Sir Richard Francis Burton,KCMG,FRGS, (19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, army officer, writer and scholar.[1][2] He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa and South America, as well as his extensive knowledge of languages and cultures, speaking up to 29 different languages.[3]
This sectionneeds expansion with: a broader, yet accurate account derived from multiple secondary sources, that begins to reduce the reliance of the section on Wright (1906), offering instead broader and more recent scholarship. You can help byadding to it.(May 2025)
Richard Burton was born inTorquay,Devon, on 19 March 1821; in his autobiography, he incorrectly claimed to have been born in the family home of Barham House inElstree,Hertfordshire.[7][8] Burton was baptised on 2 September 1821 at Elstree Church inBorehamwood, Hertfordshire.[9] His father,Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Netterville Burton, was anAnglo-Irish officer in theBritish Army's36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. Joseph, through his mother's family, the Campbells ofTuam, was a first cousin ofHenry Pearce Driscoll andEliza Graves. Burton's mother, Martha Baker, was the daughter and co-heiress of Richard Baker, a wealthy Hertfordshiresquire after whom Burton was named. He had two siblings, Maria Katherine Elizabeth Burton (who married Lieutenant-GeneralSir Henry William Stisted) and Edward Joseph Netterville Burton.[10]
In his early life, Burton grew up betweenElstree, England, the home of Richard's esteemed and wealthy namesake, Richard Baker, and, initially,Tours, France, the latter after their father sought a better climate for his asthma.[11] The transition to Tours appears to have been before the death of Baker, on 16 September 1824.[11][12] Burton was looked after while very young, in both England and France, by the family's "Hertfordshire nurse, Mrs. Ling, a good, but obstinately English soul"; his formal, early education began at a school in Tours, taught by "a lame Irishman named Clough", which was followed, when "for the children’s sake" the family moved to a house in the Rue De L’Archeveche, "the best street" in Tours, after which "[t]he little Burtons... attended the academy of a Mr. John Gilchrist, who grounded them in Latin and Greek".[11]
The Colonel, earlier preoccupied with (but also sustaining injury by)boar hunting, eventually began a pursuit of the study ofchemistry, including experimental, that would persist for some time, while, during forays "into society", becoming known for his ability to "inexpressibly shoc[k]... sensitive company" in his directness of speech (e.g., publicly referring to “an adulteress” in that way), a characteristic that Thomas Wright, in hisLife, suggests the son learnt from the father.[11] The Burton family returned to England in 1829, and Richard and his brother Edward were sent to apreparatory school atRichmond Green run by aReverend Charles Delafosse, a school that Wright describes in hisLife as having "fees [that] were high", and the school as being "badly conducted" with the boys being "both ill-taught and ill-fed".[11]
By the time measles broke out in the school, the Colonel had "tired of Richmond", and after arranging tutors for the children—a Rev. H. R. Du Pre for the boys, and a "peony-faced lady named Miss Ruxton" for Maria—the family moved toBlois, France (Du Pre continuing tenaciously, but Ruxton returning home, having "g[iven] up in despair").[11] The time in Blois would amount to a year, after which, viaMarseille, France and "Leghorn"[11] (Livorno, Italy), on the coast ofTuscany,[13][14]), the family settled inPisa, allowing the boys to become "proficient in Italian and drawing", and to begin the violin (against which Richard would rebel, and in which Edward would excel).[11] By July 1832, they were inSiena andPerugia, thenFlorence,Rome andNaples, thenSorrento andCapri (with Rev. Du Pre yet in tow, and the Colonel still devoted to pursuits related to "[o]xygen, abandoning... mass” to become a gas).[11] At this juncture, the boys are described as having become "generally ungovernable", with escapades that included "a visit to a house of poor reputation" and thwarted whipping by father and tutor.[11]
Colonel Burton quit England again for France in 1836, forPau in the south, and soon again after, for Italy, firstPisa, thenLucca, where the sons divided time "ruffl[ing] it with a number of dissolute medical students" learning "several quite original wickednesses", and time spent under the influence of their parents, in "more wholesome society", in the latter case with introductions to the painterLouis Desanges, to "Helen Croly, daughter of... [George Croly, author of]Salathiel", and to Virginia Gabriel, later acomposer, and daughter of an EnglishMajor-general.[11][15]
As well, during his youth, he allegedly had a sexual relationship with aRoma girl and learned the rudiments of theRomani language.[citation needed] The peregrinations of Burton's youth may have encouraged him to regard himself as an outsider for much of his life.[according to whom?][speculation?] InThe Kasîdah of Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî (1880) he wrote, "Do what thy manhood bids thee do, from none but self expect applause. He noblest lives and noblest dies who makes and keeps his self-made laws."[16]
Throughout the foregoing period, Burton had ample opportunity to learn languages, modern and ancient, for which he had demonstrated aptitude; prior to departing for university, he had become acquainted with written ancient Greek and Latin,[11] and had become fluent inFrench,Italian, and modern Greek,[17] quickly learning these as well asNeapolitan and several dialects.[citation needed] According to biographerEd Rice, during Burton's days at university, he would
sti[r] the bile of thedons by speaking real—that is, Roman—Latin instead of the artificial type peculiar to England, and [by speaking]Greek Romaically, with the accent ofAthens, as he had learned it from a Greek merchant atMarseille, as well as [knowing] the classical forms. Such a linguistic feat was a tribute to Burton's remarkable ear and memory, for he was only a teenager when... in Italy and southern France."[18]
In October 1840, hematriculated atTrinity College, Oxford.[17] Before getting a room at the college, Burton was coached byWilliam Alexander Greenhill and by a "Dr. Ogle";[17] he lived for a short time in the house of Greenhill, a doctor at theRadcliffe Infirmary.[citation needed] Wright, in hisLife, notes that Burton "spent his first months, not in studying, but in rowing, [and] fencing"—in the latter case, in the "fencing saloons" of an Italian and a Scotsman, with mastery offoil andbroad-sword[17]—to which he addedfalconry.[citation needed] As well, he had engaged in "shooting the college rooks, and breaking the rules generally", and, despite his expressed respect, in pranks "at the expense of [a] Dr. Jenkins".[17]
For all the experiences and education Burton brought with him to Oxford, he described his reception there as being unpleasant, and disparaged its educational offerings, stating that the "college teaching for which one was obliged to pay... was of the most worthless description", with "[t]wo hours a day... regularly wasted", noting that "those who read for honours... choose and pay a private coach".[17] On a personal level, he describes having "grown a splendid moustache... the envy of all the boys abroad", that, despite his mentors Greenhill and Ogle advising removal, was only shaved after being given formal college orders;[17] he describes having
already formed strong ideas upon the Shaven Age of England, when her history, with some brilliant exceptions, such as Marlborough, Wellington and Nelson, was at its meanest.[17]
On being laughed at by a fellow undergraduate, he responded by challenging him to aduel.[17] While there, he sat under the Christian teaching ofJohn Henry Newman, "[t]he only preacher Burton would listen to";[17] Greenhill, Burton's mentor, was Newman'schurchwarden.[citation needed]
Still, Burton "longed to excel as a linguist, and particularly in Oriental languages", and sought to learnArabic, approaching theRegius Professor—whose retort was that professors did not teach individuals—and then going it alone, with "a little assistance from the Spanish scholarDon Pascual de Gayangos".[17] In April 1842, Burton attended asteeplechase event at the Oxford races, an act forbidden "at the last moment" by the college; the culprits being brought before the same on the morning following the event, "the dons having lectured Burton, he began lecturing them"—in particular, observing that "young men ought not to be treated like children".[17] As such, while all other offenders were"rusticated" (temporarily expelled), Burton was instead permanently expelled from Oxford.[17]
Burton in Persian disguise as "Mirza Abdullah the Bushri" (c. 1849)
In his own words, "fit for nothing but to be shot at for six pence a day",[19][full citation needed] Burton was commissioned into theBombay Army at the behest of his former classmates in college who were already serving as officers there. He had hoped to fight in theFirst Anglo-Afghan War, but the conflict was over by the time Burton arrived in India. He was posted to the18th Regiment of Native Infantry, which was stationed inGujarat and under the command of GeneralCharles James Napier.[20] He earned the nickname "Ruffian Dick",[18]: 218 for his "demonic ferocity as a fighter and because he had fought in single combat more enemies than perhaps any other man of his time".[21]
Burton's religious experiences were varied, including attendingCatholic services, becoming a Naga Brahmin, converting toSikhism andIslam, and undergoing thechilla retreat forQadiriyyaSufism. Regarding Burton's Muslim beliefs, Rice stated that "he was circumcised, and made a Muslim, and lived like a Muslim and prayed and practiced like one." Furthermore, Burton, "was entitled to call himself ahāfiz, one who can recite theQur'ān from memory."[18]: 58, 67f, 104–108, 150–155, 161, 164 [page range too broad]
According to Rice, "Burton now regarded the seven years in India as time wasted." Yet he had passed six language examinations, was en route to two further, and so is described by Rice as "eminently qualified."[clarification needed][citation needed]
Burton disguised as "Haji Abdullah" in 1853 (illustration from Burton'sPersonal Narrative)
Motivated by his love for adventure, Burton gained the approval of theRoyal Geographical Society (RGS) for an exploration of theMiddle East, and, now at the rank ofcaptain, received permission from thedirectors of theEast India Company (EIC) to take leave from the Bombay Army. The seven years he spent in India gave Burton a familiarity with the customs and behaviour ofMuslims and prepared him to attempt aHajj toMecca andMedina. He planned it whilst travelling disguised among Muslims inSindh, and had laboriously prepared it by studying and practising Muslim culture, including undergoingcircumcision to further lower the risk of being discovered.[25][page range too broad][failed verification]
Burton's undertaking of the Hajj in 1853 was his realisation of "the plans and hopes of many and many a year... to study thoroughly the inner life of the Moslem."[This quote needs a citation] He donned the guise of a Persianmirza, and then aSunnisheikh, doctor, magician anddervish, accompanied by an enslaved Indian boy named Nūr. In April, he travelled throughAlexandria before reachingCairo by May, where Burton stayed duringRamadan in June. He further equipped himself with a case for carrying the Quran, but which instead had three compartments for his watch, compass, money, penknife, pencils and numbered pieces of paper for taking notes.[4][verification needed]
Burton travelled onwards with a group of nomads toSuez before sailing toYambu and joining a caravan to Medina, where he arrived on 27 July. Departing Medina with a caravan on 31 August, Burton entered Mecca on 11 September, where he participated in theTawaf. He travelled toMount Arafat and participated in thestoning of the Devil, all the while taking notes on theKaaba, itsBlack Stone and theZamzam Well. Departing Mecca, he journeyed toJeddah and then back to Cairo, returning to Army duty inBombay. In India, Burton wrote hisPersonal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Medinah and Meccah, writing that "at Mecca there is nothing theatrical, nothing that suggests the opera, but all is simple and impressive... tending, I believe, after its fashion, to good."[18]: 179–225 [page range too broad]
Although Burton was not the first non-Muslim European to undertake the Hajj, withLudovico di Varthema first to do so in 1503,[26] andJohann Ludwig Burckhardt doing so in 1815,[citation needed] Burton's entry into Mecca is the most famous and the best documented of the period.[citation needed] He adopted various disguises, including that of aPashtun, to account for any oddities in speech,[citation needed] but he still had to demonstrate an understanding of intricate Islamic traditions and a familiarity with the minutiae of Eastern manners and etiquette.[citation needed] Burton's trek to Mecca was dangerous, and his caravan was attacked by bandits (a common experience at the time).[independent source needed] As he put it, although "... neitherKoran orSultan enjoin the death of Jew or Christian intruding within the columns that note the sanctuary limits, nothing could save a European detected by the populace, or one who after pilgrimage declared himself an unbeliever".[27][independent source needed] The pilgrimage entitled him to the title ofHajji and to wear the greenturban.[18]: 179–225 [page range too broad][28][independent source needed]
While back in India, Burton sat for the examination as an Arab linguist for the EIC. The examiner wasRobert Lambert Playfair, who mistrusted Burton. As academicGeorge Percy Badger knew Arabic well, Playfair asked Badger to oversee the exam. Having been told that Burton could be vindictive, and wishing to avoid any animosity should he fail, Badger declined. Eventually, Playfair conducted the tests; despite Burton's success in living like an Arab, Playfair recommended to the committee that Burton be failed. Badger later told Burton that "After looking [Burton's test] over, I sent them back to [Playfair] with a note eulogising your attainments and... remarking on the absurdity of the Bombay Committee being made to judge your proficiency inasmuch as I did not believe that any of them possessed a tithe of the knowledge of Arabic you did."[29][verification needed]
In May 1854, Burton travelled toAden in preparation for an RGS-backed expedition, which includedJohn Hanning Speke, toSomaliland. The expedition lasted from 29October 1854 to 9February 1855, with much of its time spent inZeila, where Burton was a guest of the town's governorSharmarke Ali Saleh. Burton, assuming the disguise of an Arab merchant "Hajji Mirza Abdullah", awaited word that the road toHarar was safe. On 29 December, Burton met with Gerard Adan in the village of Sagharrah and openly proclaimed himself as a British officer with a letter for theEmir of Harar. On 3 January 1855, Burton made it to Harar and was graciously met by the Emir. He stayed in the city for ten days, officially a guest of the Emir but in reality his prisoner. Burton also investigated local landmarks in Harar; according to him, "A tradition exists that with the entrance of the first [white] Christian, Harar will fall." With Burton's entry, the tradition was broken.[18]: 219f, 227–264 [page range too broad][verification needed] The journey back was plagued by lack of supplies, and Burton wrote that he would have died of thirst had he not seen desert birds and realized they would be near water. He made it back toBerbera on 31 January 1855.[18]: 238–256 [30][page needed]
Following this expedition, Burton prepared to set out in search of the source of theNile, accompanied by Speke and a number of African porters and expedition guides.[citation needed] TheIndian Navy schoonerHCS Mahi transported them toBerbera on 7 April 1855.[citation needed] While the expedition was camped nearBerbera, they were attacked by a group ofSomali warriors from theIsaaq clan; the British estimated the number of attackers at 200.[citation needed] In the ensuing fight, Speke was wounded in eleven places before he managed to escape, while Burton was impaled with a javelin, the point entering one cheek and exiting the other, leaving a permanent scar.[citation needed] Burton was forced to escape with the weapon still transfixing his head.[citation needed] Burton subsequently wrote that the Somalis were a "fierce and turbulent race".[31] However, the failure of this expedition (which also resulted in thesecond blockade of Berbera) was viewed harshly by the British authorities, and a two-year investigation was set up to determine to what extent Burton was culpable for this disaster.[citation needed] While he was largely cleared of any blame, his career prospects were damaged.[citation needed] He described the attack inFirst Footsteps in East Africa (1856).[18]: 257–264 [30]: 449–458
In 1856, the Royal Geographical Society funded another expedition for Burton and Speke, "and exploration of the then utterly unknownLake regions of Central Africa." They would travel fromZanzibar toUjiji along a caravan route established in 1825 by an Arab ivory and slave merchant. The Great Journey commenced on 5 June 1857 with their departure from Zanzibar, where they had stayed at the residence ofAtkins Hamerton, the British consul,[32] their caravan consisting of Baluchi mercenaries led by Ramji, 36 porters, eventually a total of 132 persons, all led by the caravan leader Said bin Salim. From the beginning, Burton and Speke were hindered by disease, malaria, fevers and other maladies, at times both having to be carried in a hammock. Pack animals died, and natives deserted, taking supplies with them. Yet, on 7 November 1857, they made it toKazeh, and departed for Ujiji on 14 December. Speke wanted to head north, sure they would find the source of the Nile at what he later namedVictoria Nyanza, but Burton persisted in heading west.[18]: 273–297
Monument commemorating Burton and Speke's arrival in Ujiji
The expedition arrived atLake Tanganyika on 13 February 1858. Burton was awestruck by the sight of the magnificent lake, but Speke, who had been temporarily blinded, was unable to see the body of water. By this point much of their surveying equipment was lost, ruined or stolen, and they were unable to complete surveys of the area as well as they wished. Burton was again taken ill on the return journey; Speke continued exploring without him, making a journey to the north and eventually locating the greatLake Victoria, or Victoria Nyanza, on 3 August. Lacking supplies and proper instruments, Speke was unable to survey the area properly but was privately convinced that it was the long-sought source of the Nile. Burton's description of the journey is given inLake Regions of Equatorial Africa (1860). Speke gave his own account inThe Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile (1863).[33][18]: 298–312, 491–492, 500
Burton and Speke made it back to Zanzibar on 4 March 1859, and left on 22 March for Aden. Speke immediately boarded theHMS Furious for London, where he gave lectures, and was awarded a second expedition by the Society. Burton arrived in London on 21 May, discovering "My companion now stood forth in his new colours, an angry rival." Speke additionally publishedWhat Led to the Discovery of the Source of the Nile (1863), while Burton'sZanzibar; City, Island, and Coast was eventually published in 1872.[18]: 307, 311–315, 491–492, 500
Burton then departed on a trip to the United States in April 1860, eventually making it toSalt Lake City on 25 August. There he studiedMormonism and metBrigham Young. Burton departed San Francisco on 15 November for the voyage back to England, where he publishedThe City of the Saints and Across the Rocky Mountains to California.[18]: 332–339, 492
A prolonged public quarrel followed, damaging the reputations of both Burton and Speke. Some biographers have suggested that friends of Speke (particularlyLaurence Oliphant) had initially stirred up trouble between the two.[34] Burton's sympathizers contend that Speke resented Burton's leadership role.Tim Jeal, who has accessed Speke's personal papers, suggests that it was more likely the other way around, Burton being jealous and resentful of Speke's determination and success. "As the years went by, [Burton] would neglect no opportunity to deride and undermine Speke's geographical theories and achievements".[35]
Speke had earlier proven his mettle by trekking through the mountains ofTibet, but Burton regarded him as inferior as he did not speak any Arabic or African languages. Despite his fascination with non-European cultures, some have portrayed Burton as an unabashed imperialist convinced of the historical and intellectual superiority of the white race, citing his involvement in theAnthropological Society of London, an organisation which supportedscientific racism.[36][37] Speke appears to have been kinder and less intrusive to the Africans they encountered and reportedly fell in love with an African woman on a later expedition.[38]
The two men travelled home separately. Speke returned to London first and presented a lecture at theRoyal Geographical Society, claimingLake Victoria as the source of the Nile. According to Burton, Speke broke an agreement they had made to give their first public speech together. Apart from Burton's word, there is no proof that such an agreement existed, and most modern researchers doubt that it did. Tim Jeal, evaluating the written evidence, says the odds are "heavily against Speke having made a pledge to his former leader".[39] Speke undertook a second expedition, along with CaptainJames Grant andSidi Mubarak Bombay, to prove that Lake Victoria was the true source of the Nile. Speke, in light of the issues he was having with Burton, had Grant sign a statement saying, among other things, "I renounce all my rights to publishing ... my own account [of the expedition] until approved of by Captain Speke or [the Royal Geographical Society]".[40]
On 16 September 1864, Burton and Speke were scheduled to debate the source of the Nile at a meeting of theBritish Association for the Advancement of Science. On the day before the debate, Burton and Speke sat near each other in the lecture hall. According to Burton's wife, Speke stood up, said "I can't stand this any longer," and abruptly left the hall. That afternoon Speke went hunting on the nearby estate of a relative. He was discovered lying near a stone wall, felled by a fatal gunshot wound from his hunting shotgun. Burton learned of Speke's death the following day while waiting for their debate to begin. A jury ruled Speke's death an accident. An obituary surmised that Speke, while climbing over the wall, had carelessly pulled the gun after himself with the muzzle pointing at his chest and shot himself. Alexander Maitland, Speke's only biographer, concurs.[41]
Portrait of Captain Richard Burton, 1864Burton in 1876
On 22 January 1861, Burton and Isabel Arundel married in a quiet Catholic ceremony, although he did not adopt the Catholic faith at this time. Shortly after this, the couple were forced to spend some time apart when he formally entered theDiplomatic Service asconsul on the island of Fernando Po, nowBioko in Equatorial Guinea. This was not a prestigious appointment; because the climate was considered extremely unhealthy for Europeans, Isabel could not accompany him. Burton spent much of this time exploring the coast of West Africa, documenting his findings inAbeokuta and TheCameroons Mountains: An Exploration (1863), andA Mission toGelele, King ofDahome (1864). He described some of his experiences, including a trip up theCongo River to theYellala Falls and beyond, in his 1876 bookTwo trips to gorilla land and the cataracts of the Congo.[42][18]: 349–381, 492–493
The couple were reunited in 1865 when Burton was transferred toSantos in Brazil. Once there, Burton travelled through Brazil's central highlands, canoeing down theSão Francisco River from its source to the falls ofPaulo Afonso.[43] He documented his experiences inThe Highlands of Brazil (1869).[18] In 1868 and 1869, he made two visits to the war zone of theParaguayan War, which he described in hisLetters from the Battlefields of Paraguay (1870).[44] In 1868, he was appointed as the British consul inDamascus, an ideal post for someone with Burton's knowledge of the region and customs.[45] According toEd Rice, "England wanted to know what was going on in theLevant," another chapter inThe Great Game. Yet, the Turkish governor Mohammed Rashid 'Ali Pasha feared anti-Turkish activities, and was opposed to Burton's assignment.[18]: 395–399, 402, 409
In Damascus, Burton made friends withAbdelkader al-Jazairi, while Isabel befriendedJane Digby, calling her "my most intimate friend." Burton also metCharles F. Tyrwhitt-Drake andEdward Henry Palmer, collaborating with Drake in writingUnexplored Syria (1872).[18]: 402–410, 492 However, the area was in some turmoil at the time, with considerable tensions between the Christian, Jewish and Muslim populations. Burton did his best to keep the peace and resolve the situation, but this sometimes led him into trouble. On one occasion, he claims to have escaped an attack by hundreds of armed horsemen and camel riders sent by Mohammed Rashid Pasha, the Governor of Syria. He wrote, "I have never been so flattered in my life than to think it would take three hundred men to kill me."[46] Burton eventually suffered the enmity of the Greek Christian and Jewish communities. Then, his involvement with theSházlis, a Sufi Muslim order among whom was a group that Burton called "Secret Christians longing for baptism", which Isabel called "his ruin." He was recalled in August 1871, prompting him to send a telegram to Isabel: "I am recalled. Pay, pack, and follow at convenience."[18]: 412–415
Burton was reassigned in 1872 to the port city ofTrieste inAustria-Hungary.[47] A "broken man", Burton was never particularly content with this post, but it required little work, was far less dangerous than Damascus (as well as less exciting), and allowed him the freedom to write and travel.[48] In 1863, Burton co-founded theAnthropological Society of London with Dr.James Hunt. In Burton's own words, the main aim of the society (through the publication of the periodicalAnthropologia) was "to supply travellers with an organ that would rescue their observations from the outer darkness of manuscript and print their curious information on social and sexual matters". On 13 February 1886, Burton was appointed a Knight Commander of theOrder of St Michael and St George (KCMG) byQueen Victoria.[49]
He wrote a number of travel books in this period that were not particularly well received. His best-known contributions to literature were those considered risqué or even pornographic at the time, which were published under the auspices of the Kama Shastra society. These books includeThe Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana (1883) (popularly known as theKama Sutra),The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night (1885) (popularly known asThe Arabian Nights),The Perfumed Garden of the Shaykh Nefzawi (1886) andThe Supplemental Nights to the Thousand Nights and a Night (seventeen volumes 1886–98). Published in this period but composed on his return journey from Mecca,The Kasidah[16] has been cited as evidence of Burton's status as a BektashiSufi. Deliberately presented by Burton as a translation, the poem and his notes and commentary on it contain layers of Sufic meaning that seem to have been designed to project Sufi teaching in the West.[50]"Do what thy manhood bids thee do/ from none but self expect applause;/ He noblest lives and noblest dies/ who makes and keeps his self-made laws" isThe Kasidah's most-quoted passage. As well as references to many themes from Classical Western myths, the poem contains many laments that are accented with fleetingimagery such as repeated comparisons to"the tinkling of the Camel bell" that becomes inaudible as the animal vanishes in the darkness of the desert.[51]
Other works of note include a collection of Hindu tales,Vikram and the Vampire (1870); and his uncompleted history ofswordsmanship,The Book of the Sword (1884). He also translatedThe Lusiads, the Portuguese national epic byLuís de Camões, in 1880 and, the next year, wrote a sympathetic biography of the poet and adventurer. The bookThe Jew, the Gipsy and el Islam was published posthumously in 1898 and was controversial for its criticism of Jews and for its assertion of the existence ofJewish human sacrifices. Burton's investigations into this hadprovoked hostility from the Jews of Damascus. The manuscript of the book included an appendix discussing the topic in more detail, but by the decision of his widow, it was not included in the book when published.[4]
Richard Burton's tomb at Mortlake, south west London, June 2011Close up of inscription on the tomb
Burton died inTrieste early on the morning of 20 October 1890 of aheart attack. His wife Isabel persuaded a priest to perform the last rites, although Burton was not a Catholic, and this action later caused a rift between Isabel and some of Burton's friends. It has been suggested that the death occurred very late on 19October and that Burton was already dead by the time the last rites were administered. On his religious views, Burton called himself an atheist, stating he was raised in theChurch of England, which he said was "officially [his] church".[52]
Isabel never recovered from the loss. After his death, she burned many of her husband's papers, including journals and a planned new translation ofThe Perfumed Garden to be calledThe Scented Garden, for which she had been offered six thousand guineas and which she regarded as his "magnum opus". She believed she was acting to protect her husband's reputation, and that she had been instructed to burn the manuscript ofThe Scented Garden by his spirit, but her actions were controversial.[53] However, a substantial quantity of his written materials have survived, and are held by theHuntington Library inSan Marino, California, including 21 boxes of his manuscripts, 24 boxes of correspondence, and other material.[54]
Isabel wrote a biography in praise of her husband.[55]
The couple are buried ina tomb in the shape of a Bedouin tent, designed by Isabel,[56] in the cemetery ofSt Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic Church Mortlake in southwest London.[57] The coffins of Sir Richard and Lady Burton can be seen through a window at the rear of the tent, which can be accessed via a short fixed ladder. Next to thelady chapel in the church, there is a memorialstained-glass window to Burton, also erected by Isabel; it depicts Burton as a medieval knight.[58] Burton's personal effects and a collection of paintings, photographs and objects relating to him are in the Burton Collection atOrleans House Gallery,Twickenham.[59] Among these is a small quartz stone fromMesopotamia, inscribed in supposedKufic script, which has thus far resisted decipherment by experts.[60][61]
Burton had long had an interest in sexuality and some erotic literature. However, theObscene Publications Act 1857 had resulted in many jail sentences for publishers, with prosecutions being brought by theSociety for the Suppression of Vice. Burton referred to the society and those who shared its views asMrs Grundy. A way around this was the private circulation of books among the members of a society. For this reason Burton, together withForster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot, created the Kama Shastra Society to print and circulate books that would be illegal to publish in public.[62]
One of the most celebrated of all his books is his translation ofThe Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night (commonly calledThe Arabian Nights in English after early translations ofAntoine Galland's French version) inten volumes (1885), with seven further volumes being added later. The volumes were printed by the Kama Shastra Society in a subscribers-only edition of one thousand with a guarantee that there would never be a larger printing of the books in this form. The stories collected were often sexual in content and were considered pornography at the time of publication. In particular, theTerminal Essay in volume 10 of theNights contained a 14,000-word essay entitled "Pederasty" (Volume 10, section IV, D), at the time a synonym for homosexuality (as it still is, in modern French). This was and remained for many years the longest and most explicit discussion of homosexuality in any language. Burton speculated that male homosexuality was prevalent in an area of the southern latitudes named by him the "Sotadic zone".[63]
Perhaps Burton's best-known book is his translation ofThe Kama Sutra. It is untrue that he was the translator since the original manuscript was in ancientSanskrit, which he could not read. However, he collaborated withForster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot on the work and provided translations from other manuscripts of later translations. The Kama Shastra Society first printed the book in 1883 and numerous editions of the Burton translation are in print to this day.[62]
His English translation from a French edition of the Arabic erotic guideThe Perfumed Garden was printed asThe Perfumed Garden of the Cheikh Nefzaoui: A Manual of Arabian Erotology (1886). After Burton's death,Isabel burnt many of his papers, including a manuscript of a subsequent translation,The Scented Garden, containing the final chapter of the work, onpederasty. Burton all along intended for this translation to be published after his death, to provide an income for his widow.[64]
Burton's languages
By the end of his life, Burton had mastered at least 26 languages, or possibly up to 40 depending on how dialects are classified.[65]
Burton's writings are unusually open and frank about his interest in sex andsexuality. His travel writing is often full of details about the sexual lives of the inhabitants of areas he travelled through. Burton's interest in sexuality led him to make measurements of the lengths of the penises of male inhabitants of various regions, which he includes in his travel books. He also describes sexual techniques common in the regions he visited, often hinting that he had participated, hence breaking both sexual and racialtaboos of his day. Many people at the time considered the Kama Shastra Society and the books it published scandalous.[66]
Biographers disagree on whether or not Burton ever experienced homosexual sex (he never directly acknowledges it in his writing). Rumours began in his army days whenCharles James Napier requested that Burton go undercover to investigate a malebrothel reputed to be frequented by British soldiers. It has been suggested that Burton's detailed report on the workings of the brothel led some to believe he had been a customer.[67] There is no documentary evidence that such a report was written or submitted, nor that Napier ordered such research by Burton, and it has been argued that this is one of Burton's embellishments.[68]
A story that haunted Burton up to his death (recounted in some of his obituaries) was that, during his journey to Mecca disguised as a Muslim, he came close to being discovered one night when he lifted his robe to urinate rather than squatting as an Arab would. It was said that he was seen by an Arab and, to avoid exposure, killed him. Burton denied this, pointing out that killing the boy would almost certainly have led to his being discovered as an impostor. Burton became so tired of denying this accusation that he took to baiting his accusers, although he was said to enjoy the notoriety and even once laughingly claimed to have done it.[69][70] A doctor once asked him: "How do you feel when you have killed a man?", Burton retorted: "Quite jolly, what about you?". When asked by a priest about the same incident Burton is said to have replied: "Sir, I'm proud to say I have committed every sin in theDecalogue."[71]Stanley Lane-Poole, a Burton detractor, reported that Burton "confessed rather shamefacedly that he had never killed anybody at any time."[70]
These allegations coupled with Burton's often irascible nature were said to have harmed his career and may explain why he was not promoted further, either in army life or in the diplomatic service. As an obituary described: "...he was ill fitted to run in official harness, and he had aByronic love of shocking people, of telling tales against himself that had no foundation in fact."[72]Ouida reported: "Men at the FO [Foreign Office] ... used to hint dark horrors about Burton, and certainly justly or unjustly he was disliked, feared and suspected ... not for what he had done, but for what he was believed capable of doing."[73]
The "Sotadic Zone" of Burton encompassed theMediterranean coastlines of Southern Europe and North Africa, the entire region of theLevant, larger areas of the Middle East and Asia, and all of the Americas.
Burton theorized about the existence of a "Sotadic zone" in the closing essay of his English translation ofThe Arabian Nights (1885–1886).[74][75] He asserted that there exists a geographic-climatic zone in whichsodomy andpederasty (sexual intimacy between older men and young pubescent/adolescent boys) areendemic,[74][75] prevalent,[74][75] and celebrated among the indigenous inhabitants and within their cultures.[75] The name derives fromSotades,[75] a3rd-century BCAncient Greekpoet who was the chief representative of a group of Ancient Greek writers of obscene, and sometimespederastic,satirical poetry; these homoerotic verses are preserved in theGreek Anthology, a collection of poems spanning theClassical andByzantine periods ofGreek literature.
In the novelNostromo (1904) byJoseph Conrad, the character Martin Decoud is believed to be partly modelled after Don Juan Decoud,[citation needed] the editor of the newspaperEl Liberal, described in Burton’sLetters from the Battle-fields of Paraguay (1870).
In the short story "The Aleph" (1945) by Argentine writerJorge Luis Borges, a manuscript by Burton is discovered in a library. The manuscript contains a description of a mirror in which the whole universe is reflected.
TheRiverworld series of science fiction novels (1971–83) byPhilip José Farmer has a fictional and resurrected Burton as a primary character.
The World Is Made of Glass: A Novel byMorris West[79] tells the story of Magda Liliane Kardoss von Gamsfeld in consultation with Carl Gustav Jung; Burton is mentioned on pp. 254–7 and again on p. 392.
Der Weltensammler[80] by the Bulgarian-German writerIliya Troyanov is a fictional reconstruction of three periods of Burton's life, focusing on his time in India, his pilgrimage to Medina and Mecca, and his explorations with Speke.
Burton is the main character in the "Burton and Swinburne"steampunk series byMark Hodder (2010–2015):The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack;The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man;Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon;The Secret of Abdu El Yezdi;The Return of the Discontinued Man; andThe Rise of the Automated Aristocrats. These novels depict an alternate world where Queen Victoria was killed early in her reign due to the inadvertent actions of a time-traveller acting asSpring-Heeled Jack, with a complex constitutional revision making Albert King in her place.
Though not one of the primary characters in the series, Burton plays an important historical role in theArea 51 series of books byBob Mayer (written under the pen name Robert Doherty).
In the novelThe Bookman's Promise (2004) byJohn Dunning, the protagonist buys a signed copy of a rare Burton book, and from there Burton and his work are major elements of the story. A section of the novel also fictionalizes a portion of Burton's life in the form of recollections of one of the characters.
Burton and Speke appear as characters in the historical novelThe Romantic byWilliam Boyd (2022).
The filmMountains of the Moon (1990) (starringPatrick Bergin as Burton) relates the story of the Burton–Speke exploration and subsequent controversy over the source of the Nile. The script was based on Harrison's novel.
In the Canadian filmZero Patience (1993), Burton is portrayed by John Robinson as having had "an unfortunate encounter" with theFountain of Youth and living in present-dayToronto. Upon discovering the ghost of the famousPatient Zero, Burton attempts to exhibit the finding at his Hall of Contagion at theMuseum of Natural History.
In the American TV showThe Sentinel, a monograph by Sir Richard Francis Burton is found by one of the main characters, Blair Sandburg, and is the origin of his concept of Sentinels and their roles in their respective tribes.
InThe Victorian Sex Explorer, Rupert Everett documents Burton's travels. Part of the Channel Four (UK) 'Victorian Passions' season. First Broadcast on 9 June 2008.
Burton published over 40 books and countless articles, monographs and letters. A great number of his journal and magazine pieces have never been catalogued. Over 200 of these have been collected in PDF facsimile format at burtoniana.org.[81]
Brief selections from a variety of Burton's writings are available inFrank McLynn'sOf No Country: An Anthology of Richard Burton (1990; New York:Charles Scribner's Sons).
^abcdefghijklWright (1906),vol. 1, p. 52ff. "Being subject to asthma, Colonel Burton now left England and hired a chateau called Beausejour situated on an eminence near Tours, where there was an English colony. For several years the family fluctuated between Tours and Elstree...".
^In Wright's presentation of these historical events, the family's transition to Tours is presented in Section 2, "Tours and Elstree", ahead of the presentation of the death of Baker, which is in Section 3, "Death of Richard Baker, 16th September 1824", see Wright, Ch. I, op. cit.
^de Blij, H. J.; O. Muller, Peter; Nijman, Jan (2010)."Regions of the Realm".The World Today: Concepts and Regions in Geography. John Wiley & Sons. p. 63.ISBN9780470646380.
^abcdefghijklmnopqrstRice, Ed (1990).Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton: the secret agent who made the pilgrimage to Mecca, discovered the Kama Sutra, and brought the Arabian nights to the West. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 22.ISBN978-0684191379.
^Burton, Richard F. (1852).Falconry in the Valley of the Indus. John Van Voorst. p. 93.[full citation needed]
^Wright (1906) "Some three months before Sir Richard's death," writes Mr. P. P. Cautley, the Vice-Consul at Trieste, to me, "I was seated at Sir Richard's tea table with our clergy man, and the talk turning on religion, Sir Richard declared, 'I am an atheist, but I was brought up in the Church of England, and that is officially my church.'"
^Burton, Isabel (10 December 1890)."Sir Richard Burton".Morning Post. p. 2 – via British Library Newspapers.
^Boyes, Valerie & Wintersinger, Natascha (2014).Encountering the Uncharted and Back – Three Explorers: Ball, Vancouver and Burton.Museum of Richmond. pp. 9–10.
Hastings, Michael (1978),Sir Richard Burton. A Biography, Hodder & Stoughton, London.
Hitchman, Francis (1887),Richard F. Burton, K.C.M.G.: His Early, Private and Public Life with an Account of his Travels and Explorations, Two volumes; London: Sampson and Low.
Rice, Edward (1990).Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton: The Secret Agent Who Made the Pilgrimage to Makkah, Discovered the Kama Sutra, and Brought the Arabian Nights to the West. New York:Charles Scribner's Sons.
Seigel, Jerrold (2016).Between Cultures: Europe and Its Others in Five Exemplary Lives. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.ISBN978-0-8122-4761-9.
Sparrow-Niang, Jane (2014).Bath and the Nile Explorers: In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Burton and Speke's encounter in Bath, September 1864, and their 'Nile Duel' which never happened.Bath:Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution.ISBN978-0-9544941-6-2
Wisnicki, Adrian S. (2008). "Cartographical Quandaries: The Limits of Knowledge Production in Burton's and Speke's Search for the Source of the Nile".History in Africa.35:455–79.doi:10.1353/hia.0.0001.S2CID162871275.
Wisnicki, Adrian S. (2009). "Charting the Frontier: Indigenous Geography, Arab-Nyamwezi Caravans, and the East African Expedition of 1856–59".Victorian Studies 51.1 (Aut.): 103–37.
Millard, Candice (2022).River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile (Hardback). New York: Doubleday.ISBN978-0385543101.
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg)
