Adam Stanley Renders (surname often recorded as Render; 1822–1881) was a

German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unit ...

hunter, prospector and trader in southern Africa who is generally recorded as the first European to see the medieval city of

Great Zimbabwe Great Zimbabwe is a medieval city in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwi and the town of Masvingo. It is thought to have been the capital of a great kingdom during the country's Late Iron Age about which little is known. ...

, having inadvertently come across the ruins while hunting big game in 1867. He subsequently guided the explorer and geographer

Karl Mauch Karl Gottlieb Mauch (7 May 1837 – 4 April 1875) was a German explorer and geographer of Africa. He reported on the archaeological ruins of Great Zimbabwe in 1871 during his search for the biblical land of Ophir. Exploration and Great Zimbabwe ...

during the first archaeological expedition to the site in 1871, and also discovered prehistoric gold mines in the region.

Biography

Born in Germany in 1822, Renders lived in the United States from early childhood until about 1842, when he emigrated to Natal in South Africa. He joined the

Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this a ...

Voortrekkers and allegedly fought with them against the British at the

Battle of Boomplaats The Battle of Boomplaats (also referred to as the Battle of Boomplaas) was fought near Jagersfontein at on 29 August 1848 between the British and the Voortrekkers. The British were led by Sir Harry Smith,Smith, Sir Harry. ‘’The Autobiograp ...

in 1848. The same year Renders is believed to have settled in

Zoutpansberg Zoutpansberg was the north-eastern division of the Transvaal, South Africa, encompassing an area of 25,654 square miles. The chief towns at the time were Pietersburg and Leydsdorp. It was divided into two districts (west and east) prior to the f ...

in the north-east of the Transvaal. He married Willem Andries Petrus Pretorius's daughter Elsje Magdalina Josina Pretorius, and hunted and traded on both sides of the

Limpopo River The Limpopo River rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mount ...

. During one of his

big-game hunting Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for meat, commercially valuable by-products (such as horns/ antlers, furs, tusks, bones, body fat/ oil, or special organs and contents), trophy/ taxidermy, or simply just for recre ...

trips north of the river in 1867, he inadvertently came across the ruins of

, a medieval walled city that had been abandoned for centuries; scholarly consensus records him as the first white man to see this place. Renders deserted his wife and 4 children ( Helena Barendina Norbetta Renders 1863–1889, Jan Adam Renders 1864-?, Willem Andries Petrus Renders 1866-1943 and Hendrik Jacobus Renders 1869-1947) in 1868 following a series of quarrels. He relocated north of the Limpopo and "went native", living about south-east of Great Zimbabwe with the daughter of a local chief for the rest of his life. He apparently made little effort to report his discovery of Great Zimbabwe to other Westerners. Continuing to informally explore the region, he found a number of ancient gold mines. In 1871, Renders hosted the German explorer and geographer

, who had heard of Great Zimbabwe and come to the area hoping to make the first archaeological study. Mauch stayed with Renders for nine months, making a number of study excursions to the ruins during that time. In stark contrast to Renders, Mauch sent flamboyant descriptions of the site to the overseas press, claiming that the site was a replica of

Solomon's Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by th ...

and that he had found the land of

Ophir Ophir (; ) is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. King Solomon received a shipment from Ophir every three years (1 Kings 10:22) which consisted of gold, silver, sandalwood, pearls, ivory, apes, and peacocks. ...

described in the Bible. As the first Westerner to report on Great Zimbabwe, it was Mauch who received most of the credit for finding it. Renders died in obscurity in 1881. Great Zimbabwe has been marked by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

as a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

since 1986.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Render, Adam 1822 births 1881 deaths 19th-century explorers American explorers German emigrants to South Africa German emigrants to the United States German explorers of Africa History of Zimbabwe South African military personnel South African people of German descent