Princess Caraboo

Princess Carabu from Javasu - English Princess Caraboo (* 1791 in Witheridge, Devon Shire, † January 4, 1865 in Bristol ); actually Mary Baker, née Willcocks, was a well-known adventuress in England in the early 19th century.

The Princess

On the evening of April 13, 1817 the arms overseer of the town Almondsbury brought in the southwestern English county of Gloucestershire, a young woman justice of the peace Samuel Worrall. She was exotic dressed, seemed to speak an unknown language and made himself understood only by show of hands. In the next few weeks, she was asked again and again, but more than her name Carabu and a possible origin from the Far East was not going to get out of it.

That changed when they brought a Portuguese named Manuel Eynesso, who had lived in Malaya to her. He seemed to be able to communicate with her and reported that she was a Chinese- Malay princess from Javasu, who was kidnapped by pirates and sold as a slave. After weeks of voyage she had jumped overboard and so landed on English soil.

In the following weeks, the liberated "Princess " was introduced in the "good society". Journalists, and researchers surveyed and Carabu reported on the living conditions of their country, their God Allah Tallah, drew a map of their journey and wrote the alphabet and numbers in their " native language " down. For an article in the newspaper in the near Bristol was also drawn. Then a woman from Bristol, which again recognized her former lodger in Carabu reported. Faced with the truth Carabu then gave to the fraud.

Mary Baker

In reality Carabu was born as Mary Wilcox in Witheridge ( Devonshire ). At age 16, the illiterate was given as a maid for a family in the village. Two years later she ran away, only to Exeter, and later on towards Bristol and London, where she worked for three years with a family and learned to read and write. After theft released, she had then dressed as a man for a while lived among highwaymen. Back in London, she had a Mr. Baker married, who had told her much of his Far Eastern travels. When her husband suddenly disappeared, she made her way to Bristol to emigrate from there to America. Since she lacked the money for the crossing, she turned into "Princess Carabu " in order to gain entry to a wealthy family and there to steal the necessary cash. - As unlikely as this story sounds, the coarse Key data proved during the investigation, as applicable.

Mary Baker did not play its role as Carabu safe as long you would not chance in the form of Manuel Eynesso came to help. The she had indeed recognized immediately as impostor, but, against a profit share of 50 % as their " interpreter " on.

Amazingly, it was not handed over to the police, but was allowed to remain in the House of Woralls. The stream of visitors, who now wanted to see the " feminine Psalmanazar ," continued unabated, she was portrayed and a book was published about them. End of June 1817 we funded her trip to America and she disappeared toward Philadelphia. But in 1824 she was back in London. Here they first marketed against its admission fading fame as "Princess Carabu " then remarries and lived until her death as a housewife in Bristol.

In the contemporary press appeared to reports that Carabu - to drive instead of to America - had landed on St. Helena, where she was the last great love of Napoleon. A look at the Napoleon literature but suffice to prove this story as a satirical joke of a newspaper journalist.

Film

In Mary Baker free nacherzählter history of American film based Princess Caraboo from the year 1994; Directed by Michael Austin, with Phoebe Cates ( as " Caraboo " ), Jim Broadbent, Wendy Hughes, John Lithgow, Jerry Hall and Kevin Kline.