Hermann Soyaux (4 January 1852, Breslau – 1928,

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

) was a German botanist and explorer.

Biography

Soyaux was initially a horticulturalist and then studied botany in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. The ''Deutsche Afrika Gesellschaft'' (German Africa Society) funded him as a botanist on the expedition of

Paul Güssfeldt Dr Paul Güssfeldt (spelled Güßfeldt in German) (14 October 1840 – 18 January 1920) was a German geologist, mountaineer and explorer. Biography Güssfeldt was born in Berlin, where he also died almost 80 years later. After attending the C ...

to the

Kingdom of Loango The Kingdom of Loango (also ''Luangu'', ''Luaangu'', ''Lwaangu'', ''Lwangu'', ''Luango'', ''Lwango'', ''Luaango'' or ''Lwaango'' Iko Kabwita Kabolo, ''Le royaume Kongo et la mission catholique 1750-1838'', KARTHALA Editions, 2004, p. 303-313) w ...

. On the expedition, Soyaux traveled at the end of 1873 to the Loangoan coast in what is now

Cabinda Province Cabinda (formerly called Portuguese Congo, ) is an exclave and province of Angola, a status that has been disputed by several political organizations in the territory. The capital city is also called Cabinda, known locally as ''Tchiowa'', ''Tsi ...

, where he joined Güssfeldt, Julius Falkenstein and

Eduard Pechuël-Loesche Moritz Eduard Pechuël-Loesche, (26 July 1840, Zöschen – 29 May 1913, Munich), was a German naturalist, geographer, ethnologist, painter, traveler, author, plant collector and Professor of Geography in Jena and Erlangen. Eduard was the eldest ...

. In 1875 Soyaux was commissioned to go to Angola, where he met

Paul Pogge Paul Friedrich Johann Moritz Pogge (24 December 1838 – 16 March 1884) was a German explorer in the African continent. Pogge was born in Groß Roge, Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He studied law in Berlin, Munich and Heidelberg, where he obtained hi ...

. When the expedition was disbanded in 1876, Soyaux returned in mid-1876 to Germany. In the years from 1876 to 1879 he published ''Der verlorene Weltteil'' (Berlin, 1876) and ''Aus Westafrika'' (2 vols., Leipzig, 1879). On behalf of the Hamburg trading house Carl Woermann, Soyaux went in 1879 to

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

. In 1885 he returned to Germany and until the beginning of 1888 he worked in Berlin as the head of the information office for the ''Deutsche Kolonialverein''. F. A. Brockhaus AG published Soyaux's "Deutsche Arbeit in Afrika: Erfahrungen und Betrachtungen" (Leipzig, 1888). In the spring of 1888 Soyaux went to Brazil on behalf of the ''Siedlungsgesellschaft Herman'', a colonial land-developing company. He led the colony Bom Retiro in the province

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

. In 1904 he was one of the founders of the ''Centro Econômico do Rio Grande do Sul''. He then lived in

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

Selected publications

* (The lost part of the world) * (From West Africa) * (German work in Africa: experiences and considerations)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soyaux, Hermann 1852 births 1928 deaths 19th-century German botanists 20th-century German botanists German explorers of Africa Scientists from Wrocław Scientists from the Kingdom of Prussia Kingdom of Loango Emigrants from the German Empire Immigrants to Brazil