Letter from William MacKinnon to Henry Shelton Sanford (November 21, 1879)
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from William MacKinnon to Henry Shelton Sanford (November 21, 1879)
Alternative Title
MacKinnon to Sanford (November 21, 1879)
Subject
MacKinnon, William, 1823-1893
Sanford, Henry Shelton, 1823-1891
Description
A letter from Sir William MacKinnon (1823-1893) to Henry Shelton Sanford (1823-1891) dated November 21, 1879. The letter was a brief note informing Sanford of his travel plans, which included going to Brussels, Belgium, via ferry from Dover, England. MacKinnon hoped to meet with Sanford in Brussels. He also informed Sanford that he was scheduled to meet with King Leopold II of Belgium (1835-1909).
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, November 21, 1879: box 127, folder 2, subfolder 127.2.19, Henry Shelton Sanford Papers, General Henry S. Sanford Memorial Library, Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.
Date Created
1879-11-21
Is Format Of
Digital reproduction of original letter from William MacKinnon to Henry Shelton Sanford, November 21, 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
202 KB
Medium
2-page handwritten letter
Language
eng
Type
Text
Coverage
London, England, United Kingdom
Accrual Method
Donation
Mediator
History 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.
Transcript
30 Old Burlington St.
London Nov., 21, 1879
Dear Mr. Sanford
Thanks for your telegram and note. I shall do my best with [?] and one or two others. I am so glad that you will be able to be in Brussels when I am there. The King has fixed Tuesday, and Strauch [?] me to let him know [?] [?] I came by and the [?] of arrival.
I propose [?] to go to Dover on Monday evening sleep there and cross to Calais on Tuesday morning. There on to Brussels arriving at the South Station at 4:55. Shall you arrive before me or at same time? [?] [?] many kind [?] for Mrs. Sanford/ if there with you [?] and yourself.
Believe me
Very truly yours,
W. MacKinnon
London Nov., 21, 1879
Dear Mr. Sanford
Thanks for your telegram and note. I shall do my best with [?] and one or two others. I am so glad that you will be able to be in Brussels when I am there. The King has fixed Tuesday, and Strauch [?] me to let him know [?] [?] I came by and the [?] of arrival.
I propose [?] to go to Dover on Monday evening sleep there and cross to Calais on Tuesday morning. There on to Brussels arriving at the South Station at 4:55. Shall you arrive before me or at same time? [?] [?] many kind [?] for Mrs. Sanford/ if there with you [?] and yourself.
Believe me
Very truly yours,
W. MacKinnon
Document Item Type Metadata
Original Format
2-page handwritten letter
Collection
Citation
MacKinnon, William, “Letter from William MacKinnon to Henry Shelton Sanford (November 21, 1879),” RICHES, accessed November 17, 2024, https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/items/show/4054.