The Scottish ‘King of Lokoja’
Wendell Mcconnaha looks back at the achievements of William Balfour Baikie, the greatest explorer you’ve probably never heard of
It was 1854 and the Pleiad was anchored and waiting for William Balfour Baikie to return from his visit with a local African chieftain. But Baikie was troubled. He had walked for several hours when he realised he was lost.
He had attempted to walk toward the river but became even more entangled in the thick brush. The heat and humidity were overpowering. Periodically he would climb a tree to try and get his bearings, but he could not find a single guiding landmark. The darkness was falling quickly around him. It was 7pm.
Unable to continue his journey he took refuge in a large baobab tree with a double trunk. With his back against one trunk and his feet against the other, he climbed to a limb about 15ft off the ground. Using a piece of cord, he tied his arm around the branch to secure himself and he quickly fell asleep.
His rest was brief. Baikie woke to the buzz of mosquitoes assaulting him from all sides. The heat had not abated and silhouetted against the star-filled sky he saw several large vultures roosting in the tree above his head. He ached from remaining in the same position for so long and began to climb down. He had only moved slightly when high-pitched howls erupted from the base of the tree. These were the unmistakable high notes of a hyena. After some time Baikie heard the hyenas run off into the brush and he again began his descent, but his relief was shortlived. The yap of the hyenas had been replaced by the deep bass growl of a leopard. Baikie climbed back up to his perch and wondered how long it would be before he saw the leopard as it climbed upward from the deep grass below...
William Balfour Baikie was perhaps the most complex yet the least wellknown of any African explorer. Born in 1825 in Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands, he began studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh at the age of 16. On graduation he was assistant surgeon on several ships before being assigned to the Royal Hospital Haslar where he worked alongside noted explorers Sir John Richardson and Sir Edward Parry. Baikie had published two books on the flora and fauna of Orkney before his 23rd birthday. His reputation as a skilled naturalist, and his connection with Richardson and Parry, helped to open doors for him to work with other prominent members of the British scientific community, including Charles Darwin.
It was Richardson who recommended Baikie as the Naturalist and Assistant Surgeon on an expedition being sponsored by Macgregor Laird, a prominent Scottish merchant. Using the Pleiad, a ship of Laird’s design, their charge was to conduct trade within regions through which they would pass, map the lower Niger and Benue rivers and meet local rulers to select permanent trading locations. Yet even before he arrived in Africa, events transpired which promoted Baikie to command of the expedition.
Baikie had undertaken an extensive study of tropical diseases. As the crew’s physician and leader of the voyage, he conducted the first clinical trial studying the expanded use of quinine. It was known that administering quinine could cure malaria, but Baikie believed that quinine taken before becoming ill could also prevent the disease. Twice a day, crew members were given a few grains of quinine mixed with wine.
As a result, this venture into Africa was accomplished without the loss of a single life. Previous explorations had resulted in the deaths of up to three-quarters of the participants. This mission was both a scientific and commercial success. In addition to his medical triumph, more than 600 miles of the Niger River system were mapped, trading had resulted in profits that would exceed Laird’s initial costs, and agreements had been forged with local leaders assuring the establishment of permanent trading sites.
The goals of the voyage were accomplished and Baikie returned to London to a hero’s welcome. He was nominated for one of the Royal Geographical Society’s prestigious awards, published a well-received narrative of the voyage and was soon offered an opportunity to lead a second mission for Laird. However, on this voyage disaster struck. His ship sank on the upper Niger River in the middle of the vast Islamic territory known as the Sokoto Caliphate. Despite the continued use of quinine several members of the party died. When rescued over a year later, every member of the expedition returned except Baikie, who elected to remain and complete Laird’s directives.
The city of Lokoja lies at the confluence of the Niger and Benue Rivers and Baikie selected this site to establish Laird’s trading centre. The highly successful Lokoja trading model he developed became the standard for Great Britain throughout the Empire. But Baikie was much more than a trader. In addition to his two books on natural history, he wrote numerous publications on the people and commerce of West Africa.
He compiled vocabularies of over 50 African languages and translated large parts of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into the Hausa, Igbo, Fulani and Arabic languages. He mapped large sections of the Niger and Benue River systems as well as the overland routes from Lagos and Lokoja to the major trading centres of Kano, Timbuctu and Sokoto. As a naturalist Baikie collected, catalogued and placed plant specimens in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Edinburgh and Kew, while the British Museum benefited from the discoveries he made of rare and
His relief was short-lived – the yap of the hyenas had been replaced by the deep bass growl of a leopard
hitherto unknown animal species. Despite these accomplishments, there is seldom a major reference to William Balfour Baikie in anthologies of West African explorers.
While Baikie seems to have been largely forgotten by the world at large, he remains universally respected by descendants of those with whom he came into contact in Africa. Unique for his time, Baikie appreciated and respected African culture and adapted to the African way of life rather than expecting those with whom he lived to change. He was recognised and admired by his African colleagues for this attitude. Living within the largest Islamic empire in sub-saharan Africa, this Scottish Christian was given absolute authority over the territory surrounding Lokoja. The Muslim ruler of the Sokoto Caliphate designated him the King of Lokoja.
Today, William Balfour Baikie’s name is still used with deference to describe white people who visit the area. Writing on the 100th anniversary of his death, Orkney historian Ernest Marwick noted that the Igbo respectfully use the word “Beke” to mean “white man”. The King of Lokoja is an attempt to define the man, beyond his achievements, and identify the quirks of fate and personality that have kept William Balfour Baikie from the recognition that his accomplishments should have provided.