Walter Dundas Bathurst Papers, 1883-1923

Contents and Arrangement

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Collection Overview

Creator:

Bathurst, Walter Dundas (1859-1940)

Title:

Walter Dundas Bathurst Papers

Repository:

Manuscripts Division

Permanent URL:

http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/xp68kk489

Dates:

1883-1923

Size:

1 box

Storage Note:

Firestone Library (scamss): Box B-001180

Language:

English

Abstract: Consists primarily of three diaries that William Dundas Bathurst (1859-1940) kept while serving as an officer of the Association Internationale du Congo (AIC) from December 1883 to September 1886.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

Principally, this collection consists of three diaries kept by Walter Dundas Bathurst (1859-1940) during his time as an officer with the Association Internationale du Congo (AIC) from December 1883 (with his departure from England) until September 1886. They offer a detailed, first-hand account of Bathurst's involvement in Belgium's colonization of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Also included is some correspondence and ephemera related to Bathurst's time with the AIC as well as other professional correspondence and personal documents. Photographs, documents, and ephemera related to the Bathurst family are also included.

Collection Creator Biography:

Bathurst

Walter Dundas Bathurst (1859-1940) was the son of Henry Thomas Dundas Bathurst (1811-1891), a career civil servant, and Margaret Ann Dundas Bathurst (1834-1916), of London. In 1883, he signed a contract with the colonizing entity Association Internationale du Congo (AIC) to serve for three years as an assistant at one of the association's stations.

Bathurst started his assignment in February 1884 at Vivi beyond Boma on the Congo River, where he came under the direct command of Sir Henry Morton Stanley. One of Bathurst's first tasks was to supervise road-building to link trading posts that had been established. In August 1884, Bathurst was sent to Kinshasa and worked alongside Anthony Bannister Swinburne, H.M. Stanley's former assistant. By the end of his term, Bathurst's role involved engaging in high-level negotiations, including those with high-ranking representatives of the Teke people.

After his service with the AIC, Bathurst, with help from his father, continued in his father's footsteps as a civil servant with the Exchequer and Audit Department. He started out as a senior clerk auditing the accounts of the Gold Coast and Lagos in 1889. His service required his residency in Gibraltar for a time in the early 1890s.

Bathurst was married to Alice Matilda Willis (b. 1862) from 1891 until her death in 1917. They had one child, Marjorie Dundas Bathurst (b. 1892). In 1919, Bathurst married Rhona Batstone (1887-1977) with whom he had a son, Thomas Dundas Bathurst (1919-2006).

Collection History

Acquisition:: Purchase, 2017 . (AM 2018-55)
Appraisal: No materials were removed from the collection during 2018 processing beyond routine appraisal practices.
Processing Information: This collection was processed by Faith Charlton in February 2018. Finding aid written by Faith Charlton in February 2018.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

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Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

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