Digby Willoughby (c. 1845–3 June 1901) was an English adventurer and mercenary.

Life

Willoughby left England for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in 1871 to seek his fortune. During the 1879

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in present-day South Africa from January to early July 1879 between forces of the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Two famous battles of the war were the Zulu victory at Battle of Isandlwana, Isandlwana and th ...

, he served as an officer in the

Natal Mounted Police The Natal Mounted Police (NMP) were the colonial police force of the Colony of Natal created in 1874 by Major John Dartnell, a farmer and retired officer in the British Army as a semi-military force to bolster the defences of Natal in South Africa ...

. He then for a time acted as auctioneer's assistant, subsequently becoming partner in the firm of Willoughby & Scoones at

Maritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...

, where he resided. After a short period with a theatrical company, he raised and commanded an irregular troop, "Willoughby's Horse", which saw service in the

Basuto Gun War The Basuto Gun War, also known as the Basutoland Rebellion, was a conflict between the Basuto and the British Cape Colony. It lasted from 13 September 1880 to 29 April 1881 and ended in a Basuto victory. Following Basutoland's transformation in ...

of 1880. In January 1884 Willoughby went to

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, where, gaining the confidence of the Queen

Ranavalona III Ranavalona III (; 22 November 1861 – 23 May 1917) was the last sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar. She ruled from 30 July 1883 to 28 February 1897 in a reign marked by ultimately futile efforts to resist the colonial designs of the go ...

and her husband

Rainilaiarivony Rainilaiarivony (30 January 1828 – 17 July 1896) was a Malagasy politician who served as the prime minister of Madagascar from 1864 to 1895, succeeding his older brother Rainivoninahitriniony, who had held the post for thirteen years. His ...

, the prime minister, he was appointed on 18 May general commander of the '' Hovas'', the kingdom's armed forces (18 May). On the outbreak of the First Franco-Hova War next year he assembled and drilled an army of 20,000 soldiers. The Hovas, however, were heavily defeated. At the close of the war in December 1885 Willoughby helped in negotiations with the French government, and went to London charged as

plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word can als ...

with a mission on behalf of the Malagasy government. Although he was well received, the British authorities did not recognise him, a British subject, as an envoy. The mission involved the negotiation of a loan; but when Willoughby returned to Madagascar, belatedly, he was charged with the misuse of funds, and expelled from the country.Phares M. Mutibwa, ''Trade and economic development in nineteenth century Madagascar'', Transafrican Journal of History Vol. 2, No. 1 (January 1972), pp. 32–63. Published by: Gideon Were Publications. Wearing the uniform of a British field-marshal, Willoughby ran a military spectacle at the Chicago Exhibition of 1893. In October of the same year, after the outbreak of the

First Matabele War The First Matabele War was fought between 1893 and 1894 in modern-day Zimbabwe. It pitted the British South Africa Company against the Ndebele (Matabele) Kingdom. Lobengula, king of the Ndebele, had tried to avoid outright war with the compa ...

, went to

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

. The war was almost over, but on the journey from

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

, he conferred with

Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes ( ; 5 July 185326 March 1902) was an English-South African mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. He and his British South Africa Company founded th ...

, and reached

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

just before the end of the campaign. He then assisted in the administration of Rhodesia. In 1894 Willoughby was again in London, lecturing on the Matabele war. On the outbreak of the

Second Matabele war The Second Matabele War, also known as the First Chimurenga, was fought between 1896 and 1897 in the region that later became Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). The conflict was initially between the British South Africa Company and the Mata ...

in March 1896, he formed part of a council of defence at Bulawayo, under the acting administrator of Rhodesia. He revisited South Africa on the outbreak of the war there in 1899, but took no part in the fighting, and soon returned to England. Willoughby, who had made a wealthy second marriage, was then ruined in health, and had lost an eye. He died at

Goring-on-Thames Goring-on-Thames (or Goring) is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England. Situated on the county border with Berkshire, it is south of Wallingford and north-west of Reading. It had a population of 3,187 in ...

, Oxfordshire, on 3 June 1901. He was a vivid raconteur of his experiences.

Notes

External links

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Willoughby, Digby 1840s births 1901 deaths English mercenaries 19th-century British businesspeople