam-Niam country. His additions to the knowledge of natural history were considerable. Petherick returned to England in 1859 where he made the acquaintance of JH Speke, then arranging for his expedition to discover the source of the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

. While in England Petherick married, and published an account of his travels. He returned to the

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

in 1861, accompanied by his wife and with the rank of consul. He was entrusted with a mission by the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

to convey to Gondokoro relief stores for captains Speke and Grant. Petherick got boats to

Gondokoro Gondokoro (formerly Ismailïa) island is located in Central Equatoria. The island was a trading-station on the east bank of the White Nile in Southern Sudan, south of Khartoum. Its importance lay in the fact that it was within a few kilometres o ...

in 1862, but Speke and Grant had not arrived. Having arranged for a native force to proceed south to get in touch with the absentees, a task successfully accomplished, Mr and Mrs Petherick undertook another journey in the Bahr-el-Ghazal, making important collections of plants and fishes. They regained Gondokoro (where one of their boats with stores was already stationed) in February 1863, four days after the arrival of Speke and Grant, who had meantime accepted the hospitality of Mr (afterwards Sir)

Samuel Baker Sir Samuel White Baker (8 June 1821 – 30 December 1893) was an English explorer, officer, naturalist, big game hunter, engineer, writer and abolitionist. He also held the titles of Pasha and Major-General in the Ottoman Empire and Egypt ...

. Speke later publicly accused Petherick of failing to fulfill his commitment. Speke and members of the white community in Khartoum also accused Petherick of involvement in the

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

. In this the Europeans may perversely have been motivated by Petherick's interference in their commercial activities; slavery was deeply entwined with the local economy. Petherick's own business involved collaboration with slavers; he also made some efforts to disrupt slave trading. Despite or because of the complex reality

Earl Russell Earl Russell, of Kingston Russell in the County of Dorset, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 30 July 1861 for the prominent Liberal politician Lord John Russell. He was Home Secretary from 1835 to 1839, For ...

, then secretary for foreign affairs, abolished the British consulate at Khartoum in 1864. Petherick's reputation and finances were badly damaged.Bernard Verdcourt
"John Petherick - 1813-1882 - Collectors in East Africa - 22"
''The Conchologists' Newsletter'', March 1995 In 1865 the Pethericks returned to England, and in 1869 published ''Travels in Central Africa and Explorations of the Western Nile Tributaries'', in which he set out the details of the Speke controversy. Petherick died in London on 15 July 1882.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Petherick, John 1813 births 1882 deaths Welsh explorers British explorers of Africa

Life

Further reading

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