Alexander Gordon Laing
Encyclopedia
Major Alexander Gordon Laing (27 December 1793 – 26 September 1826) was a Scottish
explorer
and the first Europe
an to reach Timbuktu
via the north/south route.
. He was educated by his father, William Laing, a private teacher of classics, and at Edinburgh University. In 1811 he went to Barbados
as clerk to his maternal uncle Colonel (afterwards General) Gabriel Gordon. Through General Sir George Beckwith
, governor of Barbados, he obtained an Ensigncy
in the York Light Infantry Volunteers in 1813. He was promoted Lieutenant
without purchase in 1815 and transferred to the 2nd West India Regiment after his former regiment was disbanded in 1817. In 1822 he transferred into the Royal African Colonial Corps as a Captain
. In that year, while with his regiment at Sierra Leone
, he was sent by the governor Sir Charles MacCarthy, to the Mandingo country, with the double object of opening up commerce and endeavouring to abolish the slave trade in that region. Later in the same year Laing visited Falaba
, the capital of the Solimana
country, and ascertained the source of the Rokell. He endeavoured to reach the source of the Niger
, but was stopped by the natives. He was, however enabled to fix it with approximate accuracy. In 1824 he was granted the local rank of Major
in Africa only. He took an active part in the Ashanti War of 1823-24, and was sent home with the despatches containing the news of the death in action of Sir Charles MacCarthy.
, president of the African Association
supported his project, hoping that the expedition would reveal the location of Timbuktu. Henry, 3rd Earl Bathurst
, then secretary for the colonies, instructed Captain Laing to undertake a journey, via Tripoli
and Timbuktu, to further elucidate the hydrography of the Niger basin. Laing left England in February 1825, and at Tripoli on 14 July he married Emma Warrington, daughter of the British consul. Two days later, leaving his bride behind, he started to cross the Sahara
, accompanied by a sheikh who was subsequently accused of planning his murder. Ghadames
was reached, by an indirect route, in October 1825, and in December Laing reached In Salah
in the Tuat
territory, where he was well received by one particular group of Tuareg.
On 10 January 1826, he left Tuat and made for Timbuktu across the desert of Tanezroft. Letters written in May and July told of his suffering from fever and the plundering of his caravan by another group of Tuareg. Laing describes being wounded in 24 places in the fighting. Together with another survivor, he managed to reach Sidi Al Muktar, penniless and having lost his right hand. He joined another caravan and reached Timbuktu, thus becoming the first European to cross the Sahara from north to south. His letter dated from Timbuktu on 21 September announced his arrival in that city on the preceding 18 August, and the insecurity of his position owing to the hostility of the Fula
chieftain Bello, then ruling the city. He added that he intended leaving Timbuktu in three days time. No further news was received from the explorer. From information pieced together later, it was ascertained that he left Timbuktu on the day he had planned and was murdered on or about the night of 26 September 1826.
accused the French (who also wanted to reach Timbuktu) of interference and having procured Laing's journal; however, there has never been any evidence for this. René Caillié reached Timbuktu two years after Laing and by returning alive was able to claim the 10,000-franc prize offered by the Société de Géographie for the feat. In 1903, the French government placed a tablet bearing Laing's name and the date of his visit on the house occupied by him during his 38-day stay in Timbuktu.
While in England in 1824, Laing had prepared a narrative of his earlier journeys, which was published in 1825 and entitled Travels in the Timannee, Kooranko and Soolima Countries, in Western Africa.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
explorer
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
and the first Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an to reach Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...
via the north/south route.
Education and service
Laing was born at EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. He was educated by his father, William Laing, a private teacher of classics, and at Edinburgh University. In 1811 he went to Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
as clerk to his maternal uncle Colonel (afterwards General) Gabriel Gordon. Through General Sir George Beckwith
George Beckwith (British Army officer)
General Sir George Beckwith KB was a British Army officer.-Military career:Beckwith was commissioned into the 37th Regiment of Foot in 1771. He distinguished himself as a regimental officer in the American Revolutionary War, where he was assistant to Major Oliver Delancey responsible for British...
, governor of Barbados, he obtained an Ensigncy
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
in the York Light Infantry Volunteers in 1813. He was promoted Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
without purchase in 1815 and transferred to the 2nd West India Regiment after his former regiment was disbanded in 1817. In 1822 he transferred into the Royal African Colonial Corps as a Captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
. In that year, while with his regiment at Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, he was sent by the governor Sir Charles MacCarthy, to the Mandingo country, with the double object of opening up commerce and endeavouring to abolish the slave trade in that region. Later in the same year Laing visited Falaba
Falaba
Falaba is a former town in the Solima area, Koinadugu District of the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The population of Falaba is largely from the Mandingo and Kuranko ethnic groups. The village is largely muslim.-History:...
, the capital of the Solimana
Solimana
Solimana was a minor West African state of the nineteenth century. Situated on rich slave-trading routes in what is now Sierra Leone, Solimana was visited in 1822 by Alexander Gordon Laing and in 1869 by William Winwood Reade, making it nominally British....
country, and ascertained the source of the Rokell. He endeavoured to reach the source of the Niger
Niger River
The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...
, but was stopped by the natives. He was, however enabled to fix it with approximate accuracy. In 1824 he was granted the local rank of Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in Africa only. He took an active part in the Ashanti War of 1823-24, and was sent home with the despatches containing the news of the death in action of Sir Charles MacCarthy.
Trip to Timbuktu
Laing believed he had have found the source of the Niger and proposed to travel along the river to its delta. Joseph BanksJoseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and the genus named after him,...
, president of the African Association
African Association
The Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa , founded in London on June 9, 1788, was a British club dedicated to the exploration of West Africa, with the mission of discovering the origin and course of the Niger River and the location of Timbuktu, the "lost city" of...
supported his project, hoping that the expedition would reveal the location of Timbuktu. Henry, 3rd Earl Bathurst
Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst
Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst KG PC was a British politician.-Background and education:Lord Bathurst was the elder son of Henry Bathurst, 2nd Earl Bathurst, by his wife Tryphena, daughter of Thomas Scawen...
, then secretary for the colonies, instructed Captain Laing to undertake a journey, via Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
and Timbuktu, to further elucidate the hydrography of the Niger basin. Laing left England in February 1825, and at Tripoli on 14 July he married Emma Warrington, daughter of the British consul. Two days later, leaving his bride behind, he started to cross the Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
, accompanied by a sheikh who was subsequently accused of planning his murder. Ghadames
Ghadames
Ghadames or Ghadamis is an oasis town in the Nalut District of the Fezzan region in southwestern Libya.-Geography:Ghadames lies roughly to the southwest of Tripoli, near the borders with Algeria and Tunisia. Ghadames borders Illizi Province, Algeria and Tataouine Governorate, Tunisia.The oasis...
was reached, by an indirect route, in October 1825, and in December Laing reached In Salah
In Salah
Historical weather records for In Salah: -External links:* *...
in the Tuat
Tuat
Tuat is a desert region in central Algeria that contains a string of small oases. In the past, the oases were important for caravans crossing the Sahara desert.-Geography:...
territory, where he was well received by one particular group of Tuareg.
On 10 January 1826, he left Tuat and made for Timbuktu across the desert of Tanezroft. Letters written in May and July told of his suffering from fever and the plundering of his caravan by another group of Tuareg. Laing describes being wounded in 24 places in the fighting. Together with another survivor, he managed to reach Sidi Al Muktar, penniless and having lost his right hand. He joined another caravan and reached Timbuktu, thus becoming the first European to cross the Sahara from north to south. His letter dated from Timbuktu on 21 September announced his arrival in that city on the preceding 18 August, and the insecurity of his position owing to the hostility of the Fula
Fula people
Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...
chieftain Bello, then ruling the city. He added that he intended leaving Timbuktu in three days time. No further news was received from the explorer. From information pieced together later, it was ascertained that he left Timbuktu on the day he had planned and was murdered on or about the night of 26 September 1826.
Epilogue
Laing's papers were never recovered, and his father-in-law, Hanmer WarringtonHanmer Warrington
Hanmer George Warrington was born in Acton, Cheshire, England, served in the British Army, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel and subsequently became British Consul General at Tripoli on the Barbary Coast , a position he held for 32 years.-Possible marriage with the illegitimate daughter of...
accused the French (who also wanted to reach Timbuktu) of interference and having procured Laing's journal; however, there has never been any evidence for this. René Caillié reached Timbuktu two years after Laing and by returning alive was able to claim the 10,000-franc prize offered by the Société de Géographie for the feat. In 1903, the French government placed a tablet bearing Laing's name and the date of his visit on the house occupied by him during his 38-day stay in Timbuktu.
While in England in 1824, Laing had prepared a narrative of his earlier journeys, which was published in 1825 and entitled Travels in the Timannee, Kooranko and Soolima Countries, in Western Africa.