What if John Adams had read this book?
How a shipwreck and a failed revolution created the radical idea for an American colony in South Africa's Eastern Cape
On the morning of 17 June 1796, Captain Benjamin Stout dragged himself, sputtering and exhausted, out of the sea. Hercules, his ship, had run aground just off the coast of the Eastern Cape. The ship and its captain were originally from America and had been en route, delivering rice from India to England when the wreck happened. On the shore, he met and was cared for by the local African inhabitants, who helped guide Stout and sixty of his men to Cape Town. On his way home through England, Stout published a record of his experiences, The Narrative of the Loss of the Ship Hercules.
In an age of exploration, shipwreck tales were popular and Stout’s book was well received. But where most other shipwreck authors told their tales to spread the word of God’s mercy or to claim fame and fortune, Stout did something rather strange. He dedicated his tale to American president John Adams. And not only that, he implored Adams to colonise the area that would become the Eastern Cape of South Africa, writing, “Such are the capabilities of this delightful country; and, as I apprehend, nothing is wanting to perfect the whole but the exertions of a wise and liberal government, I have recommended the establishment of a colony from America in these parts to your consideration.”
To understand how Stout could imagine such a proposal, we need to understand the world in which he operated…
