Gustav Nachtigal
Encyclopedia
Gustav Nachtigal was a German
explorer of Central and West Africa. He is further known as the German Empire
's consul-general for Tunisia
and Commissioner
for West Africa
. His mission as commissioner resulted in Togoland
and Kamerun
becoming the first colonies of a German colonial empire
. The Gustav-Nachtigal-Medal, awarded by the Berlin Geographical Society
, is named after him.
in the Prussian province of Saxony-Anhalt
. After medical studies at the universities of Halle
, Würzburg
and Greifswald, he practiced for several years as a military surgeon. Finding the climate of his native country increasingly detrimental to his health, he went to Algiers
and Tunis
in North Africa and took part, as a surgeon, in several expeditions into Central Africa
.
Commissioned by King Wilhelm I of Prussia
to carry gifts to Umar of Borno
, sheik of the Bornu Empire
, in acknowledgment of kindness shown to German travelers, he set out in 1869 from Ottoman Tripoli
and succeeded after a two years journey in accomplishing his mission. During this period he visited Tibesti and Borku
, regions of the central Sahara
not previously known to Europeans.
From Bornu
he traveled to Baguirmi
, an independent state to the southeast of Bornu. From there he proceeded to Wadai
(a powerful Muslim kingdom to the northeast of Baguirmi) and to Kordofan (a former province of central Sudan
). Nachtigal emerged from darkest Africa at Khartoum
(then an Egyptian outpost, today the capital of Sudan) in the winter of 1874, after having been given up for lost. His journey, graphically described in his Sahara and Sudan, placed him in the top ranking of discoverers.
After the establishment by France
of a protectorate
over Tunisia
, Nachtigal was sent as consul-general for the German Empire
and remained there until 1884. Thereafter he was appointed by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck
as special commissioner
for West Africa
. Local German business interests in that region began advocating for protection by the German Empire after they had acquired huge properties in West Africa. Nachtigal’s task was thus to accept that real estate on behalf of Germany before the British could advance their own interests — and Togoland and Kamerun became Germany’s first colonial possessions. On his return voyage he died at sea aboard the gunboat SMS Möwe off Cape Palmas
on 20 April 1885 and was initially interred at Grand Bassam. In 1888 Nachtigal’s remains were exhumed and reburied in a ceremonial grave at Duala
in front of the Kamerun colonial government building.
]
Gustav Nachtigal is regarded as the other great German explorer of Africa, in company with Heinrich Barth
. Like Barth, Nachtigal was primarily interested in ethnography
, and additionally in tropical medicine
. His works stand out because of their wealth of details and above all because of his unbiased views of Africans. In contrast to most contemporary explorers, Nachtigal did not hold to the alleged inferiority of Africans; his convictions are clearly reflected in his descriptions and choice of words.
He had witnessed slave hunts performed by African rulers and the cruelties inflicted by them on other Africans. The horror that he felt about these atrocities made him enter colonial endeavors because he somewhat naively accepted that European domination of the African continent might stop slave hunting and slave keeping.
English Translation
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
explorer of Central and West Africa. He is further known as the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
's consul-general for Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
and Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....
for West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
. His mission as commissioner resulted in Togoland
Togoland
Togoland was a German protectorate in West Africa from 1884 to 1914, encompassing what is now the nation of Togo and most of what is now the Volta Region of Ghana. The colony was established during the period generally known as the "Scramble for Africa"...
and Kamerun
Kamerun
German Cameroon was a West African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon.-History:-1800s:...
becoming the first colonies of a German colonial empire
German colonial empire
The German colonial empire was an overseas domain formed in the late 19th century as part of the German Empire. Short-lived colonial efforts by individual German states had occurred in preceding centuries, but Imperial Germany's colonial efforts began in 1884...
. The Gustav-Nachtigal-Medal, awarded by the Berlin Geographical Society
Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin
The Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin was founded in 1828 and is the second oldest geographical society.It was founded by some of the foremost geographers of its time...
, is named after him.
Life
Gustav Nachtigal, the son of a Lutheran pastor, was born at EichstedtEichstedt
Eichstedt is a municipality in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany....
in the Prussian province of Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
. After medical studies at the universities of Halle
University of Halle-Wittenberg
The Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg , also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg within Saxony-Anhalt, Germany...
, Würzburg
University of Würzburg
The University of Würzburg is a university in Würzburg, Germany, founded in 1402. The university is a member of the distinguished Coimbra Group.-Name:...
and Greifswald, he practiced for several years as a military surgeon. Finding the climate of his native country increasingly detrimental to his health, he went to Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
and Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
in North Africa and took part, as a surgeon, in several expeditions into Central Africa
Central Africa
Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....
.
Commissioned by King Wilhelm I of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
to carry gifts to Umar of Borno
Umar of Borno
Umar I ibn Muhammad al-Amin or Umar of Borno was Shehu of the Kanem-Bornu Empire and son of Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi.-Reign of Umar:...
, sheik of the Bornu Empire
Bornu Empire
The Bornu Empire was an African state of Nigeria from 1396 to 1893. It was a continuation of the great Kanem Empire founded centuries earlier by the Sayfawa Dynasty...
, in acknowledgment of kindness shown to German travelers, he set out in 1869 from Ottoman 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 succeeded after a two years journey in accomplishing his mission. During this period he visited Tibesti and Borku
Borku
Borkou, or Borku, is a region of Central Africa, mostly in Northern Chad, forming part of the transitional zone between the arid wastes of the Sahara and the fertile lands of the central Sudan. It is bounded N. by the Tibesti Mountains, and is in great measure occupied by lesser elevations...
, regions of the central 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...
not previously known to Europeans.
From Bornu
Bornu Empire
The Bornu Empire was an African state of Nigeria from 1396 to 1893. It was a continuation of the great Kanem Empire founded centuries earlier by the Sayfawa Dynasty...
he traveled to Baguirmi
Kingdom of Baguirmi
The Kingdom of Baguirmi, also known as the Baguirmi Sultanate , was an Islamic kingdom or sultanate that existed as an independent state during the 16th and 17th centuries southeast of Lake Chad in what is now the country of Chad. Baguirmi emerged to the southeast of the Kanem-Bornu Empire. The...
, an independent state to the southeast of Bornu. From there he proceeded to Wadai
Ouaddai Kingdom
The Ouaddai Empire was originally a non-Muslim kingdom, located to the east of Lake Chad in present-day Chad...
(a powerful Muslim kingdom to the northeast of Baguirmi) and to Kordofan (a former province of central Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
). Nachtigal emerged from darkest Africa at Khartoum
Khartoum
Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
(then an Egyptian outpost, today the capital of Sudan) in the winter of 1874, after having been given up for lost. His journey, graphically described in his Sahara and Sudan, placed him in the top ranking of discoverers.
After the establishment by France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
of a protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
over Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, Nachtigal was sent as consul-general for the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
and remained there until 1884. Thereafter he was appointed by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
as special commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....
for West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
. Local German business interests in that region began advocating for protection by the German Empire after they had acquired huge properties in West Africa. Nachtigal’s task was thus to accept that real estate on behalf of Germany before the British could advance their own interests — and Togoland and Kamerun became Germany’s first colonial possessions. On his return voyage he died at sea aboard the gunboat SMS Möwe off Cape Palmas
Cape Palmas
Cape Palmas is a headland on the extreme southeast end of the coast of Liberia, West Africa, at the extreme southwest corner of the northern half of the continent. The Cape itself consists of a small, rocky peninsula connected to the mainland by a sandy isthmus. Immediately to the west of the...
on 20 April 1885 and was initially interred at Grand Bassam. In 1888 Nachtigal’s remains were exhumed and reburied in a ceremonial grave at Duala
Douala
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Province. Home to Cameroon's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport, it is the commercial capital of the country...
in front of the Kamerun colonial government building.
Legacy
Gustav Nachtigal is regarded as the other great German explorer of Africa, in company with Heinrich Barth
Heinrich Barth
Heinrich Barth was a German explorer of Africa and scholar.Barth is one of the greatest of the European explorers of Africa, not necessarily because of the length of his travels or the time he spent alone without European company in Africa, but because of his singular character.-Biography:Barth...
. Like Barth, Nachtigal was primarily interested in ethnography
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
, and additionally in tropical medicine
Tropical medicine
Tropical medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with health problems that occur uniquely, are more widespread, or prove more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions....
. His works stand out because of their wealth of details and above all because of his unbiased views of Africans. In contrast to most contemporary explorers, Nachtigal did not hold to the alleged inferiority of Africans; his convictions are clearly reflected in his descriptions and choice of words.
He had witnessed slave hunts performed by African rulers and the cruelties inflicted by them on other Africans. The horror that he felt about these atrocities made him enter colonial endeavors because he somewhat naively accepted that European domination of the African continent might stop slave hunting and slave keeping.
Works
Original Publication- Saharâ und Sûdân. 2 volumes, Berlin 1879-81, volume 3 published by E. Groddeck, Leipzig 1889.
English Translation
- Sahara and Sudan. volume I: Fezzan and Tibesti; volume II: Kawar, Bornu, Kanem, Borku, Ennedi; volume III: The Chad Basin and Bagirmi; volume IV: Wadai and Darfur. Translated from the original German with an Introduction and Notes by Allan G. B. Fisher and H. J. Fisher. London — New York — Berkeley - 1971-1987.