Charles Waterton (3 June 1782 – 27 May 1865) was an English naturalist, plantation overseer and explorer best known for his pioneering work regarding conservation.
Family and religion
Waterton was of a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
landed gentry family descended from Reiner de
Waterton. The Watertons had remained Catholic after the English Reformation and consequently the vast majority of their estates were confiscated.
[J W Walker OBE FSA. The Burghs of Cambridgeshire and Yorkshire and the Watertons of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. (1931) The Yorkshire Archæological Journal XXX 314–419.] Charles Waterton himself was a devout and ascetic Catholic, and maintained strong links with the Vatican.
Early life
"Squire" Waterton was born at
Walton Hall,
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
,
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
to Thomas Waterton and Anne Bedingfield.
He was educated at
Stonyhurst College in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
where his interest in exploration and wildlife were already evident. On one occasion Waterton was caught by the school's Jesuit Superior scaling the towers at the front of the building; almost at the top, the Superior ordered him to come down the way he had gone up. Waterton records in his autobiography that while he was at the school, "by a mutual understanding, I was considered rat-catcher to the establishment, and also fox-taker,
foumart-killer, and cross-bow charger at the time when the young
rook
Rook (''Corvus frugilegus'') is a bird of the corvid family. Rook or rooks may also refer to:
Games
*Rook (chess), a piece in chess
*Rook (card game), a trick-taking card game
Military
* Sukhoi Su-25 or Rook, a close air support aircraft
* USS ...
s were fledged. ... I followed up my calling with great success. The vermin disappeared by the dozen; the books were moderately well-thumbed; and according to my notion of things, all went on perfectly right."
South America
In 1804 he travelled to
British Guiana to take charge of his uncle's
slave plantation
A slave plantation was an agricultural farm that used enslaved people for labour. The practice was abolished in most places during the 19th century.
Slavery
Planters embraced the use of slaves mainly because indentured labor became expensive ...
s near
Georgetown. In 1812 he started to explore the hinterland of the colony, making four journeys between then and 1824, and reaching
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
walking barefoot in the rainy season. He described his discoveries in his book ''Waterton's Wanderings in South America'', which inspired British schoolboys such as
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...
and
Alfred Russel Wallace. His explorations laid to rest the persistent myth of Raleigh's
Lake Parime
Lake Parime or Lake Parima is a legendary lake located in South America. It was reputedly the location of the fabled city of El Dorado, also known as Manoa, much sought-after by European explorers. Repeated attempts to find the lake failed to con ...
by suggesting that the seasonal flooding of the
Rupununi savannah
The Rupununi savannah is a savanna plain in Guyana, in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region. It is part of the Guianan savanna ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome.
Description
The Rupununi Sava ...
had been misidentified as a lake.
Waterton was a skilled taxidermist and preserved many of the animals he encountered on his expeditions. He employed a unique method of taxidermy, soaking the specimens in what he called "sublimate of mercury". Unlike many preserved ("stuffed") animals, his specimens are hollow and lifelike. He also displayed his anarchic sense of humour in some of his taxidermy: one tableau he created (now lost) consisted of reptiles dressed as famous English Protestants and entitled "The English Reformation Zoologically Demonstrated". Another specimen was the bottom of a howler monkey which he turned into an almost human face and simply labelled "The Nondescript". This specimen is still on display at the
Wakefield Museum, along with other items from Waterton's collection.
While he was in British Guiana Waterton taught his skills to one of his uncle's slaves,
John Edmonstone. Edmonstone, by then freed and practising
taxidermy
Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proc ...
in Edinburgh, in turn taught the teenage Darwin.
Waterton is credited with bringing the anaesthetic agent
curare
Curare ( /kʊˈrɑːri/ or /kjʊˈrɑːri/; ''koo-rah-ree'' or ''kyoo-rah-ree'') is a common name for various alkaloid arrow poisons originating from plant extracts. Used as a paralyzing agent by indigenous peoples in Central and South ...
wourali to Europe. In London, with Fellows of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
, he immobilised several animals, including a cat and a she-ass, with his wourali
urare and then revived the she-ass with a bellows. (Hence) the ass was named Wouralia and lived for years at Walton Hall.
Walton Hall
In the 1820s Waterton returned to Walton Hall and built a nine-foot-high wall around three miles (5 km) of the estate, turning it into the world's first
wildfowl
The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating on ...
and
nature reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
, making him one of the world's first environmentalists. He also invented the
bird nesting box. The Waterton Collection, on display at
Stonyhurst College until 1966, is now in the
Wakefield Museum. Waterton owned a dog who was prominent in the foundation of the modern
English Mastiff
The English Mastiff, or simply the Mastiff, is a British dog breed of very large size. Likely descended from the ancient Alaunt and Pugnaces Britanniae, with a significant input from the Alpine Mastiff in the 19th century. Distinguished by its ...
and may be traced back to in the pedigrees of all living dogs of this breed.
On 11 May 1829, at the age of 47, Waterton married 17-year-old Anne Edmonstone, the granddaughter of an
Arawak
The Arawak are a group of indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. Specifically, the term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to the Lokono of South America and the Taíno, who historically lived in the Great ...
Indian. His wife died shortly after giving birth to their son,
Edmund, when she was only 18. After her death he slept on the floor with a block of wood for a pillow, "as self-inflicted penance for her soul!"
Waterton was an early opponent of
pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...
. He fought a long-running court case against the owners of a soap works that had been set up near his estate in 1839, and sent out poisonous chemicals that severely damaged the trees in the park and polluted the lake. He was eventually successful in having the soap works moved.
Waterton died after fracturing his ribs and injuring his liver in a fall on his estate. His coffin was taken from the hall by barge to his chosen resting place, near the spot where the accident happened, in a funeral cortege led by the Bishop of Beverley, and followed at the lakeside by many local people. The grave was between two oak trees, which are no longer there.
Alleged eccentricities
A range of stories have been handed down about Charles Waterton, few of which are verifiable. The following are at least documented:
* He "liked to dress as a scarecrow and sit in trees."
* He pretended to be his own butler and then tickled his guests with a coal brush.
[Edginton, 1996. p.2]
* He climbed tall trees to replace nestling heron chicks which had fallen from their nests in a storm.
[Edginton, 1996. p.2]
* He pretended to be a dog and would then bite the legs of his guests as they came into his house.
[Edginton, 1996. p.2]
* Whenever he was ill he
cupped himself heavily "to cure anything and everything, from backache to malaria". In the chapter titled, "Squire Waterton," Harley relates his conversation with Waterton that describes Waterton's philosophy and practice of bleeding himself.
Legacy
Waterton is chiefly remembered for his association with
curare
Curare ( /kʊˈrɑːri/ or /kjʊˈrɑːri/; ''koo-rah-ree'' or ''kyoo-rah-ree'') is a common name for various alkaloid arrow poisons originating from plant extracts. Used as a paralyzing agent by indigenous peoples in Central and South ...
, and for his writings on natural history and conservation.
David Attenborough has described him as “one of the first people anywhere to recognise, not only that the natural world was of great importance, but that it needed protection as humanity made more and more demands on it”.
Sir David Attenborough will open city centre’s new museum
. Wakefield Express. 23 February 2013
Waterton's house, Walton Hall, which may be approached only by a pedestrian bridge to its own island, is now the main building of a hotel. There is a golf course in the vicinity and various public footpaths, some leading to a nature reserve- Anglers Country Park.
Waterton Lakes in Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, now a national park, was named after him by Thomas Blakiston in 1858. A Wakefield road and school in Wakefield, Yorkshire, are also named after him.
Footnotes
References
Charles Waterton
a
Accessed 24 November 2008.
Further reading
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External links
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*
Waterton at Wakefield Museum
* Archival Material at
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waterton, Charles
1782 births
1865 deaths
People educated at Stonyhurst College
English explorers
English naturalists
History of Guyana
People from Walton, Wakefield
English Roman Catholics
Stonyhurst College
English conservationists
Taxidermists