This collection is made up of over 40 printed reports, manuscript letters, and manuscript notes related to Clements R. Markham, a British geographer who traveled in South America and India in the mid-19th century. Among other subjects, the manuscripts concern Markham's attempt to cultivate cinchona plants in India, and it contains notes on the Amazon basin and rainforest.
The bulk of the collection pertains to Markham's work with Great Britain's India Office in the 1860s, including a lengthy printed report and supplementary memoranda about his efforts to introduce the cinchona plant, native to Peru, to India. Other reports and memoranda concern Indian coffee plantations, cotton production, oyster fisheries, and irrigation projects. The volume also includes descriptions of the Suez region, Abyssinia, and Bombay. Manuscript notes and translations in the back of the volume largely pertain to South America, including letters to Markham from an acquaintance in Lima, Peru, and notes on the missionary work of Antonio Machoni. Other manuscripts concern the Amazon region, cocoa plantations, the Napo River, and an Arctic expedition. The documents are calendared and indexed.
Clements Robert Markham was born in Stillingfleet, England, on July 20, 1830, the son of David Markham and Catherine Milner. He joined the Royal Navy in 1844, and sailed to South America and the Arctic. In 1852, after leaving the navy, he set out for Peru. He joined the India Office in 1854, after his return to England. Among his accomplishments, he participated in efforts to cultivate cinchona in India and cataloged the India Office's surveys and other information about the subcontinent. He also participated in an expedition to Abyssinia in 1867-1868. After leaving the India Office in 1877, Markham encouraged polar exploration. His publications included a biography of Richard III, a Quechua dictionary, and works on history and geography. He and his wife, Minna Chichester, were married in April 1857 and had one daughter, Mary Louise (b. 1859). Clements R. Markham died on January 30, 1916.