William Shakespear (explorer)

William Shakespear (explorer)

Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear (1878 - 24 January 1915), was an English civil servant and explorer who mapped uncharted areas of Northern Arabia and made the first official British contact with Ibn Sa'ud, future king of Saudi Arabia. He was the military adviser to Ibn Saud from 1910 to 1915, when he died in the Battle of Jarrab, against Ibn Rashid.

Early life

He was born in Bombay, attended Sandhurst and from 1898 he served in India with the Devonshire Regiment and Bengal Lancers. He then joined the Indian Political Department. In 1904 he joined the British Foreign Office and became the youngest vice-consul in British India. Later that year he was transferred to Kuwait. Shakespear was a great linguist who spoke Urdu, Pushtu, Persian and Arabic fluently.

Arabian expeditions

While in Kuwait, Shakespear made seven separate expeditions into the Arabian interior, during which he became a close friend of Ibn Sa'ud, then the Emir of The Nejd. In March, 1914 Shakespear began a 1,800 mile journey from Kuwait to Riyadh and on to Aqaba, via the Nafud Desert, which he mapped and studied in great detail, the first European to do so. In November, 1914, the British government in India asked Shakespear to secure Ibn Sa'ud's support for the British-Indian Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, which had just taken Basra.

Death

In January, 1915, at the Battle of Jarrab, Shakespear's friend Ibn Sa'ud asked him to retreat to a place of safety before the fighting began. As an English gentleman, he naturally declined to do so. He was struck by a bullet and killed. The victorious Rashidis cut off his head. His solar helmet was handed over to the Ottoman authorities and hung on one of the main gates of Medina as proof of the Al Sau'ds' collaboration with the British.

Aftermath

It has been suggested by some authorities, notably St. John Philby, that the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire might have been very differently directed if Shakespear had survived, i.e. the British would have supported and armed Ibn Sa'ud rather than Sherif Hussein ibn Ali.

"His death... was a great loss to his country, but it was a disaster to the Arab cause. It must certainly be reckoned in the small category of individual events which have changed the course of history. Had he survived to continue a work for which he was so eminently suited, it is extremely doubtful whether subsequent campaigns of Lawrence would ever have taken place in the west..."

"Arabia", H. St. John Philby, London (1930), pp 233 - 234.

External links

* [http://www.oceannomad.com/Shakespear/shakespear.html Biography] , with a picture.
* [http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200205/the.captain.and.the.king.htm The Captain and the King] , from "Saudi Aramco World".


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • William Shakespeare (disambiguation) — William Shakespeare was a playwright.William Shakespeare may also refer to:* William Shakespeare (football) (1912 1975), American football player * William Shakespeare (cricketer) (1883 1976), cricketer for Worcestershire in the interwar period * …   Wikipedia

  • Shakespeare (disambiguation) — Shakespeare may refer to the following people: * William Shakespeare, the playwright * John Shakespeare, father of William * Susanna Shakespeare, daughter of William * Judith Shakespeare, younger daughter of William * Hamnet Shakespeare, son of… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Empire ships (Ca–Cl) — The Empire ships were a series of ships in the service of the British Government. Their names were all prefixed with Empire. Mostly they were used during the Second World War by the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT), which owned the ships but… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”