Roberto Ivens was a
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
explorer of AfricaEuropean exploration of Africa began with Ancient Greeks and Romans, who explored and established settlements in North Africa. Fifteenth Century Portugal, especially under Henry the Navigator probed along the West African coast. Scientific curiosity and Christian missionary spirit soon were...
,
GeographerA geographer is a scholar whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society.Although geographers are historically known as people who make maps, map making is actually the field of study of cartography, a subset of geography...
, colonial administrator, and an officer of the
Portuguese NavyThe Portuguese Navy is the naval branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in cooperation and integrated with the other branches of the Portuguese military, is charged with the military defence of Portugal....
.
Early life
Roberto Ivens was the son of Margarida Júlia de Medeiros Castelo Branco and Robert Breakspeare Ivens (1822-?). Margarida was of lower nobility and Roberto's Grandfather, William Ivens, was a merchant awarded the Ivens
ArmsA coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
by
George IIIGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
in 1816. Robert Breakspeare Ivens was a great-grandson of Thomas Hickling (
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
1745-1836 Ponta Delgada) the American vice-consul in
Ponta DelgadaPonta Delgada is a city and municipality on the island of São Miguel in the archipelago of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal. It includes 44,403 residents in the urban area, and approximately 20,113 inhabitants in the three central parishes that comprise the historical city: São Pedro,...
.
In 1861, Ivens attended Escola da Marinha in
LisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. At school Roberto was known as "Roberto of the Devil" and he became known as an intelligent young gentleman . He joined the Portuguese Navy in 1870 at the age of 20 and attended
Escola Prática de Artilharia NavalThe Portuguese Naval School is a university-level naval academy in Lisbon, Portugal. Founded in 1845, the school is located at the Lisbon Naval Base, on the south bank of the Tagus river.-Academics:...
in 1871. Ivens left for the
Suez CanalThe Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
in September of the same year, where he was the garrison of the
Estefânia.
Travels
Ivens began his travels in Angola in 1872. On October 10, 1874, he completed three years of travels in the colonies. Returning to Portugal on January 1875, Ives made examination for
lieutenantA lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
. In April 1875, he sailed on the
Duque de Terceira for
São Tomé and PríncipeSão Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two islands: São Tomé and Príncipe, located about apart and about , respectively, off...
and various ports of South America.
In 1876, Ivens set out for the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, bringing Portuguese products to Philadelphia for the
Centennial ExpositionThe Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. It was officially...
. His ancestor, Thomas Hickling, had been an ardent
American revolutionaryPatriots is a name often used to describe the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. It was their leading figures who, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation...
, and had in fact left
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
for the
AzoresThe Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
following an argument with his
loyalistLoyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
father.
Ivens went on an expedition into the provinces of Angola and
MozambiqueMozambique or Portuguese East Africa was the common name by which the Portuguese Empire's territorial expansion in East Africa was known across different periods of time...
beginning on May 11, 1877 and studied relations between hydrographic basins in
ZambeziThe Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa, and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. The area of its basin is , slightly less than half that of the Nile...
. His hydrographic studies are considered even today to be "amazingly perfect". In the same year he was promoted to the rank of
first lieutenantFirst lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
.
Ivens went on an expedition on June 21, 1885 at
QuelimaneQuelimane is a seaport in Mozambique. It is the administrative capital of the Zambezia Province and the province's largest city, and stands 25 km from the mouth of the Rio dos Bons Sinais . The river was named when Vasco da Gama, on his way to India, reached it and saw "good signs" that he was on...
in Mozambique. Ivens, as requested by the
King Luís I|-...
, and in the aftermath of the Berlin Conference, to travel between Angola and Mozambique, which ended in over 4,500 miles (about 8,300 km) of which 1/3 was uncharted in what was called "
ContracostaThe Pink Map was a document representing Portugal's claim of sovereignty over the land between Angola and Mozambique, which today is currently Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.The Pink Map collided with Sir Cecil Rhodes' "Cape to Cairo Red Line"...
".
For his service to Portugal, Roberto had the honor of being named
aide-de-campAn aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to King Luís. In 1895, he was made Officer of
Military Order of AvizThe Military Order of Aviz , previously to 1910 Royal Military Order of Aviz , previously to 1789 Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz , previously Knights of St. Benedict of Aviz or Friars of Santa Maria of Évora, is a Portuguese Order of Chivalry...
and was nominated on October 17 as secretary of the Commission of Cartography.
Legacy
Portugal has ten streets named after Roberto Ivens including one in
Ponta DelgadaPonta Delgada is a city and municipality on the island of São Miguel in the archipelago of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal. It includes 44,403 residents in the urban area, and approximately 20,113 inhabitants in the three central parishes that comprise the historical city: São Pedro,...
named
Avenida Roberto Ivens. Several schools are named in his honor, including Escola Básica Integrada Roberto Ivens, near his birthplace.
Partial list of works
- De Benguela às Terras de Iaca 1881
- De Angola à Contracosta 1886
External links