Explorer of the Nile

Born in Senglea, from a well-to-do family, Andrea was the son of Captain Michael Debono and Teresa née Carabott, and they lived in a big house, 125-126 Two Gates Street. In Andrea’s youth there was no obligatory education but he received instruction and he learned Italian, which then was the langage of culture. He also studied medicine and chemistry and was employed in a hospital when his family moved to Alexandria.

After his parents’ death , Debono together with his sister Battistina moved to Cairo and, in 1848, to Khartoum where he erected a corn mill and manufactured building materials.

Debono married an Abyssinian girl, Victoria, and had three children: Edward, Alfred, and Victoria who died shortly after birth.

In 1851 he was in the service of the governor of Sudan, adopting the Islamic name of Latif Effendi, he turned his attention towards the flourishing ivory trade on the White Nile which rendered substantial profits.

In the search for the source of the Nile, Debono was the first to explore the Sobat River and the cataracts beyond Gondokoro. In April 1853, he was the first explorer to reach the Djiamoudj rapids where he obtained useful geographical data on the configuration of the Nile to Lake Albert and the Semliki River. In 1854-1855 he travelled to the mouth of Sobat River with his wife and son, later on accompanied by his agent, Philippe Terranuova. They covered about 300 miles of river, reaching its waters in the dry season; consequently his boats were grounded for six months, threatened by attacks from hostile natives.

In 1855 and 1856, Debono was British consular agent in Khartoum. In 1859 he continued to explore the Gondokoro even publishing a book about the subject in 1862.

Back in Khartoum, Consul Petherick maliciously accused Debono and his nephew of involvement in the slave trade. Tried before Judge Sir E. Hornby, all charges were eventually dropped and he was liberated. This event damaged his reputation while the death of his nephew Amabile Mousù affected his health.

Debono had made a fortune in the Sudan but he had also buried there his first wife, her brother, his children, and his nephew. They had all died prematurely and although morally he was not to blame, Andrea was filled with remorse knowing that they had followed him in that land.

He sold all his property cheaply and moved to Cairo where he died in his home a few days short of his fiftieth birthday. He was buried in Cairo’s old cemetery where his family commemorated him by an epitaph written in Italian.

 A street in Senglea is named after him.

This biography is part of the collection created by Michael Schiavone over a 30-year period. Read more about Schiavone and his initiative here.