Latest update May 20th, 2026 12:35 AM
Latest News
Guyanese Literature Junction
by Petamber Persaud
‘The Wanderer’ Charles Waterton (1782 – 1865)
In 1826, Charles Waterton published his ‘Wanderings in South America’ which re-opened Guyana to the world, leading to numerous amazing discoveries. The book was translated into French, Dutch and Spanish and endorsed by Dickens, Darwin and Roosevelt.
Charles Waterton was the Squire of Walton Hall, Yorkshire, and manager to Walton Hall, Essequibo, British Guiana. He first came to British Guiana in 1804 to manage his uncle’s estates, Friendship and La Jealousy, on the West Coast of Demerara. Between 1812 and 1824, he made four forays into the jungle of Guiana; the best days of his life ‘where a man would lose his senses, and forget the world’ and enjoy the silence and solitude of the forest.
There are many reasons for his expedition into the jungles of Guiana. One, he was a changed man, a more humane man, after dealing with the slaves on the plantations. So much so that he said one had to have had a heart of stone to defend slavery. In a way he contributed to emancipation; he taught the most important science of the day, taxidermy, to John Edmonstone, a freed African slave who went to England and in turn imparted the art to Charles Darwin. And the other reason for exploring the virgin forest of Guiana was bound up in the fact that an acquaintance, Sir Joseph Banks, encouraged Waterton to bring back samples of curare in order to experiment with the substance as a curative agent for certain aliments.
After his wanderings, he settled at Walton Hall, England, and got married to Anne Edmonstone at whose christening he was present on the Mibiri Creek, British Guiana. The union produced one son, Edmund, who was opposite in nature to his father and at whose feet lay the blame for loss of a great deal of information on Charles Waterton.
Waterton was born at Walton Hall, West Yorkshire, England, on June 3, 1782. His life was replete with curious incidents; some commentators went as far as labelling Waterton ‘a curiosity’ having done a few things different to the norm. His life and work fitted aptly to a line from Don Quixote, a book he read almost every day: ‘He is mad in patches, full of lucid intervals’.
He invented the bird nesting box and created the world’s first wildfowl and nature reserve accommodating 17, 000 visitors in a year. He was credited with taking the anaesthetic agent curare to Europe and taking “taxidermy from a sorry handicraft to an art” – his creations were ‘perfect and extraordinary lifelike’.
After surviving numerous life-threatening encounters during his wanderings in British Guiana and other parts of the world, Charles Waterton died in his own backyard, stumbling on the flora (a briar-root) he nurtured to serve as sanctuary for the fauna he revived and sustained in his park, the world’s first wildfowl and nature reserve, at Walton Hall, Yorkshire, England.
Waterton was interred on his birth anniversary, June 3, some 83 years after he was born; his coffin on its floating briar was towed on the lake surrounding Walton Hall accompanied by boats draped in black cloth. He left detailed instruction for an elaborate funeral. Yet he disapproved of mourning and wearing of black. Not adhering to etiquette of donning dark clothing caused him to lose an introduction to Pope Gregory XVI. He died at twenty-seven minutes past two on the morning of May twenty-seventh, 1865.
Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com
What’s happening:
• The Guyana Annual magazine is inviting entries to its eight literary competitions and to its art and photography competitions.
• Be a part of the centenary celebrations of the National Library; see press for details. Make a tangible contribution by submitting relevant photos and recollections for possible publication in the Centenary Souvenir Magazine.
Share this:
Discover more from Kaieteur News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.