Alexander Drummond

Drummonds Topographical Map from Aleppo to the Euphrates & c. ^a was in 1754 as part of the work Travels through Different Cities of Germany, Italy, Greece, and Several parts of Asia published

Alexander Drummond (born January 18, 1698 in Edinburgh ; died August 9, 1769 there ) was a Scottish Freemason , travel writer and from 1751 to 1759 British consul in what was then Ottoman Aleppo . He gained broader fame through his travelogue Travels through Different Cities of Germany, Italy, Greece, and Several Parts of Asia , published in London in 1754 and later reprinted and translated several times . During his time in Aleppo, he founded the Masonic Lodge The Union Lodge from Drummond Kilwinning from Greenock , the first Lodge of Scotland abroad.

Time in Scotland

Alexander Drummond was the son of John Drummond, Edinburgh merchant (died 1709), and Mary Menzies. He was a member of the Drummond clan and descendant of George Drummond (died 1594), 1st of Newton of Blair, through his son James Drummond, 1st of Boghall. Nothing is known from the first decades of his life. The first information about his life contains the diaries of his older brother George Drummond (1687–1766), many years Provost of Edinburgh , for the year 1737 . Alexander Drummond then got into unspecified difficulties. On February 3, 1738 he became a member of the Masonic Lodge Greenock Kilwinning . In the same year, the difficulties that present themselves as problems with the customs authorities became more concrete. Registered with the Lodge as Collector of the Customs at Greenock, he seems to have worked for the customs authorities in an unspecified role. In late 1738 he was elected Master of the Chair of the Lodge in Greenock Kilwinning and served in that capacity in 1739 and 1740. As early as 1739 he was Provincial Grand Master of the Lodges in western Scotland .

Travel to the Middle East

In 1744, Alexander Drummond set out on his great journey to the Middle East, an undertaking mainly driven by economic interests. From the port city of Harwich in Essex he crossed over to Hellevoetsluis in South Holland and took the overland route through Germany. Stops on this section of his trip included Cologne , Koblenz , Frankfurt and Augsburg , to which he paid particular attention. He continued via Innsbruck , Brixen , Trient and Brescia to Milan , from there via Certosa and Pavia to Genoa , where his descriptions deal in detail with Milan and Bologna. Sailing along the coast by ship, he reached Livorno in July 1744 , which he left for Florence on July 24, 1744 .

Florence and its antiquities as well as art collections and its social life are presented in detail before Drummond traveled on via Fiesole through the Apennines to Bologna for a longer stay. Finally he reached Venice , where he stayed until the beginning of October, exploring the city and its surroundings and from where he returned to Padua for a second visit . On October 11th he embarked in Venice to sail via Zakynthos along the coast of the Peloponnese and taking a one-day stop on Delos to Smyrna , which he reached on November 25th, 1744.

Asia Minor, Cyprus and Syria

Smyrna, today Izmir, was at that time one of the most important trading centers of the Ottoman Empire and the most important trading center in Asia Minor , destination of numerous European commercial travelers. It was here that Drummond came into contact with the Dutch consul Daniel Alexander de Hochepied and British commercial agents such as Thomas D'Aeth and Richard Lee. Probably in the same year or at the beginning of 1745 he possibly founded a lodge Drummond Kilwinning from Greenock in Smyrna , which, however, received no verifiable recognition from the Scottish grand lodge . At the end of January 1745 he left Smyrna again and sailed to Alexandretta , at that time a place with only 150 inhabitants and the port of Aleppo , in order to travel from there to Tripoli in Syria and then to Cyprus .

Excerpt from the map of Cyprus that Drummond published in his travel description published in 1754 (after p. 192)

In Cyprus it happened that part of the harem belonging to the Pasha of Aleppo made a stopover on the way to Alexandretta in early May 1745. Since the harem was traveling on a French ship, but at that time British corsairs were unsettling the waters of the eastern Mediterranean , Alexander Drummond, on the advice of the British consul in Cyprus, George Wakemann, and the governor of the island, Abdullah Paşa, accompanied the onward journey as British escorts in order to prevent the corsairs from doing their thing in the event of anger . Equipped with letters of recommendation from the consul and governor to the Beylerbey of Aleppo, Drummond sailed by ship on May 15, 1745 for Alexandretta.

For the first time, Drummond came to Aleppo, made exploratory trips to the ancient sites of Syria and established contacts with the European sales representatives on site. In May 1747 he left for his new place of work, now appointed Vice-Consul of Alexandretta. In the unloved port, he made every effort to be transferred to Aleppo and began extensive correspondence with numerous Europeans from the Eastern Mediterranean in Aleppo, Tripoli, Cyprus, but also in Smyrna, Constantinople , Marseille and Great Britain. In the same year he founded The Union Lodge from Drummond Kilwinning from Greenock in Aleppo , which is known to be Scotland's first lodge abroad, which was certified in 1752 in Edinburgh.

Consul in Aleppo

In 1751, Drummond was finally appointed consul in Aleppo and held this post until 1759. During the early years in this new position, he was also the Vice-Consul of the Netherlands in Aleppo, recognized by the Ottoman authorities and the Dutch ambassador, as well as vice-consul Consul of the Habsburg Monarchy and the Republic of Venice . In 1754 he published his travelogues Travels through Different Cities of Germany, Italy, Greece, and Several Parts of Asia . The descriptions are in letters, mostly addressed to his brother George Drummond, written between 1744 and 1750 and represent an important document on the economy and population history of the island during the Ottoman rule, especially in the parts relating to Cyprus. This part was already learned in the 18th century first reprints and translations of his work.

In 1758, Alexander Drummond asked for his release for health reasons, and in 1759 he returned to Edinburgh. Immediately he resumed his Masonic activities in his homeland and in 1760 became master of the chair of the Canongate Kilwinning Lodge. Unmarried and childless, he died on August 9, 1769 in Edinburgh.

plant

• Travels through Different Cities of Germany, Italy, Greece, and Several Parts of Asia, as far as the Banks of the Euphrates. Containing an Account of what is most Remarkable in their Present State, as well as in their Monuments of Antiquity . Strahan, London 1754 ( Text Archive - Internet Archive )

literature

• David Malcolm: Genealogical Memoir of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Drummond. G. Maxwell, Edinburgh 1808, p. 52 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
• Henry Manners Chichester:  Drummond, Alexander . In: Leslie Stephen (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 16:  Drant - Edridge. , MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1888, p. 22 (English).
• Katherine Turner: Drummond, Alexander (d.1769). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Volume 16: Dewes – Dryland. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861366-0 , p. 954, ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004-09, accessed September 24, 2019.
• Maurits H. van den Boogert: Freemasonry in Eighteenth-Century Izmir? A Critical Analysis of Alexander Drummond's Travels (1754). In: Maurits H. van den Boogert (Ed.): Ottoman Izmir: Studies in Honor of Alexander H. de Groot . Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, Leiden 2007, pp. 104–121 ( academia.edu ).

Web links

Commons : Alexander Drummond  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Biography at the Grand Lodge of Scotland

Remarks

1. ^ Katherine Turner: Drummond, Alexander (d. 1769). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Volume 16. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, p. 954; David Malcolm: Genealogical Memoir of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Drummond. G. Maxwell, Edinburgh 1808, p. 52
2. ^ David Malcolm: Genealogical Memoir of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Drummond. G. Maxwell, Edinburgh 1808, p. 51 f.
3. ↑ Maurits H. van den Boogert: Freemasonry in Eighteenth-Century Izmir? A Critical Analysis of Alexander Drummond's Travels (1754). In: Maurits H. van den Boogert (Ed.): Ottoman Izmir: Studies in Honor of Alexander H. de Groot. Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, Leiden 2007, p. 106.
4. ↑ Maurits H. van den Boogert: Freemasonry in Eighteenth-Century Izmir? A Critical Analysis of Alexander Drummond's Travels (1754). In: Maurits H. van den Boogert (Ed.): Ottoman Izmir: Studies in Honor of Alexander H. de Groot. Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, Leiden 2007, p. 107.
5. ↑ Maurits H. van den Boogert: Freemasonry in Eighteenth-Century Izmir? A Critical Analysis of Alexander Drummond's Travels (1754). In: Maurits H. van den Boogert (Ed.): Ottoman Izmir: Studies in Honor of Alexander H. de Groot. Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, Leiden 2007, p. 108; Alexander Drummond: Travels through Different Cities of Germany, Italy, Greece, and Several Parts of Asia pp. 1–40.
6. ↑ Maurits H. van den Boogert: Freemasonry in Eighteenth-Century Izmir? A Critical Analysis of Alexander Drummond's Travels (1754). In: Maurits H. van den Boogert (Ed.): Ottoman Izmir: Studies in Honor of Alexander H. de Groot. Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, Leiden 2007, p. 108; Alexander Drummond: Travels through Different Cities of Germany, Italy, Greece, and Several Parts of Asia pp. 40–114.
7. ↑ Maurits H. van den Boogert: Freemasonry in Eighteenth-Century Izmir? A Critical Analysis of Alexander Drummond's Travels (1754). In: Maurits H. van den Boogert (Ed.): Ottoman Izmir: Studies in Honor of Alexander H. de Groot. Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, Leiden 2007, p. 109 f.
8. ↑ Maurits H. van den Boogert: Freemasonry in Eighteenth-Century Izmir? A Critical Analysis of Alexander Drummond's Travels (1754). In: Maurits H. van den Boogert (Ed.): Ottoman Izmir: Studies in Honor of Alexander H. de Groot. Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, Leiden 2007, pp. 110-112.
9. ↑ Maurits H. van den Boogert: Freemasonry in Eighteenth-Century Izmir? A Critical Analysis of Alexander Drummond's Travels (1754). In: Maurits H. van den Boogert (Ed.): Ottoman Izmir: Studies in Honor of Alexander H. de Groot. Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, Leiden 2007, p. 112.
10. ↑ Maurits H. van den Boogert: Freemasonry in Eighteenth-Century Izmir? A Critical Analysis of Alexander Drummond's Travels (1754). In: Maurits H. van den Boogert (Ed.): Ottoman Izmir: Studies in Honor of Alexander H. de Groot. Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, Leiden 2007, p. 113.
11. ↑ Maurits H. van den Boogert: Freemasonry in Eighteenth-Century Izmir? A Critical Analysis of Alexander Drummond's Travels (1754). In: Maurits H. van den Boogert (Ed.): Ottoman Izmir: Studies in Honor of Alexander H. de Groot. Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, Leiden 2007, p. 113 f.
12. ↑ Maurits H. van den Boogert: Freemasonry in Eighteenth-Century Izmir? A Critical Analysis of Alexander Drummond's Travels (1754). In: Maurits H. van den Boogert (Ed.): Ottoman Izmir: Studies in Honor of Alexander H. de Groot. Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, Leiden 2007, pp. 116–118.
13. ^ Maurits H. van den Boogert: European Patronage in the Ottoman Empire. In: Alastair Hamilton, Alexander H. de Groot (Eds.): Friends and Rivals in the East. Studies in Anglo-Dutch Relations in the Levant from the Seventeenth to the Early Nineteenth Century. Brill, Leiden 2000, pp. 201-208.
14. ↑ Compare, for example, Ronald Jennings: Christians and Muslims in Ottoman Cyprus and the Mediterranean World, 1571–1640. New York University Press, New York 1993, p. 303 with note 47; Theoharis Stavrides: Cyprus 1750-1830. Administration and Society. In: Michalis N. Michael, Matthias Kappler, Eftihios Gavriel (eds.): Ottoman Cyprus. A Collection of Studies on History and Culture. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2009, pp. 89–106, here p. 98 with note 41. 104 with note 68.
15. ↑ Henry Maundrell, Thomas Shaw, Robert Wood: A Compendium of the Most Approved Modern Travels Containing a distinct account of the religion, government, commerce, men and Natural History of Several Nations. Dublin / London 1757; Collection of the best and latest travelogues. Volume 1. A. Mylius, Berlin 1763, pp. 322-394.
16. ↑ Maurits H. van den Boogert: Freemasonry in Eighteenth-Century Izmir? A Critical Analysis of Alexander Drummond's Travels (1754). In: Maurits H. van den Boogert (Ed.): Ottoman Izmir: Studies in Honor of Alexander H. de Groot. Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, Leiden 2007, p. 118.
17. ↑ Maurits H. van den Boogert: Freemasonry in Eighteenth-Century Izmir? A Critical Analysis of Alexander Drummond's Travels (1754). In: Maurits H. van den Boogert (Ed.): Ottoman Izmir: Studies in Honor of Alexander H. de Groot. Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, Leiden 2007, p. 119 f.
18. ^ Katherine Turner: Drummond, Alexander (d. 1769). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Volume 16. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, p. 954.

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