Andrea Debono (7 November 1821 – 29 October 1871), also known as Latif Effendi, was a

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...

trader and explorer who was one of the first Europeans to explore the area around the

White Nile The White Nile ( ') is a river in Africa, the minor of the two main tributaries of the Nile, the larger being the Blue Nile. The name "White" comes from the clay sediment carried in the water that changes the water to a pale color. In the stri ...

in the mid-19th century.

Biography

Debono was born on 7 November 1821 in

Senglea Senglea ( ), also known by its title Città Invicta (or Civitas Invicta), is a fortified city in the Port Region of Malta. It is one of the Three Cities in the Grand Harbour area, the other two being Cospicua and Vittoriosa, and has a popu ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. He was the son of Michael Debono, a captain of the merchant navy, and his wife Teresa née Carabott. He had a twin sister named Battistina. During his youth, Debono studied medicine and chemistry. The Debono family later emigrated to

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and Andrea Debono worked in a hospital. Andrea and Battistina moved to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

after their parents died, and later 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 ...

in 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 1848, where Andrea built a corn mill and was involved in the production of building materials. Debono married Victoria, an Abyssinian, and they had three children but two of them died in infancy. In 1851, Debono began to serve the Egyptian Governor of Sudan and adopted the name of Latif Effendi. He made significant profits from the

ivory trade The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, black and white rhinos, mammoth, and most commonly, African elephant, African and Asian elephants. Ivory has been traded for hundred ...

, and he employed around 400 men as porters or boatmen. At this point he also began exploring 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 ...

, and he was the first European to explore the

Sobat River The Sobat River is a river of the Greater Upper Nile region in northeastern South Sudan, Africa. It is the most southerly of the great eastern tributaries of the White Nile, before the confluence with the Blue Nile. Geography The Sobat River is ...

tributary of the

, reaching the cataracts beyond

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 ...

. He reached the Djiamoudj rapids in April 1853, acquiring knowledge of Lake Albert and the

Semliki River Semliki River ( French: ''Rivière Semliki'') is a major river, long, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda in Central and East Africa. It flows north from Lake Edward in Beni Territory, Nord-Kivu, D.R.C avoiding the Rwenzori ...

. He made a journey to the mouth of the Sobat in 1854–1855 together with his wife, his son and later his agent Philippe Terranuova. At one point, their boats were grounded for six months due to the dry season and they were threatened by hostile natives. Between 1855 and 1856, Debono was the British Consular Agent in Khartoum. In 1859 he explored Gondokoro once again, publishing a book about his travels three years later. He was accompanied by the Italian explorer

Giovanni Miani Giovanni Miani (Rovigo 17 March 1810 – Tangasi 21 November 1872) was an Italian explorer. He is known for his explorations of the Nile, where he came close to being the first European to reach its source in Lake Victoria, and for his exploration ...

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 ...

wrote, "de Bono's people are the worst of the lot, having utterly destroyed the country." In Khartoum, Consul

John Petherick John Petherick (1813 – 15 July 1882), was a Wales, Welsh traveller, trader and consul in East Central Africa. Life Petherick was born in Glamorganshire, and adopted the profession of mining engineer. In 1845 he entered the service of Mehemet Al ...

accused Debono and his nephew of involvement in slave trading, and although all charges were later dropped, Debono's reputation was ruined. His health declined after he lost his nephew, and he subsequently sold his property and moved back to Cairo. Debono died there on 29 October 1871 at the age of 49.

Legacy

Andrea Debono was mentioned in the 1863 novel ''

Five Weeks in a Balloon ''Five Weeks in a Balloon, or, A Journey of Discovery by Three Englishmen in Africa'' () is an adventure novel by Jules Verne, published in 1863. It is the first novel in which he perfected the "ingredients" of his later work, skillfully mixing ...

'' by

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

. A street in his hometown Senglea is named after him.

Biography

Legacy

References

Further reading