Telegram from William MacKinnon to Henry Shelton Sanford (November 29, 1879)
Dublin Core
Title
Telegram from William MacKinnon to Henry Shelton Sanford (November 29, 1879)
Alternative Title
MacKinnon to Sanford (November 29, 1879)
Subject
MacKinnon, William, 1823-1893
Sanford, Henry Shelton, 1823-1891
Description
A telegram from Sir William MacKinnon (1823-1893) to Henry Shelton Sanford (1823-1891) dated June 16, 1879. The telegram indicated to Sanford the price of telegraphs obtainable from Aden, a seaport in present-day Yemen that was controlled by Britain and administered as part of British India during the period. It was of roughly equal distance between Mumbai, Zanzibar, and the Suez Canal, all of which were important destinations of British shipping routes.
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 King Leopold II (1835-1909) of Belgium 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 King Leopold II (1835-1909) of Belgium 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 telegram from William MacKinnon to Henry Shelton Sanford, June 16, 1879: box 127, folder 2, subfolder 127.2.20, Henry Shelton Sanford Papers, General Henry S. Sanford Memorial Library, Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.
Date Created
1879-11-29
Is Format Of
Digital reproduction of original telegram from William MacKinnon to Henry Shelton Sanford, June 16, 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
270 KB
Medium
1 handwritten telegram
Language
eng
Type
Text
Coverage
Brussels, Belgium
London, England, United Kingdom
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.
Transcript
INIDICATIONS DE SERVICE:
ADMINISTRATION DES POSTES ET TÉLÉGRAPHES
TÉLÉGRAMME
BUREAU D’ARRIVÉE:
[Stamped] Bruxelles Ministere 29 Nov. [18]79
Déposé à Londres Le 29/11 a 2:06s No 1770
Aden télégraphes obtainable within one month price between twenty twenty five dollars télégraph your opinion
MacKinnon
Reçu à
2h09s
Le Télégraphiste,
[?]
Sanford Brussels
ADMINISTRATION DES POSTES ET TÉLÉGRAPHES
TÉLÉGRAMME
BUREAU D’ARRIVÉE:
[Stamped] Bruxelles Ministere 29 Nov. [18]79
Déposé à Londres Le 29/11 a 2:06s No 1770
Aden télégraphes obtainable within one month price between twenty twenty five dollars télégraph your opinion
MacKinnon
Reçu à
2h09s
Le Télégraphiste,
[?]
Sanford Brussels
Document Item Type Metadata
Original Format
1 handwritten telegram
Collection
Citation
MacKinnon, William, “Telegram from William MacKinnon to Henry Shelton Sanford (November 29, 1879),” RICHES, accessed November 17, 2024, https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/items/show/4055.