August Kappler

August Kappler ( born November 11, 1815 in Mannheim, † October 20, 1887 in Stuttgart ) was a German researchers and entrepreneurs in Suriname. He founded in December 1846 Location Albina on Marowijne (French: Maroni ), the border river between Suriname and French Guiana.

Life and work

Kappler was born in Mannheim, the son of the teacher Michael Kappler and his wife Friederike born Spittler. He was the youngest of four children. After the confirmation he graduated first in Stuttgart and later in a trading house in Heilbronn a business education. Primarily due to the poor economic situation in Germany he decided soon after the teaching, to leave his home at the age of 19 years. In June 1835, he went to Greece to serve in the army of the newly formed Kingdom of there. This failed, however, because he had no passport. He briefly returned to Stuttgart and then made ​​the decision to enter the Koninklijk Nederlandsch - Indian Leger. In July 1835, he left Stuttgart for the second time and announced in Harderwijk in advertising depot for the Dutch colonial army. However, as just one unit had left for the Dutch East Indies, he joined a detachment with the goal Suriname. The ship sailed on 16 December and reached Suriname on 18 January 1836 where he became a six-year period of service.

Suriname

Military time

He was fortunate not to spend much of his time in the military in the city of Paramaribo, but to the many small military outpost that existed in the country at that time. The service was easy and the crew of these items low, so that he had much free time. He took the opportunity to explore nature and to collect plants and insects. Of the first four years of service he spent 2 ½ years on this post. In 1840 he was transferred to the post Armina at the headwaters of Marowijne. Here and during his time on the sentry Prins Willem Frederik Hendrik at the mouth of the river he made ​​the decision on the Marowijne permanently settle later to unbound and to live independently in the wild. In November 1841, he ended his period of service as a commissioned officer (Fourier ).

Researchers and entrepreneurs

Kappler had acquired an excellent knowledge of the country and the people, plants and wildlife during his service.

After a short trip back to Amsterdam to his relatives in Stuttgart, he returned as early as July 1842 back to Suriname. The time from 1842 to 1846 he spent in Paramaribo. From his apartment, he made almost daily walks to catch in the vicinity of Paramaribo insects and especially butterflies. He sold this, and live and dried plants with great success in Paramaribo and in Europe. In June 1845, he joined with a rich collection of natural history to his second trip to the Netherlands. But in March 1846 he was back in Suriname. Without difficulty he got here by the governor for permission to settle on the banks of the Dutch Marowijne. In December 1846, he reached the river and began with the support of the local Caribs to set up his new living space. The name Albina he forgave his office after his childhood friend and future wife Josephine Albina Liezenmaier.

As in French Guiana slavery was abolished in 1848 and was to be feared the escape of slaves from Suriname to French Guiana, Kappler received in June 1849 a permanent position as a post holder with a salary of 56 guilders per month.

After he had with the company Kreglinger & Co of Amsterdam in the Netherlands found a business partner for the timber trade, he took in 1853 10 wood chipper, 5 women and 5 children from Württemberg after Albina. The daily wage for the workers was 1 guilder, with free board and lodging. This and other attempts to colonize the country with Wurttembergers failed four years later from tropical diseases and strife. As of 1858 took Kappler Chinese in service.

Besides his work as a post holder and border officials for the government, he accompanied as guide and translator in the years 1861 and 1862 Dutch-French expeditions to explore including the running of the Upper Marowijne. This should be determined which tributary must form the border between French Guiana and Suriname.

Return

When in 1876 the government bought back a portion of Albina and a district commissioner appointed, Kappler felt restricted in his freedom and traveled in July 1879 back to Europe. He himself wrote about his time at the Marowijne: "I have in this river that never was for the colony of some use to say yes by my settlement so was not known until all the help, support and protection devoid, faithfully what is mine to contributed to the benefit of the colony and the industry of the mother country. On July 4, 1879 I left my country so expensive. "

Kappler made ​​after his return several trips to Europe and a trip around the world. He wrote his last books (1881, 1887) and essays on his travels in Stuttgart. He died on October 20, 1887, 71 years old, in front of a stroke. His wife Albina 17 years later followed him. As a sign of gratitude and solidarity with Dutch Guiana, the coffin was covered with the red-white- blue flag of the Netherlands at the express request of Kappler.

Works

• Six years in Surinam or images from the military life of this colony and sketches to the attention of his social and scientific relationships; Stuttgart 1854
• Dutch Guiana; Adventures and experiences during a 43 -year stay in the colony of Surinam; Stuttgart 1881

These two important works by Kappler were also published in Dutch.

• Suriname, his country, his nature, people and its culture conditions with respect to colonization; Stuttgart 1887