Anna Maria Falconbridge facts for kids

Anna Maria (Horwood) Falconbridge (1769-1835) was an early English woman who wrote about her experiences in Africa. She was born in Bristol, England, in 1769. Her father, Charles, was a clock maker.

In 1788, when she was 19, Anna Maria married Alexander Falconbridge. He was a surgeon who had worked on slave ships but later became an abolitionist, meaning he was against the slave trade. Anna Maria traveled with her husband to Sierra Leone in Africa twice. She wrote many letters about her adventures and what she saw. These letters were later published as a book called Narrative of Two Voyages.

Anna Maria's Journeys to Africa

During her first trip to Africa, Anna Maria visited a trading post called Bunce Island in the Sierra Leone River. Her husband, Alexander, had become strongly against the slave trade. He made sure Anna Maria stayed on a small boat instead of at the trading post. However, she did go with him on some visits to the mainland. Anna Maria carefully watched and wrote about the country, its people, their customs, and how they lived.

On her second trip to Africa, Anna Maria traveled with people who were starting a new colony. This colony was for freed slaves. Her husband, Alexander, got a job with the Sierra Leone Company (SLC) as a commercial agent. The new settlement was named Freetown. Over a thousand settlers arrived in Freetown during the rainy season. Many people became sick because there was not enough shelter. Anna Maria stayed healthy for most of the time and kept writing about her experiences.

Sadly, her husband Alexander died in Freetown in 1792. He is believed to be buried there, but the exact spot was not recorded.

Life After Africa

After her husband's death, Anna Maria returned to London. She had remarried in Freetown shortly after Alexander's death to Isaac DuBois, who also worked for the Sierra Leone Company.

Once in London, Anna Maria asked the directors of the Sierra Leone Company for money she believed her late husband was owed. The company said they didn't owe anything. Because of this, Anna Maria published her letters. Three versions of her book, Narrative of Two Voyages to the River Sierra Leone during the Years 1791–1792–1793, came out in 1794 and 1795. These letters were not originally meant to be published. They were her personal notes about her travels.

Anna Maria and Isaac DuBois had a son named Francis Blake DuBois, born in England in 1801. The family later moved to the Virgin Islands. Anna Maria Falconbridge died in 1835 in New York, United States.

External sources

• Narrative of Two Voyages to the River Sierra Leone, During the Years 1791-1792-1793 (Full text, partial free access)
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