Georg Joseph Kamel (; la, Georgius Josephus Camellus; cz, Jiří Josef Kamel; es, Jorge Camel; 12 April 1661 – 2 May 1706) was a Jesuit missionary, pharmacist and naturalist known for producing the first comprehensive accounts of Philippine flora and fauna and for introducing Philippine nature to the European learned world. A number of Kamel's treatises were published in the ''

Philosophical Transactions ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the first journa ...

'', while his descriptions of Philippine flora appeared as an appendix to the third volume of

John Ray John Ray FRS (29 November 1627 – 17 January 1705) was a Christian English naturalist widely regarded as one of the earliest of the English parson-naturalists. Until 1670, he wrote his name as John Wray. From then on, he used 'Ray', after ...

's ''

Historia Plantarum Historia may refer to: * Historia, the local version of the History channel in Spain and Portugal * Historia (TV channel), a Canadian French language specialty channel * Historia (newspaper), a French monthly newspaper devoted to History topics * ...

''.

Biography

Early life

Kamel was born on 12 April 1661 in the city of Brno,

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. Th ...

now the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...

. His name suggests that he was of German origin. In November 1682 he joined the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

as a lay brother and spent his novitiate in Brno. In 1685 he was sent to the Holy Trinity College in Neuhaus where he served as an assistant infirmarian and pharmacist. The Jesuit roster for that year indicated Kamel knew German, Czech and some Latin. In 1686 he was moved to the Jesuit college in Krummau where he worked as a pharmacist. His pharmacy has been minutely restored and still exists in the local Museum of Český Krumlov During this time, Kamel applied to be sent to the Jesuit overseas missions and his request was granted.

Philippines

In 1687 Kamel was sent to the Philippines with a number of other Moravian and Bohemian missionaries. He embarked from

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

on 9 July 1687 and sailed first to Vera Cruz, New Spain. From there he traveled overland to Acapulco where he boarded a galleon and arrived in Manila sometime in 1688. In Manila he was assigned to the local Jesuit college, Colegio de Manila where he established the college pharmacy and gave free medical treatment to the city’s poor. He also created a botanical garden which became well known for its collection of rare and medicinal plants. Murillo Velarde, Pedro (1749), ''Historia de la Provincia de Philipinas de la Compañia de Jesus,'' Manila, p.393v–394r In 1696, Kamel made his final vows at the Church of the Society in Manila.Cullum 1956 pp. 326 Through Kamel's labours, the Jesuit College in Manila soon became the most reputed one in the Philippines and his treatment was sought by persons of high authority. At the same time, observing the Christian ideals of

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

, he supplied remedies to the poor and the

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

for free. Kamel's reputation fast extended even beyond the Philippine Islands, as he entered into scholarly correspondence with learned men both in Europe and Asia. He exchanged letters, information and specimens with

Willem ten Rhijne Willem ten Rhijne (1647, Deventer – 1 June 1700, Batavia) was a Dutch doctor and botanist who was employed by the Dutch East India Company in 1673. In summer 1674 he was dispatched to the trading post Dejima in Japan. While giving medica ...

, a Dutch botanist in Batavia; Samuel Browne and

Edward Bulkley Edward Bulkley (died 10 August 1714) was an East India Company surgeon (1602-1709) posted in Madras and a pioneer naturalist. He corresponded with James Petiver and was the first to document the bird species of which a list of birds was published ...

, two English surgeons in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...

; and two members 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, r ...

, the apothecary

James Petiver James Petiver (c. 1665 – c. 2 April 1718) was a London apothecary, a fellow of the Royal Society as well as London's informal Temple Coffee House Botany Club, famous for his specimen collections in which he traded and study of botany and entomo ...

and the naturalist

. Kamel died at the age of 45 from a disease whose symptoms included diarrhoea.

Work

Kamel drew, described and commented on diverse parts of Philippine nature: from plants to animals, from minerals to insects, shells and molluscs, snakes and even monsters (see below), with his first known text published in 1699. Although the first consignment of his treatises fell into the hands of pirates and was lost, he successfully shipped his accounts to London where they were published by his correspondents Ray and Petiver. Kamel's descriptions of Philippine herbs, shrubs and trees were published as a 96-page appendix to Ray's third volume of Historia Plantarum (1704), while the remainder of his works appeared the Philosophical Transactions. Kamel was the first to acquaint Europe with species such as the

tarsier Tarsiers ( ) are haplorhine primates of the family Tarsiidae, which is itself the lone extant family within the infraorder Tarsiiformes. Although the group was once more widespread, all of its species living today are found in Maritime Southe ...

, the

colugo Colugos () are arboreal gliding mammals that are native to Southeast Asia. Their closest evolutionary relatives are primates. There are just two living species of colugos: the Sunda flying lemur (''Galeopterus variegatus'') and the Philippine f ...

and the St Ignatius bean, a medicinal plant and source of strychnine. Linnaeus did not have a high opinion of Kamel's work and he was critical of the descriptions used in John Ray and declared them as “Descriptiones imperfectae. Florum nulla notitia.” Linnaeus preferred the works of Rumphius for plants of the region. The majority of Kamel's surviving notes are now kept in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

in London, while one volume each are held in the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum ...

and the

Maurits Sabbe Library Maurits is the Dutch equivalent of the masculine given name Maurice. People with the name include: Royalty * Prince Maurice of Nassau, (1567–1625), military leader of the Dutch Republic, son of William I of Orange * Count John Maurice of Nas ...

in Leuven, Belgium. Copies of parts of Kamel's work can be found in his birthplace in Brno, the Czech Republic, alongside his birth register records and several other documents.

Overview of some of his works

;Published as an appendix to

's ''

'' * ''Plants of Luzon Island'': ''Historia stirpium insula Luzonis et reliquarum Philippinarum''. In John Ray, ''Historia plantarum'', vol. 3, London 1704, pp. 1–96
online)
. ;Published in ''

'' from 1699 * ''On True Amomum (Gingeraceae)'': ''A description and figure of the True Amomum, or Tugus'' (1699), 21 (248): 2–4 ( DOI:10.1098/rstl.1699.0002). * ''On Bean of St. Ignatius (Strychnine)'': ''An account of the vertues of Faba Sancti Ignatii, mentioned last Transaction'' (1699), 21 (250): 87 ( DOI:10.1098/rstl.1699.0018). * ''A further and more exact account of the same, sent in a letter from Father Camelli to Mr. John Ray and Mr. James Petiver, Fellows of the Royal Society'' (1699), 21 (250): 88–94 ( DOI:10.1098/rstl.1699.0019). * ''On Some Philippine Animals'': ''An account of Mr. Samuel Brown his sixth book of East India Plants, with their names, vertues, description etc. By James Petiver, apothecary, and fellow of the Royal Society. To these are added some animals etc. which the reverend Father George Joseph Camel very lately sent him from the Philippine Isles'' (1702), 23 (277): 1055–1068 ( DOI:10.1098/rstl.1702.0003). * ''On Philippine Birds'' ''Georgii Josephi Cameli observationes de avibus Philippensibus, communicatae a Jacobo Petiver, S. R. S.'' (1702), 23 (285): 1394–1399 ( DOI:10.1098/rstl.1702.0051). * ''On Philippine Coralls and Marine Animals'': ''A description of some coralls and other curious submarines lately sent to James Petiver, apothecary and fellow of the Royal Society, from the Philippine Isles by the reverend George Joseph Camel; as also an account of some plants from Chusan, an island on the coast of China, collected by Mr James Cuninghame, chyrurgeon & F.R.S.'' (1702), 23 (286): 1419–1429 ( DOI:10.1098/rstl.1702.0056). * ''Tractatulus de ambaro, a reverendo domino domino Georgio Josepho Camello, communicatus domino Jacobo Petiverio Societatis Regiae socio'' (1704), 24 (291): 1591–1596 ( DOI:10.1098/rstl.1704.0017). * ''Philippine Plants part 1'': ''Reverendi Patris Georgii Josephi Camelli tractatus de plantis Philippensibus scandentibus, ad Jacobum Petiver, S.R.S. missus'' (1704), 24 (293): 1707–1722 ( DOI:10.1098/rstl.1704.0034). * ''Philippine Plants part 2'': ''Georgii Josephi Camelli de plantis Philippensibus scandentibus; pars secunda. Ad Jacobum Petiver, S.R.S. nuper transmissa'' (1704), 24 (294): 1763–1773 ( DOI:10.1098/rstl.1704.0042). * ''Philippine Plants part 3'': ''Georgii Josephi Camelli de plantis Philippensibus scandentibus; pars tertia. Ad Jacobum Petiver, S.R.S. nuper transmissa'' (1704), 24 (295): 1809 ( DOI:10.1098/rstl.1704.0053). * ''Philippine Plants part 4'': ''Reverendi Patris Georgii Josephi Camelli de plantis Philippensibus scandentibus; pars quarta. Ad dominum Jacobum Petiver, S.R.S. nuper transmissa'' (1704), 24 (296): 1816–1842 ( DOI:10.1098/rstl.1704.0055). * ''Philippine Fishes, Moluscs and Crustaceans'': ''De piscibus, moluscis at crustaceis Philippensibus, ex manuscriptis reverendi Patris Georgii Josephi Camelli ad dominum Jacobum Petiver, S.R.S. transmissis'' (1704), 24 (301): 2043–2080 ( DOI:10.1098/rstl.1704.0084). * ''On fourlegged animals of the Philippines'' (including first ever picture of tarsier or flying lemur): ''De quadrupedibus Philippensibus tractatus a reverendo Georgio Josepho Camello transmissus Jacobo Petiver, pharmacopolae et Societatis Regiae socio Londini'' (1706), 25 (305): 2197–2204 ( DOI:10.1098/rstl.1706.0002). * ''Philippine Monsters and Snakes'': ''De monstris, quasi monstris et monstrosis; item de serpentibus, etc. Philippensibus ex manuscripto reverendi Patris Georgii Josephi Camelli communicavit dominus Jacobus Petiver, pharmacopola Londini et S.R.S.'' (1706), 25 (307): 2266–2276 ( DOI:10.1098/rstl.1706.0019). * ''Philippine Shells, Minerals and Fossils'': ''De conchyliis turbinatis, bivalvibus et univalvibus; item de mineralibus, fossilibus et thermis Philippensibus, ex manuscriptis reverendi Patris Georgii Josephi Camelli communicavit dominus Jacobus Petiver, pharmacopola Londini et S.R.S.'' (1706), 25 (311): 2397–2408 ( DOI:10.1098/rstl.1706.0043). * ''Philippine Animals'':''De variis animalibus Philippensibus, ex manuscriptis reverendi Patris Georgii Josephi Camelli communicavit dominus Jacobus Petiver, pharmacopola Londini et S.R.S.'' (1708), 26 (318): 241–248 ( DOI:10.1098/rstl.1708.0037). * ''Philippine Spiders and Beetles'': ''De araneis et scarabaeis Philippensibus, ex manuscriptis reverendi Patris Georgii Josephi Camelli communicavit dominus Jacobus Petiver, pharmacopola Londini et S.R.S.'' (1711), 27 (331): 310–315 ( DOI:10.1098/rstl.1710.0025).

Plants named after Kamel

Several plants were named in Kamel's honour, though in his adopted homeland, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, he is mostly forgotten.

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...

named the well known genus of flowering plants ''

Camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controvers ...

'' in Kamel's honour. American botanist

Elmer Drew Merrill Elmer Drew Merrill (October 15, 1876 – February 25, 1956) was an American botanist and taxonomist. He spent more than twenty years in the Philippines where he became a recognized authority on the flora of the Asia-Pacific region. Through ...

named ''

Eugenia kamelii ''Eugenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It has a worldwide, although highly uneven, distribution in tropical and subtropical regions. The bulk of the approximately 1,100 species occur in the New World tropics, ...

'' after Kamel.

References

Literature

* * Gicklhorn J. and Gicklhorn R. (1954) "Georg Joseph Kamel, S. J.: Apotheker, botaniker, arzt und naturforscher der Philippineninseln", Eutin: Holstein Internationale Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Pharmazie. * Kroupa, Sebestian (2015) "Ex epistulis Philippinensibus: Georg Joseph Kamel SJ (1661–1706) and His Correspondence Network", Centaurus 57(4): 229–259. * Murillo Velarde P. (1716) "Historia de la Provincia de Philipinas de la Compañia de Jesus. Segunda parte, que comprehende los progresos de esta provincia desde el año de 1616. Hasta el de 1716", Manila, pp. 393v-394r. * *

External links

A digital version of Kamel's manuscript held in LeuvenDrawings from the Philippine Islands by Kamel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamel, Georg Joseph 1661 births 1706 deaths People from Brno in health professions People from the Margraviate of Moravia Czech Jesuits 17th-century Latin-language writers 17th-century Bohemian people Botanists active in the Philippines Roman Catholic missionaries in the Philippines Czech botanists Czech ornithologists Czech Roman Catholic missionaries Scientists from Brno Herbalists Czech pharmacists Pre-Linnaean botanists Catholic clergy scientists 17th-century Jesuits Czech expatriates in the Philippines Jesuit scientists Missionary botanists Clergy from Brno