Robert Jacob Gordon

Doesburg 1743 - Cape Town 1795

Gordon was a son of a prominent Dutch family of Scottish descent. He served as a military officer in the Dutch East India Company( VOC).

In addition to being an soldier he was an explorer and a skilled artist. He created detailed sketches, drawings, and watercolors during his expeditions throughout South Africa, documenting the landscapes, people, and the biodiversity he encountered with meticulous detail.

Although we are well aware of the several negative impacts of the VOC's presence in South Africa, Gordon’s work in the field of botany should not be overshadowed. He went on more expeditions than any other 18th-century explorer of Southern Africa and visited regions that were largely unknown to Europeans at the time like the Orange River and the Great Fish River. 

Of the six voyages he undertook, four (between 1777 and 1786) are described in the journals that were rediscovered in 1964. In addition to French, Dutch and English, he also spoke Hottentot and Xhosa.

Artist Schoemaker accompanied Gordon on all his journeys, producing a fine record of their travels and causing present-day confusion as to which sketches are his and which Gordon’s.

Gordon’s keen interest in natural history led him to become a respected naturalist. His collections included botanical specimens and detailed observations of the fauna and flora of Southern Africa, contributing significantly to the understanding of the region's biodiversity.

Note: during my research I have not found notes about Gordon making use of enslaved people during his expeditions or how he treated the local people he worked with.