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Major Daniel Houghton
Daniel Houghton (1740–1791) was an Irish explorer and one of the earliest Europeans to travel through the interior of West Africa. Early life and family After he retired from the army he married and started a family. He married Philippa Evelyn, the great-granddaughter of John Evelyn, the diarist, at St Martin in the Fields, London, on 12 December 1783. A marriage notice referred to him as "Major of the Garrison of Goree in Africa, and formerly Consul-General to the Emperor of Morocco." They had three children: Charles Evelyn Daniel Francis Houghton, born on 20 September 1784; Frederick Hugh Evelyn Houghton, born on 30 August 1786; and Philippa Maria Houghton, born on 27 July 1788. Prior to his marriage to Philippa. Daniel had been married before. In the Irish National Archives there is a file containing the "Memorial of Monica Kiernan, alias Lawler Lynch and James, George and Cecilia Lawler Lynch of Galway Town, to Viscount Sidmouth, seeking assistance and noting that they are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish People
The Irish ( or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common ancestry, history and Culture of Ireland, culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been continually inhabited for more than 10,000 years (see Prehistoric Ireland). For most of Ireland's recorded history, the Irish have been primarily a Gaels, Gaelic people (see Gaelic Ireland). From the 9th century, small numbers of Vikings settled in Ireland, becoming the Norse-Gaels. Anglo-Normans also Norman invasion of Ireland, conquered parts of Ireland in the 12th century, while Kingdom of England, England's 16th/17th century Tudor conquest of Ireland, conquest and Plantations of Ireland, colonisation of Ireland brought many English people, English and Scottish Lowlands, Lowland Scottish people, Scots to parts of the island, especially the north. Today, Ireland is made up of the Republic of Ireland (officially called Republic of Irela ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Association
The Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa (commonly known as the African Association), founded in London on 9 June 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 gold. The formation of this group was effectively the "beginning of the age of African exploration". Organized by a dozen titled members of London's upper-class establishment and led by Sir Joseph Banks, the African Association felt that it was the great failing of the Age of Enlightenment that, in a time when men could sail around the world, the geography of Africa remained almost entirely uncharted (leading to the now-offensive nickname, the "Dark Continent"). The Ancient Greeks and Romans knew more about the interior of Africa than did the British of the 18th century.Kryza p. 12. Motivated by desires for scientific knowledge and seekin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gambia River
The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra, French language, French: ''Fleuve Gambie'', Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Rio Gâmbia'') is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul. It is navigability, navigable for about half that length. The river is strongly associated with The Gambia, the smallest country in mainland Africa, which occupies the downstream half of the river and its two banks. Geography The Gambia River runs a total length of . From the Fouta Djallon, it runs northwest into the Tambacounda Region of Senegal, where it flows through the Parc National du Niokolo Koba, then is joined by the Nieri Ko and and passing through the Barrakunda Falls before entering the Gambia at Koina. At this point, the river runs generally west, but in a meandering course with a number of Oxbow lake, oxbows, and about from its mouth it gradually ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns language codes to 32 varieties of Arabic, including its standard form of Literary Arabic, known as Modern Standard Arabic, which is derived from Classical Arabic. This distinction exists primarily among Western linguists; Arabic speakers themselves generally do not distinguish between Modern Standard Arabic and Classical Arabic, but rather refer to both as ( "the eloquent Arabic") or simply ' (). Arabic is the List of languages by the number of countries in which they are recognized as an official language, third most widespread official language after English and French, one of six official languages of the United Nations, and the Sacred language, liturgical language of Islam. Arabic is widely taught in schools and universities around the wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mandinka Language
The Mandinka language (; Ajami: ), or Mandingo, is a Mande language spoken by the Mandinka people of northern Guinea-Bissau, the Casamance region of Senegal, and The Gambia where it is one of the principal languages. Mandinka belongs to the Manding branch of Mande and is similar to Bambara and Maninka/Malinké but with only 5 instead of 7 vowels, due to lacking the ATR distinction. The varieties spoken in Urban Gambia and Senegal borders on a pitch accent due to its proximity with non-tonal neighboring languages like Wolof. Phonology Mandinka is here represented by the variety spoken in Casamance. There is little dialectical diversity. Tone Mandinka has two tones, high and low. Unmodified nouns are either high tone on all syllables or low tone on all syllables. The definite suffix ''-o'' takes a low tone on high-tone nouns and a falling tone on low-tone nouns. It also assimilates any preceding short vowel, resulting in a long /oo/ with either low or falling tone ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barrow Kunda
Barrow Kunda is a town in the Gambia. It is located in Wuli District in the Upper River Division. According to tradition the village was founded in the 16th century by Alai Bah, a marabout from Futa Toro. The king of Wuli at the time, Mansa Jalali Wali convinced him to settle there by promising him autonomy to practice Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ... and protection from search and seizure. The Alkalo (village chief) is generally the head of the Barrow family. Barrow Kunda had as of 2009 an estimated population of 1 730. There is another Barrow Kunda located in Foni Kansala district. References {{coord, 13, 29, 19, N, 14, 07, 01, W, region:GM-U_type:city(1752)_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Populated places in the Gambia Upper River Div ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hausa Kingdoms
Hausa Kingdoms, also known as Hausa Kingdom or Hausaland, was a collection of states ruled by the Hausa people, before the Fulani jihads. It was situated between the Niger River and Lake Chad (modern day northern Nigeria). Hausaland lay between the Western Sudanic kingdoms of Ancient Ghana, Mali and Songhai and the Eastern Sudanic kingdoms of Kanem-Bornu. Hausaland took shape as a political and cultural region during the first millennium CE as a result of the westward expansion of Hausa peoples. They arrived in Hausaland when the terrain was converting from woodlands to savannah. They started cultivating grains, which led to a denser peasant population. They had a common language, laws and customs. The Hausa were known for fishing, hunting, agriculture, salt-mining, and blacksmithing. By the 14th century, Katsina had become the most powerful city-state. Katsina was the base for the trans-Saharan trade in salt, cloth, leather, and grain. The Hausa oral history is reflecte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Timbuktu
Timbuktu ( ; ; Koyra Chiini: ; ) is an ancient city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. It is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali, having a population of 32,460 in the 2018 census. Archaeological evidence suggests prehistoric settlements in the region, predating the city's Islamic scholarly and trade prominence in the medieval period. Timbuktu began as a seasonal settlement and became permanent early in the 12th century. After a shift in trading routes, particularly after the visit by Mansa Musa around 1325, Timbuktu flourished, due to its strategic location, from the trade in salt, gold, and ivory. It gradually expanded as an important Islamic city on the Saharan trade route and attracted many scholars and traders before it became part of the Mali Empire early in the 14th century. In the first half of the 15th century, the Tuareg people took control for a short period, until the expanding Songhai Empire absorbed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niger River
The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Niger, on the border with Benin and then through Nigeria, discharging through a massive River delta, delta, known as the Niger Delta, into the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. The Niger is the third-longest river in Africa, exceeded by the Nile and the Congo River. Its main tributary is the Benue River. Etymology The Niger has different names in the different languages of the region: * Fula language, Fula: ''Maayo Jaaliba'' * Manding languages, Manding: ''Jeliba'' or ''Joliba'' "great river" * Tuareg languages, Tuareg: ''Eġərəw n-Igərǝwăn'' "river of rivers" * Songhay languages, Songhay: ''Isa'' "the river" * Zarma language, Zarma: ''Isa Beeri'' "great river" * Hausa language, Hausa: ''Kwara'' *Nupe language, Nupe: ''Èdù'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Sattin
Anthony Sattin FRGS is a British journalist, broadcaster and travel writer. His main areas of interest is the Middle East and Africa, particularly Egypt, and he has lived and travelled extensively in these regions. Education Sattin completed a literature degree at the University of Warwick and an MA in creative writing at the University of East Anglia. Writing Sattin's book ''A Winter on the Nile: Florence Nightingale, Gustave Flaubert and the Temptations of Egypt'', a collection of Florence Nightingale's previously-unpublished letters, was described in ''The Literary Review'' as "a triumph of the historical imagination" and in ''The Independent'' as "some of the best writing of the year". The Lonely Planet Guide ''A House Somewhere: Tales of Life Abroad'', to which Sattin contributed, has been used as a set text for teaching English A-level. Sattin has been a long-time regular contributor to the '' Sunday Times'' travel and books pages and to '' Conde Nast Traveller''. His ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mungo Park (explorer)
Mungo Park (10 September 1771 – 1806) was a Scottish explorer of West Africa. After an exploration of the upper Niger River around 1796, he wrote a popular and influential Travel literature, travel book titled ''Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa'' in which he theorized the Niger and Congo River, Congo merged to become the same river, though it was later proven that they are different rivers. He was killed during a second expedition, having successfully travelled about two-thirds of the way down the Niger. If the African Association was the "beginning of the European exploration of Africa, age of African exploration" by Europeans, then Mungo Park was its first successful explorer; he set a standard for all who followed. Park was the first Western culture, Westerner to have recorded travels in the central portion of the Niger, and through his popular book introduced the European public to a vast unexplored continent which influenced future European explorers and coloni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1740 Births
Events January–March * January 8 – All 237 crewmen on the Dutch East India Company ship '' Rooswijk'' are drowned when the vessel strikes the shoals of Goodwin Sands, off of the coast of England, as it is beginning its second voyage to the Indies. The wreckage is discovered more than 250 years later, in 2004. * February 20 – The North Carolina General Assembly incorporates the town of Newton as Wilmington, North Carolina, named for Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington and patron of Royal Governor Gabriel Johnston. * March 16 – King Edward of the Miskito Indians signs a treaty making his kingdom, located on the coast of modern-day Nicaragua, a protectorate of Great Britain. * March 25 – Construction begins on Bethesda Orphanage for boys near Savannah, Georgia, founded by George Whitefield. April–June * April 8 – War of the Austrian Succession: The Royal Navy captures the Spanish ship of the line '' Princesa'' off Cape Fin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
