Selim Aga

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Selim Aga (c. 1826 – December 1875) was a Sudanese man who was abducted by

Grebo
insurgents in 1875.

Childhood

Selim Aga, according to his own account, was born in Taqali valley controlled by a chief whose main possessions were the three wells.

Dover Strait
.

Scotland and London

Selim was placed in the custody of consul Thurburn's brother John in

Geographical Magazine. The memoirs became the centre of a controversy, with many refusing to believe that the book was written by an African. British explorer Richard Francis Burton came to his former steward's defence, confirming that Selim was, in fact, an African educated in Scotland, and capable of "... briefly anything... he took all the trouble of life off my hands."[8]

His life between 1846 and 1857 remains scarcely documented, but it is known that he fathered at least one son with a local woman. Selim's living descendants from this affair have been traced in Scotland and the United States, one of his descendants has been traced with the name Ben Ferry (16 years old)

Foreign Office.[8]

African expeditions

In 1857 Selim Aga sailed with William Balfour Baikie on an expedition up the Niger River; he was placed under command of lieutenant John Hawley Glover and accompanied the latter on a dangerous journey to Lagos to help the survivors of a shipwreck. He attempted to lead a search-and-rescue for the vanished expedition led by Eduard Vogel, but was superseded by Baikie.[9] Since 1860 Selim Aga was in the service of Richard Francis Burton, who regularly praised Selim's assistance and experience.

Death

Selim Aga spent at least nine last years of his life, 1866–1875, in

Grebo mob leader allowed him time for a Christian prayer, then "chopped his body all over, cut off his head, which he took to his town, and threw the body with a gift [of a Bible] into the field."[2][10]

Notes

  1. ^ Selim Aga
  2. ^ a b c McCarthy, 2007:6
  3. ^ Selim Aga, p. 14
  4. ^ Selim Aga, p. 27
  5. ^ Selim Aga, p. 34
  6. ^ a b c McCarthy, 2007:1
  7. ^ MacCarthy, 2007:4
  8. ^ a b McCarthy, 2007:2
  9. ^ McCarthy, 2007:5
  10. ISBN 978-0-674-01862-4
    , p. 157

References
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