Emin Pasha facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mehmed Emin
Pasha
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| Born |
Isaak Eduard Schnitzer
March 28, 1840 |
| Died | October 23, 1892 (aged 52) |
| Awards | Vega Medal (1890) |
Mehmed Emin Pasha was an important person in the late 1800s. He was born as Isaak Eduard Schnitzer on March 28, 1840. He was a doctor, a scientist who studied nature, and a governor of a region called Equatoria in Africa. This area was part of the Ottoman Empire (a large empire that existed for many centuries). In 1886, the Ottoman Empire gave him the special title "Pasha". After that, people called him Emin Pasha.
Contents
Life and Adventures
Emin was born in a town called Oppeln, which is now in Poland. His family was Jewish. When he was two, his family moved to another town nearby. After his father passed away, his mother married a Christian man, and she and her children became Lutherans.
Emin studied at several universities and became a doctor in 1864. However, he couldn't practice medicine in Germany. So, he decided to leave and travel to Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) to work for the Ottoman Empire.
Travels and New Life
On his way to Constantinople, he stopped in Montenegro. The people there welcomed him, and he soon started working as a doctor. He was very good at learning languages and quickly learned Turkish, Albanian, and Greek. He became an officer in charge of checking ships for diseases at the port.
In 1870, he joined the staff of Ismail Hakki Pasha, a governor in Albania. He traveled a lot with Hakki Pasha throughout the Ottoman Empire. When Hakki Pasha died in 1873, Emin returned to Germany with the pasha's widow and children. But he left suddenly in 1875 and went to Cairo, Egypt, and then to Khartoum (in present-day Sudan).
In Khartoum, he started using the name "Mehemet Emin". He opened a doctor's office and began collecting plants, animals, and birds. He sent many of these collections to museums in Europe. Some people thought he became a Muslim, but it's not fully clear if he did.
Governor of Equatoria
Charles George Gordon, who was the governor of Equatoria, heard about Emin. He invited Emin to be the main doctor for the province. Emin agreed and arrived there in 1876. Gordon quickly sent Emin on important missions to meet leaders in nearby kingdoms, like Bunyoro and Buganda. Emin was well-liked because he was humble and could speak the local language, Luganda.
After 1876, Emin made a place called Lado his main base. From there, he went on many trips to collect things for his studies. In 1878, the ruler of Egypt appointed Emin to take over from Gordon as the governor of Equatoria. He was given the title of Bey, which was a high rank.
Even with this important title, Emin didn't have much power. His small army only controlled areas right around their forts, and the main government didn't support his ideas for improving the region. Emin was strongly against slavery and worked to stop it.
Cut Off from the World
In 1881, a big rebellion started, led by a man named Muhammad Ahmad. By 1883, this rebellion had cut off Equatoria from the rest of the world. In 1885, Emin and most of his forces moved further south to Wadelai, near Lake Albert.
Even though he was cut off from the north, he could still send messages to Zanzibar through the kingdom of Buganda. Emin was determined to stay in Equatoria. His messages, carried by his friend Wilhelm Junker, made many people in Europe worried about him in 1886. This was especially true after Governor Gordon had died the year before.
The Rescue Expedition
A large group called the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition was organized to rescue Emin. It was led by Henry Morton Stanley. They decided to travel up the Congo River and then through a very difficult forest called the Ituri Forest. This journey was incredibly hard, and two-thirds of the expedition members were lost.
Stanley met Emin in April 1888. They spent a year discussing what to do. During this time, Emin and another officer were even held captive by some of their own soldiers for a few months. Finally, Emin was convinced to leave for the coast. Most of his soldiers stayed near Lake Albert until 1890.
Stanley and Emin arrived in a town called Bagamoyo in 1890. During a celebration, Emin was injured when he accidentally stepped through a window, thinking it was a balcony. He spent two months in the hospital recovering. Stanley left without him, unable to bring him back as a hero.
Some historians believe that the movement of Emin and his followers might have spread sleeping sickness to Uganda. Before the 1890s, this disease was not known in Uganda.
Later Life and Death
After recovering, Emin began working for the German East Africa Company. He joined an expedition to explore lakes in the interior of Africa. However, he was killed by two Arab slave traders in October 1892, near a place called Nyangwe in the Congo Free State.
Emin Pasha greatly helped our understanding of central Africa. He added a lot to the study of human societies (anthropology) and published important papers about geography. In 1890, he received a special award called the Founder's Medal from the Royal Geographical Society.
Emin Pasha is remembered in the names of some animals. A type of snake found in East Africa is called Emin Pasha's worm snake (Leptotyphlops emini). Also, a kind of sparrow found in East Africa is named the chestnut sparrow (Passer eminibey).
See also
In Spanish: Emin Pasha para niños
