George Baldwin (1744-abt.1826) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree

George Baldwin

Born May 1744 in Southward, London, England.

Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]

[sibling(s) unknown]

Husband of Jane (Maltass) Baldwin — married Nov 1779 in Smyrna (Izmir), Turkey

[children unknown]

Died about 19 Feb 1826 at about age 81 in Grosvenor Square, Earl's Court, London, England.

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Profile last modified 15 Nov 2017 | Created 18 Jun 2016

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1 Biography
2 Sources

Biography

He was a British merchant, writer and diplomat of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries whose career was principally based in Egypt, where he established valuable trade links for the East India Company and negotiated directly with the Ottoman governors.

Birth

George Baldwin was born in London, England in 1743 or 1744. His father William Baldwin was a hop merchant in London. ^[1]

Occupation

Aged 16, his father sent him to Cyprus, to join his brother who was the British Consul-General there. When he was 19, he was sent to Acre (in the Israel of today) to become a silk merchant. After his brother died in 1773, George returned to Cyprus and took up his post there. Soon after, having realised the trade potential between the Levant and India, he went to Cairo to establish a trade base. There he was instrumental in the opening of the Suez canal for shipping by British merchants.

In 1774 he joined the East India Company, arriving in Egypt in 1775. He was the only British merchant based in Egypt and became so successful a merchant in Egypt, that he effectively constituted a monopoly on trade in the area, encroaching on the activities of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and supplies to the Cape of Good Hope. After having his caravans looted and being attacked himself several times, he escaped to Smyrna (Izmir) in Turkey in 1779. ^[2] He later returned to Egypt, and was appointed British Consul-General in Alexandria in 1785 or 1786, where despite his repeated warnings to Britain of the importance of Egypt to links with British India, his advice was ignored. Consequently, when Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt in 1798, the British were poorly positioned to respond directly. In 1801, Baldwin assisted the British counter-invasion of Egypt and returned to Britain with his wife later that year.

He left all his property behind him, and sailed on 14 March 1778, and on the 19th landed happily on the island of Patmos, in the grotto of the Apocalypse. From Patmos he went to Chismé, the sepulchre of the Turkish fleet, where the Greeks for five-and-twenty days came round him every night and danced the carmagnole. He went on to Trieste by Vienna, and then, disturbed by the battle of Marengo, retreated to Leghorn. He was there surprised by a party of republicans, and had just time to save himself on board his majesty's frigate, Santa Dorothea, with little more than a change of linen in his wallet. After a fortnight's cruise he landed at Naples, where he was requested by the English commander-in-chief to join them at Malta in the campaign of 1801. ^[3]

Books and pamphlets

'A Narrative of Facts relating to the Plunder of English Merchants by the Arabs, and other subsequent Outrages of the Government of Cairo in the course of the year 1779.'

'The Communication with India by the Isthmus of Suez, vindicated by prejudices which have prevailed against it', published 1784.

'Philosophical Essays' published in London, England in 1786.

'Memorial relating to the Trade in Slaves carried on in Egypt,' published Alexandria, Egypt 1789.

'Osservazioni circa un nuovo specifico contra la peste,' published Florence, Italy 1800. (This was translated into German). 'Political Recollections Relative to Egypt with narrative of the British Campaign in the Spring of 1801'. ^[4].

'Political Recollections relative to Egypt, containing Observations on its Government under the Mameluks; its Geographical Position; its intrinsic and extrinsic Resources; its relative Importance to England and France; and its Dangers to England in the Possession of France; with a narrative of the campaign in 1801,' published in London, England in 1802. 'La Prima Musa Clio, translated from the Italian of Cesare Avena di Valdieri by George Baldwin, London, 1810.

'Tre Opere Drammatiche prese nelle visioni di Dafni e concatenate istoricamente nell' ordine die segue, cioe, II Trionfo di Melibeo, La Cipria Silene, e la Coronazione di Silene, scritte da Dafni ossia Timi Dafni cosi poeticamente divisato Arcade Pastore, essendo nell' estasi del sonno magnetico', London, 1811, privately printed.

'Mr. Baldwin's Legacy to his Daughter, or the Divinity of Truth in writings and resolutions matured in the course and study and experience of a long life ' (including a series of writings obtained from the hand of Cesare Avena di Valdieri in 'magnetic sleep'), London, 1811.

'Sur le Magnétisme Animal,' translated into French in 1818.

^[5]

Marriage

He met the 16 year old Jane Maltass in Smyrna, Turkey in 1779 and married her the same year. They subsequently went to England via Vienna. Baldwin and Jane had a daughter but were not happily married. Jane was a popular society beauty and was painted by several artists and admired by numerous men in England and Europe.

Magnetic Therapy

George Baldwin returned to Egypt and became interested in the theories of magnetic therapy. Starting in 1795 he and an Italian, Improvastatore Cesare Avena de Valdiere conducted a series of experiments in mesmerism and automatic writing in Alexandria, Egypt. George “magnetized” Avena, a self confessed extempore poet, enabling creative trances during which Avena spontaneously composed three Operas. He was known as a mystical writer. Baldwin was ridiculed in England for his magnetic theories but later published a book about it.