Letter from William MacKinnon to Henry Shelton Sanford (April 10, 1879)
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from William MacKinnon to Henry Shelton Sanford (April 10, 1879)
Alternative Title
MacKinnon to Sanford (April 10, 1879)
Subject
MacKinnon, William, 1823-1893
Sanford, Henry Shelton, 1823-1891
Description
Letter from Sir William MacKinnon (1823-1893) to Henry Shelton Sanford (1823-1891) dated April 10, 1879. The letter referenced the early stages of a scheme to acquire four Indian elephants. The elephants in question were part of a strategy meant to aid the transportation of a Belgian team tasked with exploring East Africa on behalf of King Leopold II of Belgium (1835-1909). The elephants were bought by the Belgian king and shipped from British India. MacKinnon included the text of a telegram sent from Colonel Maximilien Strauch, a close advisor of King Leopold. The letter to Sanford discussed the possibility of a meeting with Col. Strauch regarding the "elephant question."
Sir William MacKinnon was a Scottish ship-owner and businessman who established significant trade networks and commercial interests in British India and later in East Africa. Among other business ventures, he founded the British India Steam Navigation Company and the short-lived Imperial British East Africa Company. During his lifetime, he was one of the leading ship-owners in the British Empire. By the 1880s, he controlled more shipping tonnage than any other individual in Britain.
MacKinnon met Henry Shelton Sanford sometime in the late 1870s and the two began corresponding regularly in 1879. MacKinnon's interest in Sanford stemmed from the former American ambassador's close proximity to Leopold II and the Brussels inner-circle of businessmen, politicians, and diplomats. Sanford, living in a château in Brussels, provided a valuable lifeline for MacKinnon, who sought Belgian business connections to support his expanding commercial ventures, particularly in East Africa. He was a vital factor in the formation of the Florida Land and Colonization Company (FLCC), going so far as to lend Sanford £8,000 in early January 1880. He also played an essential role in helping Sanford court early participants in the investment plan. Many of the board members of the FLCC, like Edwyn Sandys Dawes (1838-1903), were close associates of MacKinnon. With his business ventures strongly tied to British and Belgian development schemes in Africa, MacKinnon had no ostensible interest in Florida land investment. His participation in Sanford's Florida ambitions was thus directly linked to his interest in maintaining strong relations with Sanford and his valuable connections in Belgium.
Sir William MacKinnon was a Scottish ship-owner and businessman who established significant trade networks and commercial interests in British India and later in East Africa. Among other business ventures, he founded the British India Steam Navigation Company and the short-lived Imperial British East Africa Company. During his lifetime, he was one of the leading ship-owners in the British Empire. By the 1880s, he controlled more shipping tonnage than any other individual in Britain.
MacKinnon met Henry Shelton Sanford sometime in the late 1870s and the two began corresponding regularly in 1879. MacKinnon's interest in Sanford stemmed from the former American ambassador's close proximity to Leopold II and the Brussels inner-circle of businessmen, politicians, and diplomats. Sanford, living in a château in Brussels, provided a valuable lifeline for MacKinnon, who sought Belgian business connections to support his expanding commercial ventures, particularly in East Africa. He was a vital factor in the formation of the Florida Land and Colonization Company (FLCC), going so far as to lend Sanford £8,000 in early January 1880. He also played an essential role in helping Sanford court early participants in the investment plan. Many of the board members of the FLCC, like Edwyn Sandys Dawes (1838-1903), were close associates of MacKinnon. With his business ventures strongly tied to British and Belgian development schemes in Africa, MacKinnon had no ostensible interest in Florida land investment. His participation in Sanford's Florida ambitions was thus directly linked to his interest in maintaining strong relations with Sanford and his valuable connections in Belgium.
Creator
MacKinnon, William
Source
Original letter from William MacKinnon to Henry Shelton Sanford, April 10, 1879: box 127, folder 2, subfolder 127.2.2, Henry Shelton Sanford Papers, General Henry S. Sanford Memorial Library, Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.
Date Created
1879-04-10
Is Format Of
Digital reproduction of original letter from William MacKinnon to Henry Shelton Sanford, April 10, 1879.
Is Part Of
Box 127, folder 2, Henry Shelton Sanford Papers, General Henry S. Sanford Memorial Library, Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.
Requires
Format
application/pdf
Extent
275 KB
Medium
3-page handwritten letter
Language
eng
Type
Text
Coverage
Paris, France
Accrual Method
Donation
Mediator
History Teacher
Economics Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by William MacKinnon.
Donated to the Connecticut Historical Society after 1901.
Loaned to the Tennessee State Library and Archives for processing until June 1, 1960.
Acquired by the General Henry S. Sanford Memorial Library, Sanford Museum in 1960.
Rights Holder
The displayed collection item is housed at the General Henry S. Sanford Memorial Library, Sanford Museum in Sanford, Florida. Rights to this item belong to the said institution, and therefore inquiries about the item should be directed there. RICHES of Central Florida has obtained permission from the Sanford Museum to display this item for educational purposes only.
Curator
Fedorka, Drew M.
Digital Collection
Source Repository
External Reference
Fry, Joseph A. Henry S. Sanford: Diplomacy and Business in Nineteenth-Century America. Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press, 1982.
Hochschild, Adam. King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998.
Munro, J. Forbes. Maritime Enterprise and Empire: Sir William MacKinnon and His Business Network, 1823-1893. Rochester, NY: Boydell Press, 2003.
Munro, J. Forbes. “"Shipping Subsidies and Railway Guarantees" The Journal of African History 28, no. 2 (1987): 209-230.
Boulger, Demetrius Charles. The Congo State or, the Growth of Civilization in Central Africa. London: Thacker, 1898.
Document Item Type Metadata
Original Format
3-page handwritten letter
Collection
Citation
MacKinnon, William, “Letter from William MacKinnon to Henry Shelton Sanford (April 10, 1879),” RICHES, accessed November 17, 2024, https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/items/show/4037.