Debal ( also called Daybul, Daibul or Dēwal ) was a commercial town and an ancient port in Sindh , now a province of Pakistan .
149-516: The exact location of the town has been difficult to determine. The proposed identifications with Karachi , Thatta , and Lahari Bandar remain unsubstantiated. The town was mostly inhabited by people of the Med tribe. During Muqaddasī 's visit, the merchants spoke the Sindhi and Arabic languages. In Arabic history books, most notably in the early eighth century accounts of the arrival of Islam in
298-571: A desert climate , dominated by a long "Summer Season" while moderated by oceanic influence from the Arabian Sea . The city has annual average precipitation levels (approx. 296 mm (12 in) per annum), the bulk of which occurs during the late June–September monsoon season. Summers are hot and humid, and Karachi is prone to deadly heatwaves. Over the past 20 years, rainfall has become more abundant. Tropical storms and thunderstorms, as well as flooding are becoming more common, especially during
447-424: A steeplechase in a deliberate violation of college rules and subsequently told the college's authorities that students should be allowed to attend such events. Hoping to be merely rusticated , the punishment received by some less provocative students who had also visited the steeplechase, he was instead permanently expelled from the college. According to Ed Rice , speaking on Burton's university days, "He stirred
596-523: A Bektashi Sufi . Deliberately presented by Burton as a translation, the poem and his notes and commentary on it contain layers of Sufic meaning that seem to have been designed to project Sufi teaching in the West. "Do what thy manhood bids thee do/ from none but self expect applause;/ He noblest lives and noblest dies/ who makes and keeps his self-made laws" is The Kasidah' s most-quoted passage. As well as references to many themes from Classical Western myths,
745-430: A Muslim, he came close to being discovered one night when he lifted his robe to urinate rather than squatting as an Arab would. It was said that he was seen by an Arab and, to avoid exposure, killed him. Burton denied this, pointing out that killing the boy would almost certainly have led to his being discovered as an impostor. Burton became so tired of denying this accusation that he took to baiting his accusers, although he
894-479: A case for carrying the Quran, but which instead had three compartments for his watch, compass, money, penknife, pencils and numbered pieces of paper for taking notes. Burton travelled onwards with a group of nomads to Suez before sailing to Yambu and joining a caravan to Medina, where he arrived on 27 July. Departing Medina with a caravan on 31 August, Burton entered Mecca on 11 September, where he participated in
1043-546: A coastal plain with scattered rocky outcroppings, hills and marshlands. Mangrove forests grow in the brackish waters around the Karachi Harbour (see: Chinna Creek ), and farther southeast towards the expansive Indus River Delta . West of Karachi city is the Cape Monze , locally known as Ras Muari , which is an area characterised by sea cliffs, rocky sandstone promontories and beaches. Karachi lies very close to
1192-687: A day", Burton was commissioned into the Bombay Army at the behest of his former classmates in college who were already serving as officers there. He had hoped to fight in the First Anglo-Afghan War , but the conflict was over by the time Burton arrived in India. He was posted to the 18th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry , which was stationed in Gujarat and under the command of General Charles James Napier . While in India, he became
1341-547: A doctor at the Radcliffe Infirmary . There, he met John Henry Newman , whose churchwarden was Greenhill. Despite his intelligence and ability, Burton was antagonised by his teachers and peers. During his first term, he allegedly challenged another student to a duel after the latter mocked Burton's moustache. Burton continued to gratify his love of languages by studying Arabic ; he also spent his time learning falconry and fencing . In April 1842, Burton attended
1490-486: A familiarity with the minutiae of Eastern manners and etiquette. Burton's trek to Mecca was dangerous, and his caravan was attacked by bandits (a common experience at the time). As he put it, although "... neither Koran or Sultan enjoin the death of Jew or Christian intruding within the columns that note the sanctuary limits, nothing could save a European detected by the populace, or one who after pilgrimage declared himself an unbeliever". The pilgrimage entitled him to
1639-455: A fatal gunshot wound from his hunting shotgun. Burton learned of Speke's death the following day while waiting for their debate to begin. A jury ruled Speke's death an accident. An obituary surmised that Speke, while climbing over the wall, had carelessly pulled the gun after himself with the muzzle pointing at his chest and shot himself. Alexander Maitland, Speke's only biographer, concurs. On 22 January 1861, Burton and Isabel Arundel married in
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#17327755692191788-475: A formal education at a preparatory school in Richmond Green , Surrey , run by Reverend Charles Delafosse. His family travelled between England, France and Italy. Burton showed a talent to learn languages and quickly learned French , Italian , Neapolitan and Latin , as well as several dialects. During his youth, he allegedly had a sexual relationship with a Roma girl and learned the rudiments of
1937-505: A large portion of Karachi's economy, with the city home to several of Pakistan's largest companies dealing in textiles, cement, steel, heavy machinery, chemicals, and food products. The city is home to approximately 30 percent of Pakistan's manufacturing sector, and produces approximately 42 percent of Pakistan's value added in large scale manufacturing. At least 4500 industrial units form Karachi's formal industrial economy. Karachi's informal manufacturing sector employs far more people than
2086-610: A large portion of its manufacturing base, Karachi contributes a large share of Pakistan's collected tax revenue. As most of Pakistan's large multinational corporations are based in Karachi, income taxes are paid in the city even though income may be generated from other parts of the country. As home to the country's two largest ports, Pakistani customs officials collect the bulk of federal duty and tariffs at Karachi's ports, even if those imports are destined for one of Pakistan's other provinces. Approximately 25% of Pakistan's national revenue
2235-551: A lecture at the Royal Geographical Society , claiming Lake Victoria as the source of the Nile. According to Burton, Speke broke an agreement they had made to give their first public speech together. Apart from Burton's word, there is no proof that such an agreement existed, and most modern researchers doubt that it did. Tim Jeal, evaluating the written evidence, says the odds are "heavily against Speke having made
2384-698: A major fault line, where the Indian tectonic plate meets the Arabian tectonic plate . However, Karachi lies near the western edge of the Indian Plate, on the Indo Gagnetic Plain. Within the city of Karachi are two small ranges: the Khasa Hills and Mulri Hills , which lie in the northwest and act as a barrier between North Nazimabad and Orangi . Karachi's hills are barren and are part of
2533-487: A major port increased even further. In 1878, the British Raj connected Karachi with the network of British India's vast railway system . In 1887, Karachi Port underwent radical improvements with connection to the railways, along with expansion and dredging of the port, and construction of a breakwater. Karachi's first synagogue was established in 1893. By 1899, Karachi had become the largest wheat-exporting port in
2682-512: A natural harbour west of the Indus where Alexander the Great sailed his fleet for Achaemenid Assyria , may have been located near the mouth of Karachi's Malir River , though some believe it was located near Gizri . No other natural harbour exists near the mouth of the Indus that could accommodate a large fleet. Nearchus , who commanded Alexander's naval fleet, also mentioned a hilly island by
2831-539: A number of households (1.3 million households) with annual income above $ 20,000 measured at PPP exchange rates by 2025. The Global FDI Intelligence Report 2017/2018 published by Financial Times ranks Karachi amongst the top 10 Asia pacific cities of the future for FDI strategy. According to Anatol Lieven the economic growth of Karachi is a result of the influx of Muhajirs to Karachi during late 1940s and early 50s. Most of Pakistan's public and private banks are headquartered on Karachi's I. I. Chundrigar Road , which
2980-469: A planned new translation of The Perfumed Garden to be called The Scented Garden , for which she had been offered six thousand guineas and which she regarded as his "magnum opus". She believed she was acting to protect her husband's reputation, and that she had been instructed to burn the manuscript of The Scented Garden by his spirit, but her actions were controversial. However, a substantial quantity of his written materials have survived, and are held by
3129-717: A pledge to his former leader". Speke undertook a second expedition, along with Captain James Grant and Sidi Mubarak Bombay , to prove that Lake Victoria was the true source of the Nile. Speke, in light of the issues he was having with Burton, had Grant sign a statement saying, among other things, "I renounce all my rights to publishing ... my own account [of the expedition] until approved of by Captain Speke or [the Royal Geographical Society]". On 16 September 1864, Burton and Speke were scheduled to debate
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#17327755692193278-457: A population of over 400,000. The city had a slight Hindu majority, with around 51% of the population being Hindu. Partition resulted in the exodus of much of the city's Hindu population, though Karachi, like most of Sindh, remained relatively peaceful compared to cities in Punjab. Riots erupted on 6 January 1948, after which most of Sindh's Hindu population fled to India, with assistance of
3427-440: A proficient speaker of Hindustani , Gujarati , Punjabi , Sindhi , Saraiki , Marathi , Persian and Arabic. His studies of Hindu culture had progressed to such an extent that "my Hindu teacher officially allowed me to wear the janeo ". Him Chand, his gotra teacher and a Nagar Brahmin , was possibly an apostate. Burton had a documented interest and actively participated in the cultures and religions of India . This
3576-704: A prolific and erudite author and wrote numerous books and academic articles on subjects such as human behaviour , travel , falconry , fencing , sexual practices and ethnography . Richard Burton was born in Torquay , Devon , on 19 March 1821; in his autobiography, he incorrectly claimed to have been born in the family home of Barham House in Elstree , Hertfordshire . Burton was baptised on 2 September 1821 at Elstree Church in Borehamwood , Hertfordshire. His father, Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Netterville Burton,
3725-743: A quarter of the town for the Muhammadan garrison, after the Hindu leaders built a temple and left behind four thousand men. The at mosque at Debal, was built on top of a temple,was the first to be constructed in the Indian subcontinent. As late as 1221, Debal appears to have remained an important port city; according to the Jahan-kusha describes that Jalal al-Din Mangburni approached the city that year, and its ruler Hasrar fled, allowing him to enter
3874-654: A quiet Catholic ceremony, although he did not adopt the Catholic faith at this time. Shortly after this, the couple were forced to spend some time apart when he formally entered the Diplomatic Service as consul on the island of Fernando Po, now Bioko in Equatorial Guinea. This was not a prestigious appointment; because the climate was considered extremely unhealthy for Europeans, Isabel could not accompany him. Burton spent much of this time exploring
4023-467: A result of the operation, Karachi went from being ranked the world's 6th most dangerous city for crime in 2014, to 128th by 2022. In 2022 at least one million flood affectees from Sindh and Balochistan took refuge in Karachi. Karachi is located on the coastline of Sindh province in southern Pakistan, along the Karachi Harbour , a natural harbour on the Arabian Sea . Karachi is built on
4172-517: A tithe of the knowledge of Arabic you did." In May 1854, Burton travelled to Aden in preparation for an RGS-backed expedition, which included John Hanning Speke , to Somaliland . The expedition lasted from 29 October 1854 to 9 February 1855, with much of its time spent in Zeila , where Burton was a guest of the town's governor Sharmarke Ali Saleh . Burton, assuming the disguise of an Arab merchant "Hajji Mirza Abdullah", awaited word that
4321-489: A window at the rear of the tent, which can be accessed via a short fixed ladder. Next to the lady chapel in the church there is a memorial stained-glass window to Burton, also erected by Isabel; it depicts Burton as a medieval knight. Burton's personal effects and a collection of paintings, photographs and objects relating to him are in the Burton Collection at Orleans House Gallery , Twickenham . Among these
4470-517: A yearly growth rate of 5.5%. Karachi contributes 90% of Sindh's GDP and accounts for approximately 25% of the total GDP of Pakistan. The city has a large informal economy which is not typically reflected in GDP estimates. The informal economy may constitute up to 36% of Pakistan's total economy, versus 22% of India's economy, and 13% of the Chinese economy. The informal sector employs up to 70% of
4619-574: Is generated in Karachi. Richard Francis Burton Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton , KCMG , FRGS , (19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, writer, scholar and military officer. He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa and South America, as well as his extensive knowledge of languages and cultures, speaking up to 29 different languages. Born in Torquay , Devon , Burton joined
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4768-598: Is a small quartz stone from Mesopotamia , inscribed in supposed Kufic script, which has thus far resisted decipherment by experts. Burton had long had an interest in sexuality and some erotic literature. However, the Obscene Publications Act of 1857 had resulted in many jail sentences for publishers, with prosecutions being brought by the Society for the Suppression of Vice . Burton referred to
4917-647: Is known as "Pakistan's Wall Street", with a large percentage of the cash flow in the Pakistani economy taking place on I. I. Chundrigar Road. Most major foreign multinational corporations operating in Pakistan have their headquarters in Karachi. Karachi is also home to the Pakistan Stock Exchange , which was rated as Asia's best-performing stock market in 2015 on the heels of Pakistan's upgrade to emerging-market status by MSCI . Karachi has been
5066-455: Is now Pakistan's premier industrial and financial centre. The city has a formal economy estimated to be worth $ 190 billion as of 2021 , which is the largest in the country. Karachi collects 35% of Pakistan's tax revenue , and generates approximately 25% of Pakistan's entire GDP . Approximately 30% of Pakistani industrial output is from Karachi, while Karachi's ports handle approximately 95% of Pakistan's foreign trade . Approximately 90% of
5215-584: Is now the Serai Quarter . British troops, known as the "Company Bahadur" established a camp to the east of the captured city, which became the precursor to the modern Karachi Cantonment . The British further developed the Karachi Cantonment as a military garrison to aid the British war effort in the First Anglo-Afghan War . The Portuguese Goan community started migrating to Karachi in
5364-450: Is often full of details about the sexual lives of the inhabitants of areas he travelled through. Burton's interest in sexuality led him to make measurements of the lengths of the penises of male inhabitants of various regions, which he includes in his travel books. He also describes sexual techniques common in the regions he visited, often hinting that he had participated, hence breaking both sexual and racial taboos of his day. Many people at
5513-405: Is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast and formerly served as the country's capital from 1947 to 1959. Ranked as a beta-global city , it is Pakistan's premier industrial and financial centre , with an estimated GDP of over $ 200 billion ( PPP ) as of 2021 . Karachi is a metropolitan city and is considered Pakistan's most cosmopolitan city, and among
5662-593: Is the same place as Thatta , and this claim was then repeated by later authors. Mir Ma'sum went a step further and claimed that Debal was both Thatta and Lahari Bandar. Most early British authors similarly identified Debal with Thatta; for example, Richard Francis Burton wrote that Thatta was only ever called Debal in Arabic and Persian, and shawls made in Thatta were known by the name shal-i Debali . Other writers, such as H. M. Elliot (1867), have preferred Karachi as
5811-517: The 2010 Pakistan floods . By this point Karachi had become widely known for its high rates of violent crime, usually in relation to criminal activity, gang-warfare, sectarian violence, and extrajudicial killings. Recorded crimes sharply decreased following a controversial crackdown operation against criminals, the MQM party, and Islamist militants initiated in 2013 by the Pakistan Rangers . As
5960-598: The Bombay Army as an officer in 1842, beginning an eighteen-year military career which including a brief stint in the Crimean War . He was subsequently engaged by the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) to explore the East African coast, where Burton along with John Hanning Speke led an expedition to discover the source of the Nile and became the first European known to have seen Lake Tanganyika . He later served as
6109-564: The Huntington Library in San Marino, California , including 21 boxes of his manuscripts, 24 boxes of correspondence, and other material. Isabel wrote a biography in praise of her husband. The couple are buried in a tomb in the shape of a Bedouin tent , designed by Isabel, in the cemetery of St Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic Church Mortlake in southwest London. The coffins of Sir Richard and Lady Burton can be seen through
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6258-592: The Manora Fort in 1797, which was used to protect Karachi's Harbour from al-Qasimi pirates. In 1799 or 1800, the founder of the Talpur dynasty, Mir Fateh Ali Khan, allowed the East India Company under Nathan Crow to establish a trading post in Karachi. He was allowed to build a house for himself in Karachi at that time, but by 1802 was ordered to leave the city. The city continued to be ruled by
6407-622: The Mulri Hills along Karachi's northern outskirts. These earliest inhabitants are believed to have been hunter-gatherers , with ancient flint tools discovered at several sites. The expansive Karachi region is believed to have been known to the ancient Greeks , and may have been the site of Barbarikon , an ancient seaport which was located at the nearby mouth of the Indus River . Karachi may also have been referred to as Ramya in ancient Greek texts. The ancient site of Krokola ,
6556-419: The Pakistan Rangers . As a result of the operation, Karachi dropped from being ranked the world's 6th-most dangerous city for crime in 2014, to 128th by 2022. Modern Karachi was reputedly founded in 1729 as the settlement of Kolachi-jo-Goth during the rule of Kalhora dynasty . The new settlement is said to have been named in honour of Mai Kolachi , whose son is said to have slain a man-eating crocodile in
6705-468: The Romani language . The peregrinations of Burton's youth may have encouraged him to regard himself as an outsider for much of his life. As he later wrote, "Do what thy manhood bids thee do, from none but self expect applause". On 19 November 1840, he matriculated at Trinity College, Oxford . Before getting a room at the college, Burton lived for a short time in the house of William Alexander Greenhill ,
6854-676: The Soviet–Afghan War . This was followed by refugees escaping from post-revolution Iran . At this time, Karachi was also rocked by political conflict, while crime rates drastically increased with the arrival of weaponry from the War in Afghanistan . Conflict between the MQM party , and ethnic Sindhis , Pashtuns , Punjabis and Balochis was sharp. The party and its vast network of supporters were targeted by Pakistani security forces as part of
7003-706: The Tawaf . He travelled to Mount Arafat and participated in the stoning of the Devil , all the while taking notes on the Kaaba , its Black Stone and the Zamzam Well . Departing Mecca, he journeyed to Jeddah and then back to Cairo, returning to Army duty in Bombay . In India, Burton wrote his Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Medinah and Meccah , writing that "at Mecca there is nothing theatrical, nothing that suggests
7152-558: The directors of the East India Company (EIC) to take leave from the Bombay Army. The seven years he spent in India gave Burton a familiarity with the customs and behaviour of Muslims and prepared him to attempt a Hajj to Mecca and Medina . He planned it whilst travelling disguised among Muslims in Sindh , and had laboriously prepared it by studying and practising Muslim culture, including undergoing circumcision to further lower
7301-458: The "City of Lights" in the 1960s and 1970s for its vibrant nightlife, Karachi was beset by sharp ethnic, sectarian, and political conflict in the 1980s with the large-scale arrival of weaponry during the Soviet–Afghan War . The city had become well known for its high rates of violent crime, but recorded crimes sharply decreased following a crackdown operation against criminals, the MQM political party , and Islamist militants, initiated in 2013 by
7450-592: The 1820s as traders. The majority of the estimated 100,000 who came to Pakistan are primarily concentrated in Karachi. Sindh's capital was shifted from Hyderabad to Karachi in 1840 when Karachi was annexed to the British Empire after Major General Charles James Napier captured the rest of Sindh following his victory against the Talpurs at the Battle of Miani . Following the 1843 annexation, on 17 February
7599-731: The British consul in Fernando Pó , Santos , Damascus and Trieste . Burton was also a Fellow of the RGS and was awarded a knighthood in 1886. His best-known achievements include undertaking the Hajj to Mecca in disguise, translating One Thousand and One Nights and The Perfumed Garden , publishing the Kama Sutra in English and attempting to discover the source of the Nile. Although he abandoned his university studies, Burton became
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#17327755692197748-647: The Discovery of the Source of the Nile (1863), while Burton's Zanzibar; City, Island, and Coast was eventually published in 1872. Burton then departed on a trip to the United States in April 1860, eventually making it to Salt Lake City on 25 August. There he studied Mormonism and met Brigham Young . Burton departed San Francisco on 15 November for the voyage back to England, where he published The City of
7897-718: The East. In 1901, Karachi's population was 117,000 with a further 109,000 included in the Municipal area. Under the British, the city's municipal government was established. Known as the Father of Modern Karachi , mayor Seth Harchandrai Vishandas led the municipal government to improve sanitary conditions in the Old City, as well as major infrastructure works in the New Town after his election in 1911. In 1914, Karachi had become
8046-474: The Indian government. Karachi became the focus for the resettlement of middle-class Muslim Muhajir refugees who fled India, with 470,000 refugees in Karachi by May 1948, leading to a drastic alteration of the city's demography . In 1941, Muslims were 42% of Karachi's population, but by 1951 made up 96% of the city's population. The city's population had tripled between 1941 and 1951. Urdu replaced Sindhi as Karachi's most widely spoken language; Sindhi
8195-541: The Indian subcontinent , it was documented as Daybul (Dīwal ~ Dībal ديبل ). One view is that the name was derived from Devalaya, meaning abode of God in Sanskrit . According to the Chach Nama , the name Dēbal is derived from Dēwal , meaning 'temple'. The reason, it says, is because it was the site of a renowned temple. According to modern archaeologists, Debal was founded in the first century CE, and soon became
8344-434: The Portuguese national epic by Luís de Camões , in 1880 and, the next year, wrote a sympathetic biography of the poet and adventurer. The book The Jew, the Gipsy and el Islam was published posthumously in 1898 and was controversial for its criticism of Jews and for its assertion of the existence of Jewish human sacrifices . Burton's investigations into this had provoked hostility from the Jews of Damascus . The manuscript of
8493-436: The Saints and Across the Rocky Mountains to California . A prolonged public quarrel followed, damaging the reputations of both Burton and Speke. Some biographers have suggested that friends of Speke (particularly Laurence Oliphant ) had initially stirred up trouble between the two. Burton's sympathizers contend that Speke resented Burton's leadership role. Tim Jeal , who has accessed Speke's personal papers, suggests that it
8642-442: The Talpurs until it was occupied by forces under the command of John Keane in February 1839. The British East India Company captured Karachi on 3 February 1839 after HMS Wellesley opened fire and quickly destroyed Manora Fort , which guarded Karachi Harbour at Manora Point . Karachi's population at the time was an estimated 8,000 to 14,000, and was confined to the walled city in Mithadar , with suburbs in what
8791-492: The Thousand Nights and a Night (commonly called The Arabian Nights in English after early translations of Antoine Galland 's French version) in ten volumes (1885), with seven further volumes being added later. The volumes were printed by the Kama Shastra Society in a subscribers-only edition of one thousand with a guarantee that there would never be a larger printing of the books in this form. The stories collected were often sexual in content and were considered pornography at
8940-422: The area as well as they wished. Burton was again taken ill on the return journey; Speke continued exploring without him, making a journey to the north and eventually locating the great Lake Victoria , or Victoria Nyanza, on 3 August. Lacking supplies and proper instruments, Speke was unable to survey the area properly, but was privately convinced that it was the long-sought source of the Nile. Burton's description of
9089-522: The area was in some turmoil at the time, with considerable tensions between the Christian, Jewish and Muslim populations. Burton did his best to keep the peace and resolve the situation, but this sometimes led him into trouble. On one occasion, he claims to have escaped an attack by hundreds of armed horsemen and camel riders sent by Mohammed Rashid Pasha, the Governor of Syria. He wrote, "I have never been so flattered in my life than to think it would take three hundred men to kill me." Burton eventually suffered
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#17327755692199238-482: The bile of the dons by speaking real—that is, Roman—Latin instead of the artificial type peculiar to England, and he spoke Greek Romaically, with the accent of Athens , as he had learned it from a Greek merchant at Marseilles , as well as the classical forms. Such a linguistic feat was a tribute to Burton's remarkable ear and memory, for he was only a teenager when he was in Italy and southern France." In his own words, "fit for nothing but to be shot at for six pence
9387-433: The book in 1883 and numerous editions of the Burton translation are in print to this day. His English translation from a French edition of the Arabic erotic guide The Perfumed Garden was printed as The Perfumed Garden of the Cheikh Nefzaoui: A Manual of Arabian Erotology (1886). After Burton's death, Isabel burnt many of his papers, including a manuscript of a subsequent translation, The Scented Garden , containing
9536-441: The book included an appendix discussing the topic in more detail, but by the decision of his widow, it was not included in the book when published. Burton died in Trieste early on the morning of 20 October 1890 of a heart attack. His wife Isabel persuaded a priest to perform the last rites, although Burton was not a Catholic, and this action later caused a rift between Isabel and some of Burton's friends. It has been suggested that
9685-406: The capital of Sindh shifted again Hyderabad to Karachi until the national capital was shifted to Rawalpindi in 1958. While foreign embassies shifted away from Karachi, the city is host to numerous consulates and honorary consulates. Between 1958 and 1970, Karachi's role as capital of Sindh was ceased due to the One Unit programme enacted by President Iskander Mirza . Karachi of the 1960s
9834-573: The city into a major seaport, and connect it with the extensive railway network of the Indian subcontinent . At the time of Pakistan's independence in 1947, the city was the largest in Sindh with an estimated population of 400,000 people. Afterwards, the city experienced a dramatic shift in population and demography with the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Muslim immigrants from India, coupled with an exodus of most of its Hindu residents. The city experienced rapid economic growth following Pakistan's independence, attracting migrants from throughout
9983-436: The city of Thatta , parts of the city of Karachi and the island of Manora at the port of Karachi constituted the city of Debal. Despite its historical importance, the exact location of Debal is uncertain. Early geographers only provided a vague description of its location, although the maps by Ibn Hawqal and Istakhri depict it as being on the west bank of the Indus, right at the shore. Firishta (c. 1600) wrote that Debal
10132-515: The city unopposed. However, the city must have gone into decline shortly thereafter – the Indus changed course around that time, and the site was eventually abandoned. By the early 1300s, Debal is completely absent from Ibn Battuta ’s description of Sindh. Its role as Sindh’s main commercial port was transferred to the newer city of Lahari Bandar . Debal and the Manora Island were visited by Ottoman admiral Seydi Ali Reis (1498–1563) and mentioned in his book Mir'ât ül Memâlik in 1554. In 1568 Debal
10281-421: The city's most desirable properties. The aforementioned historic areas form the oldest portions of Karachi, and contain its most important monuments and government buildings, with the I. I. Chundrigar Road being home to most of Pakistan's banks, including the Habib Bank Plaza which was Pakistan's tallest building from 1963 until the early 2000s. Situated on a coastal plain northwest of Karachi's historic core lies
10430-430: The city's workforce. In 2018 The Global Metro Monitor Report ranked Karachi's economy as the best performing metropolitan economy in Pakistan. Today along with Pakistan's continued economic expansion Karachi is now ranked third in the world for consumer expenditure growth with its market anticipated to increase by 6.6% in real terms in 2018 It is also ranked among the top cities in the world by an anticipated increase of
10579-507: The city, resulting in major flooding. Karachi's highest recorded temperature is 48.0 °C (118.4 °F) which was recorded on 22 and 23 April 2017, and the lowest is 0 °C (32 °F) recorded on 21 January 1934. The city first developed around the Karachi Harbour, and owes much of its growth to its role as a seaport at the end of the 18th century, contrasted with Pakistan's millennia-old cities such as Lahore , Multan , and Peshawar . Karachi's Mithadar neighbourhood represents
10728-977: The city. Following the Rebellion, British colonial administrators continued to develop the city's infrastructure, but continued to neglect localities like Lyari , which was home to the city's original population of Sindhi fishermen and Balochi nomads. At the outbreak of the American Civil War , Karachi's port became an important cotton-exporting port, with Indus Steam Flotilla and Orient Inland Steam Navigation Company established to transport cotton from rest of Sindh to Karachi's port, and onwards to textile mills in England. With increased economic opportunities, economic migrants from several ethnicities and religions, including Anglo-British, Parsis , Marathis , and Goan Christians , among others, established themselves in Karachi, with many setting-up businesses in
10877-638: The coast of West Africa, documenting his findings in Abeokuta and The Cameroons Mountains : An Exploration (1863), and A Mission to Gelele , King of Dahome (1864). He described some of his experiences, including a trip up the Congo River to the Yellala Falls and beyond, in his 1876 book Two trips to gorilla land and the cataracts of the Congo . The couple were reunited in 1865 when Burton
11026-711: The controversial Operation Clean-up in 1992 – an effort to restore peace in the city that lasted until 1994. Anti-Hindu riots also broke out in Karachi in 1992 in retaliation for the demolition of the Babri Mosque in India by a group of Hindu nationalists earlier that year. In 1996, two (02) more districts created in the Karachi division named Central and Malir districts. The 2010s saw another influx of hundreds of thousands of Pashtun refugees fleeing conflict in North-West Pakistan and
11175-486: The country and other regions in South Asia. According to the 2023 Census of Pakistan , Karachi's total population was 20.3 million. Karachi is one of the world's fastest-growing cities, and has significant communities representing almost every ethnic group in Pakistan . Karachi holds more than two million Bengali immigrants , a million Afghan refugees , and up to 400,000 Rohingyas from Myanmar . Karachi
11324-489: The country's most linguistically, ethnically, and religiously diverse regions, as well as one of the country's most progressive and socially liberal cities. The region has been inhabited for millennia, but the city was formally founded as the fortified village of Kolachi as recently as 1729. The settlement greatly increased in importance with the arrival of the East India Company in the mid-19th century. British administrators embarked on substantial projects to transform
11473-454: The death occurred very late on 19 October and that Burton was already dead by the time the last rites were administered. On his religious views, Burton called himself an atheist, stating he was raised in the Church of England , which he said was "officially (his) church". Isabel never recovered from the loss. After his death she burned many of her husband's papers, including journals and
11622-627: The direction of F. A. Khan, leading to the discovery of 14 Kufic inscriptions on the collapsed northern wall of Banbhore's congregational mosque . A study of these inscriptions by Muhammad Abdul Ghafur (1966) concluded strongly in favour of identifying Debal with Banbhore, and as of 2012 his conclusion has remained unchallenged. Meanwhile, Syed Shakir Ali Shah (1996) has also proposed that both Debal and Lahari Bandar were at Juna Shah Bandar (aka Jaki Bandar, in Mirpur Sakro taluka of Thatta district at 24°37′ N, 67°22′ E). Excavation here revealed
11771-576: The enmity of the Greek Christian and Jewish communities. Then, his involvement with the Sházlis , a Sufi Muslim order among whom was a group that Burton called "Secret Christians longing for baptism", which Isabel called "his ruin." He was recalled in August 1871, prompting him to send a telegram to Isabel: "I am recalled. Pay, pack, and follow at convenience." Burton was reassigned in 1872 to
11920-552: The entire province was amalgamated into the Bombay Presidency for the next 93 years, and Karachi remain the divisional headquarter. A few years later in 1846, Karachi suffered a large cholera outbreak, which led to the establishment of the Karachi Cholera Board (predecessor to the city's civic government). The city grew under the administration of its new Commissioner, Henry Bartle Edward Frere , who
12069-401: The entrance of the first [white] Christian, Harar will fall." With Burton's entry, the tradition was broken. The journey back was plagued by lack of supplies, and Burton wrote that he would have died of thirst had he not seen desert birds and realized they would be near water. He made it back to Berbera on 31 January 1855. Following this expedition, Burton prepared to set out in search of
12218-433: The extent of Kolachi prior to British rule. British Karachi was divided between the "New Town" and the "Old Town", with British investments focused primarily on the New Town. The Old Town was a largely unplanned neighbourhood which housed most of the city's indigenous residents and had no access to sewerage systems, electricity, and water. The New Town was subdivided into residential, commercial, and military areas. Given
12367-851: The final chapter of the work, on pederasty . Burton all along intended for this translation to be published after his death, to provide an income for his widow. By the end of his life, Burton had mastered at least 26 languages – or 40, if distinct dialects are counted. 1. English 2. French 3. Occitan 4. Italian 5. Romani 6. Latin 7. Classical Greek 8. Saraiki 9. Hindustani 10. Sindhi 11. Marathi 12. Arabic 13. Persian (Farsi) 14. Pushtu 15. Sanskrit 16. Portuguese 17. Spanish 18. German 19. Icelandic 20. Swahili 21. Amharic 22. Fan 23. Yoruba 24. Asante 25. Hebrew 26. Aramaic 27. Many other West African & Indian dialects Burton's writings are unusually open and frank about his interest in sex and sexuality . His travel writing
12516-500: The first to build large stone structures including a city wall and a citadel . An earthquake in 893 AD reportedly destroyed the port city of Debal. Debal was the first city to be stormed by Muhammad bin Qasim. The ninth century Muslim historian, Al-Baladhuri, who wrote the comprehensive account of early Islamic intrusions into India, recorded that a section of population was killed in a massacre that lasted three days. Qasim then marked out
12665-583: The formal sector, though proxy data suggest that the capital employed and value-added from such informal enterprises is far smaller than that of formal sector enterprises. An estimated 63% of the Karachi's workforce is employed in trade and manufacturing. Karachi Export Processing Zone, SITE, Korangi , Northern Bypass Industrial Zone, Bin Qasim and North Karachi serve as large industrial estates in Karachi. The Karachi Expo Centre also complements Karachi's industrial economy by hosting regional and international exhibitions. As home to Pakistan's largest ports and
12814-514: The government of President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from 1972 onwards. To appease conservative forces, Bhutto banned alcohol in Pakistan, and cracked-down of Karachi's discotheques and cabarets - leading to the closure of Karachi's once-lively nightlife. The city's art scene was further repressed during the rule of dictator General Zia-ul-Haq . Zia's Islamization policies lead the Westernized upper-middle classes of Karachi to largely withdraw from
12963-698: The greater Defence Housing Authority project. Karachi's city limits also include several islands, including Baba and Bhit Islands , Oyster Rocks, and Manora , a former island which is now connected to the mainland by a thin 12-kilometre long shoal known as Sandspit . Gulistan-e-Johar , Gulshan-e-Iqbal , Federal B. Area , Malir , Landhi and Korangi areas were all developed after 1970. The city has been described as one divided into sections for those able to afford to live in planned localities with access to urban amenities, and those who live in unplanned communities with inadequate access to such services. 35% of Karachi's residents live in unplanned communities. Being
13112-562: The historical and intellectual superiority of the white race, citing his involvement in the Anthropological Society of London , an organisation which supported scientific racism . Speke appears to have been kinder and less intrusive to the Africans they encountered, and reportedly fell in love with an African woman on a later expedition. The two men travelled home separately. Speke returned to London first and presented
13261-572: The instigator of a mutiny among the unit, damaging his reputation and disgracing Beatson. In 1856, the Royal Geographical Society funded another expedition for Burton and Speke, "and exploration of the then utterly unknown Lake regions of Central Africa ." They would travel from Zanzibar to Ujiji along a caravan route established in 1825 by an Arab ivory and slave merchant. The Great Journey commenced on 5 June 1857 with their departure from Zanzibar, where they had stayed at
13410-780: The journey is given in Lake Regions of Equatorial Africa (1860). Speke gave his own account in The Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile (1863). Burton and Speke made it back to Zanzibar on 4 March 1859, and left on 22 March for Aden. Speke immediately boarded the HMS ; Furious for London, where he gave lectures, and was awarded a second expedition by the Society. Burton arrived London on 21 May, discovering "My companion now stood forth in his new colours, an angry rival." Speke additionally published What Led to
13559-563: The larger Kirthar Range , and have a maximum elevation of 528 metres (1,732 feet). Between the hills are wide coastal plains interspersed with dry river beds and water channels. Karachi has developed around the Malir River and Lyari Rivers , with the Lyari shore being the site of the settlement for Kolachi . To the east of Karachi lies the Indus River flood plains. Karachi has a tropical semi arid climate ( Köppen : BSh ), formerly
13708-494: The largest city, Karachi is also Pakistan's financial and commercial capital. Since Pakistan's independence, Karachi has been the centre of the nation's economy, and remain's Pakistan's largest urban economy despite the economic stagnation caused by sociopolitical unrest during the late 1980s and 1990s. The city forms the centre of an economic corridor stretching from Karachi to nearby Hyderabad , and Thatta . As of 2021 , Karachi had an estimated GDP (PPP) of $ 190 billion with
13857-714: The largest wheat-exporting port of the entire British Empire, after large irrigation works in Sindh were initiated to increase wheat and cotton yields. By 1924, the Drigh Road Aerodrome was established, now the Faisal Air Force Base . Karachi's increasing importance as a cosmopolitan transportation hub leads to the influence of non-Sindhis in Sindh's administration. Half the city was born outside of Karachi by as early as 1921. Native Sindhis were upset by this influence, and so on 1 April 1936, Sindh
14006-502: The location of Debal. Elliot in particular had "little doubt" in this identification and suggested that the eponymous temple of Debal was probably on Manora Island . However, Malcolm Robert Haig (1894) criticized this identification based on a faulty translation of al-Baladhuri 's Futuh al-Buldan into French by Joseph Toussaint Reinaud , which translates the Arabic خور الديبل khawr al-Daybul , "estuary/creek of Debal", as "la baie de Debal", or "the bay of Debal". Haig himself preferred
14155-427: The mid-18th century, known as Kharak Bander. 19th century Karachi historian Seth Naomal Hotchand recorded that a small settlement of 20–25 huts existed along the Karachi Harbour that was known as Dibro , which was situated along a pool of water known as Kolachi-jo-Kun. In 1725, a band of Baloch settlers from Makran and Kalat had settled in the hamlet after fleeing droughts and tribal feuds. A new settlement
14304-537: The mid-1960s, Karachi began to attract large numbers of Pashtun , Punjabis and Kashmiris from northern Pakistan. The 1970s saw a construction boom funded by remittances and investments from the Gulf States , and the appearance of apartment buildings in the city. Real-estate prices soared during this period, leading to a worsening housing crisis. The period also saw labour unrest in Karachi's industrial estates beginning in 1970 that were violently repressed by
14453-463: The most important trading city in Sindh . The port city was home to thousands of Sindhi sailors including the Bawarij . Ibn Hawqal , a tenth-century writer, geographer and chronicler, mentions huts of the city and the dry arid land surrounding the city that supported little agriculture. He mentions how efficiently the inhabitants of the city-maintained fishing vessels and trade. The Abbasids were
14602-485: The multinational corporations and 100% of the banks operating in Pakistan are headquartered in Karachi. It also serves as a transport hub, and contains Pakistan's two largest seaports, the Port of Karachi and Port Qasim , as well as Pakistan's busiest airport, Jinnah International Airport . Karachi is also considered to be Pakistan's fashion capital, and has hosted the annual Karachi Fashion Week since 2009. Known as
14751-407: The name of Morontobara and an adjacent flat island named Bibakta , which colonial historians identified as Karachi's Manora Point and Kiamari (or Clifton ), respectively, based on Greek descriptions. Both areas were island until well into the colonial era, when silting in led to them being connected to the mainland. In 711 CE, Muhammad bin Qasim conquered the Sindh and Indus Valley and
14900-542: The nearby town of Kharak Bandar after the harbour there silted in 1728 after heavy rains. Kolachi was fortified, and defended with cannons imported from Muscat, Oman . Under the Talpurs, the Rah-i-Bandar road was built to connect the city's port to the caravan terminals. This road would eventually be further developed by the British into Bandar Road, which was renamed Muhammad Ali Jinnah Road . The name Karachee
15049-533: The new commercial district of Saddar . Muhammad Ali Jinnah , the founder of Pakistan, was born in Karachi's Wazir Mansion in 1876 to such migrants from Gujarat . Public building works were undertaken at this time in Gothic and Indo-Saracenic styles, including the construction of Frere Hall in 1865 and the later Empress Market in 1889. With the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Karachi's position as
15198-569: The opera, but all is simple and impressive... tending, I believe, after its fashion, to good." Although Burton was not the first non-Muslim European to undertake the Hajj, with Ludovico di Varthema doing it in 1503 and Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1815, his attempt is the most famous and the best documented of the period. He adopted various disguises, including that of a Pashtun , to account for any oddities in speech, but he still had to demonstrate an understanding of intricate Islamic traditions, and
15347-622: The pioneer in cable networking in Pakistan with the most sophisticated of the cable networks of any city of Pakistan, and has seen an expansion of information and communications technology and electronic media . The city has become a software outsourcing hub for Pakistan. Several independent television and radio stations are based in Karachi, including Business Plus , AAJ News , Geo TV , KTN , Sindh TV , CNBC Pakistan , TV ONE , Express TV , ARY Digital , Indus Television Network, Samaa TV , Abb Takk News , Bol TV , and Dawn News , as well as several local stations. Industry contributes
15496-586: The poem contains many laments that are accented with fleeting imagery such as repeated comparisons to "the tinkling of the Camel bell" that becomes inaudible as the animal vanishes in the darkness of the desert. Other works of note include a collection of Hindu tales, Vikram and the Vampire (1870); and his uncompleted history of swordsmanship , The Book of the Sword (1884). He also translated The Lusiads ,
15645-477: The port city of Trieste in Austria-Hungary . A "broken man", Burton was never particularly content with this post, but it required little work, was far less dangerous than Damascus (as well as less exciting), and allowed him the freedom to write and travel. In 1863, Burton co-founded the Anthropological Society of London with Dr. James Hunt . In Burton's own words, the main aim of the society (through
15794-588: The port of Debal , from where he launched his forces further into the Indus Valley in 712. Some have identified the port with Karachi, though some argue the location was somewhere between Karachi and the nearby city of Thatta . Under Mirza Ghazi Beg , the Mughal administrator of Sindh, the development of coastal Sindh and the Indus River Delta was encouraged. Under his rule, fortifications in
15943-514: The presence of an earlier fort beneath the currently-visible ruins. Karachi Karachi ( / k ə ˈ r ɑː tʃ i / ; Urdu : کراچی ; Sindhi : ڪراچي ; IPA: [kəˈraːtʃi] ) is the capital city of the Pakistani province of Sindh . It is the largest city in Pakistan and 12th largest in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It
16092-466: The public sphere, and instead form their own social venues that became inaccessible to the poor. This decade also saw an influx of more than one million Bihari immigrants into Karachi from the newly made country Bangladesh which separated from Pakistan in 1971. In 1972, the Karachi district divided into three districts, East , West and South districts. The 1980s and 1990s saw an influx of almost one million Afghan refugees into Karachi fleeing
16241-605: The publication of the periodical Anthropologia ) was "to supply travellers with an organ that would rescue their observations from the outer darkness of manuscript and print their curious information on social and sexual matters". On 13 February 1886, Burton was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) by Queen Victoria . He wrote a number of travel books in this period that were not particularly well received. His best-known contributions to literature were those considered risqué or even pornographic at
16390-466: The region acted as a bulwark against Portuguese incursions into Sindh . In 1553–54, Ottoman admiral Seydi Ali Reis , mentioned a small port along the Sindh coast by the name of Kaurashi which may have been Karachi. The Chaukhandi tombs in Karachi's modern suburbs were built around this time between the 15th and 18th centuries. The first port was established by the Kalhoras near Karachi in
16539-617: The residence of Atkins Hamerton , the British consul, their caravan consisting of Baluchi mercenaries led by Ramji, 36 porters, eventually a total of 132 persons, all led by the caravan leader Said bin Salim. From the beginning, Burton and Speke were hindered by disease, malaria, fevers and other maladies, at times both having to be carried in a hammock. Pack animals died, and natives deserted, taking supplies with them. Yet, on 7 November 1857, they made it to Kazeh , and departed for Ujiji on 14 December. Speke wanted to head north, sure they would find
16688-607: The risk of being discovered. Burton's undertaking of the Hajj in 1853 was his realisation of "the plans and hopes of many and many a year... to study thoroughly the inner life of the Moslem." He donned the guise of a Persian mirza , and then a Sunni sheikh , doctor, magician and dervish , accompanied by an enslaved Indian boy named Nūr. In April, he travelled through Alexandria before reaching Cairo by May, where Burton stayed during Ramadan in June. He further equipped himself with
16837-620: The road to Harar was safe. On 29 December, Burton met with Gerard Adan in the village of Sagharrah, and openly proclaimed himself as a British officer with a letter for the Emir of Harar. On 3 January 1855, Burton made it to Harar, and was graciously met by the Emir. He stayed in the city for ten days, officially a guest of the Emir but in reality his prisoner. Burton also investigated local landmarks in Harar; according to him, "A tradition exists that with
16986-489: The ruins of Kakar Bukera , downstream from Thatta on the Baghar branch of the Indus; local tradition holds that the site was once a thriving commercial port. Another proposed identification is the site of Banbhore . N. B. Baluch (1952) argued for this interpretation on philological grounds, but lacked archaeological evidence to back it up. However, systematic excavations took place between September 1958 and April 1965 under
17135-711: The sea maintains humidity levels at near-constant levels year-round. Thus, the climate is similar to a humid tropical climate, except for the low precipitation and occasional temperatures well over 100 F (38 C) due to the influence of the Thar Desert nearby, close to the border with India. The city's highest annual rainfall was about 750-850 mm, recorded in the late 1970s. The city's highest monthly rainfall, 19 in (480 mm), occurred in July 1967. The city's highest rainfall in 24 hours occurred on 7 August 1953, when about 278.1 millimetres (10.95 in) of rain lashed
17284-418: The seven years in India as time wasted." Yet he had "already passed the official examinations in six languages and was studying two more and was eminently qualified." His religious experiences were varied, including attending Catholic services , becoming a Naga Brahmin, converting to Sikhism and Islam , and undergoing chilla for Qadiriyya Sufism . Regarding Burton's Muslim beliefs, Rice stated that "he
17433-481: The society and those who shared its views as Mrs Grundy . A way around this was the private circulation of books amongst the members of a society. For this reason Burton, together with Forster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot , created the Kama Shastra Society to print and circulate books that would be illegal to publish in public. One of the most celebrated of all his books is his translation of The Book of
17582-520: The source of the Nile , accompanied by Speke and a number of Africans porters and expedition guides. The Indian Navy schooner HCS Mahi transported them to Berbera on 7 April 1855. While the expedition was camped near Berbera , they were attacked by a group of Somali warriors from the Isaaq clan. The British estimated the number of attackers at 200. In the ensuing fight, Speke was wounded in eleven places before he managed to escape, while Burton
17731-547: The source of the Nile at a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science . On the day before the debate, Burton and Speke sat near each other in the lecture hall. According to Burton's wife, Speke stood up, said "I can't stand this any longer," and abruptly left the hall. That afternoon Speke went hunting on the nearby estate of a relative. He was discovered lying near a stone wall, felled by
17880-432: The source of the Nile at what he later named Victoria Nyanza , but Burton persisted in heading west. The expedition arrived at Lake Tanganyika on 13 February 1858. Burton was awestruck by the sight of the magnificent lake, but Speke, who had been temporarily blinded, was unable to see the body of water. By this point much of their surveying equipment was lost, ruined or stolen, and they were unable to complete surveys of
18029-506: The sprawling district of Orangi . North of the historic core is the largely middle-class district of Nazimabad , and upper-middle-class North Nazimabad , which were developed in the 1950s. To the east of the historic core is the area known as Defence , an expansive upscale suburb developed and administered by the Pakistan Army . Karachi's coastal plains along the Arabian Sea south of Clifton were also developed much later as part of
18178-494: The strategic value of the city, the British developed the Karachi Cantonment as a military garrison in the New Town to aid the British war effort in the First Anglo-Afghan War . The city's development was largely confined to the area north of the Chinna Creek prior to independence, although the seaside area of Clifton was also developed as a posh locale under the British, and its large bungalows and estates remain some of
18327-536: The summer monsoon. On the other hand, cool sea breezes typically provide relief during hot summer months. A text message-based early warning system alerts people to take precautionary measures and helps prevent fatalities during an unusually strong heatwave or thunderstorm. The winter climate is dry and lasts between December and February. It is dry and pleasant in winter relative to the warm hot season that follows, which starts in March and lasts until October. Proximity to
18476-477: The tests; despite Burton's success in living like an Arab, Playfair recommended to the committee that Burton be failed. Badger later told Burton that "After looking [Burton's test] over, I sent them back to [Playfair] with a note eulogising your attainments and... remarking on the absurdity of the Bombay Committee being made to judge your proficiency inasmuch as I did not believe that any of them possessed
18625-444: The time considered the Kama Shastra Society and the books it published scandalous. Biographers disagree on whether or not Burton ever experienced homosexual sex (he never directly acknowledges it in his writing). Rumours began in his army days when Charles James Napier requested that Burton go undercover to investigate a male brothel reputed to be frequented by British soldiers. It has been suggested that Burton's detailed report on
18774-515: The time of publication. In particular, the Terminal Essay in volume 10 of the Nights contained a 14,000-word essay entitled " Pederasty " (Volume 10, section IV, D), at the time a synonym for homosexuality (as it still is, in modern French). This was and remained for many years the longest and most explicit discussion of homosexuality in any language. Burton speculated that male homosexuality
18923-806: The time, which were published under the auspices of the Kama Shastra society. These books include The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana (1883) (popularly known as the Kama Sutra ), The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night (1885) (popularly known as The Arabian Nights ), The Perfumed Garden of the Shaykh Nefzawi (1886) and The Supplemental Nights to the Thousand Nights and a Night (seventeen volumes 1886–98). Published in this period but composed on his return journey from Mecca, The Kasidah has been cited as evidence of Burton's status as
19072-502: The title of Hajji and to wear the green turban . While back in India, Burton sat for the examination as an Arab linguist for the EIC. The examiner was Robert Lambert Playfair , who mistrusted Burton. As academic George Percy Badger knew Arabic well, Playfair asked Badger to oversee the exam. Having been told that Burton could be vindictive, and wishing to avoid any animosity should he fail, Badger declined. Eventually, Playfair conducted
19221-540: The value of goods traded through Karachi reached £855,103, leading to the establishment of merchant offices and warehouses. The population in 1856 is estimated to have been 57,000. During the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, the 21st Native Infantry, then stationed in Karachi, mutinied and declared allegiance to rebel forces in September 1857, though the British were able to quickly defeat the rebels and reassert control over
19370-409: The village after his elder brothers had already been killed by it. The name Karachee, a shortened and corrupted version of the original name Kolachi-jo-Goth , was used for the first time in a Dutch report from 1742 about a shipwreck near the settlement. The region around Karachi has been the site of human habitation for millennia. Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic sites have been excavated in
19519-403: The workings of the brothel led some to believe he had been a customer. There is no documentary evidence that such a report was written or submitted, nor that Napier ordered such research by Burton, and it has been argued that this is one of Burton's embellishments. A story that haunted Burton up to his death (recounted in some of his obituaries) was that, during his journey to Mecca disguised as
19668-857: Was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army 's 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot . Joseph, through his mother's family, the Campbells of Tuam , was a first cousin of Henry Pearce Driscoll and Eliza Graves . Burton's mother, Martha Baker, was the daughter and co-heiress of Richard Baker, a wealthy Hertfordshire squire whom Burton was named after. He had two siblings, Maria Katherine Elizabeth Burton (who married Lieutenant-General Sir Henry William Stisted ) and Edward Joseph Netterville Burton. Burton's family travelled extensively during his childhood and employed various tutors to educate him. In 1825, they moved to Tours in France. In 1829, Burton began
19817-888: Was appointed as the British consul in Damascus , an ideal post for someone with Burton's knowledge of the region and customs. According to Ed Rice , "England wanted to know what was going on in the Levant ," another chapter in The Great Game . Yet, the Turkish governor Mohammed Rashid 'Ali Pasha feared anti-Turkish activities, and was opposed to Burton's assignment. In Damascus, Burton made friends with Abdelkader al-Jazairi , while Isabel befriended Jane Digby , calling her "my most intimate friend." Burton also met Charles F. Tyrwhitt-Drake and Edward Henry Palmer , collaborating with Drake in writing Unexplored Syria (1872). However,
19966-456: Was appointed in the 1850s. Karachi was recognized for its strategic importance, prompting the British to establish the Port of Karachi in 1854. Karachi rapidly became a transportation hub for British India owing to newly built port and rail infrastructure, as well as the increase in agricultural exports from the opening of productive tracts of newly irrigated land in Punjab and Sindh . By 1856,
20115-578: Was attacked by the Portuguese Admiral Fernão Mendes Pinto (1509 – 1583) in an attempt to capture or destroy the Ottoman vessels anchored there. Fernão Mendes Pinto also claims that Sindhi sailors joined the Ottoman admiral Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis on his voyage to Aceh . Debal was also visited by the British travel writers such as Thomas Postans and John Elliott . According to Eliot, who is noted for his vivid account on
20264-485: Was built in 1729 at the site of Dibro , which came to be known as Kolachi-jo-Goth ("The village of Kolachi"). The new settlement is said to have been named in honour of Mai Kolachi , a resident of the old settlement whose son is said to have slain a man-eating crocodile. Kolachi was about 40 hectares in size, with some smaller fishing villages scattered in its vicinity. The founders of the new fortified settlement were Sindhi Baniyas , and are said to have arrived from
20413-522: Was circumcised, and made a Muslim, and lived like a Muslim and prayed and practiced like one." Furthermore, Burton, "was entitled to call himself a hāfiz , one who can recite the Qur'ān from memory." Motivated by his love for adventure, Burton gained the approval of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) for an exploration of the Middle East , and, now at the rank of captain, received permission from
20562-798: Was culpable for this disaster. While he was largely cleared of any blame, his career prospects were damaged. He described the attack in First Footsteps in East Africa (1856). After recovering from his wounds in London , Burton travelled to Constantinople during the Crimean War , seeking an officer's commission . He received one from Major-General William Ferguson Beatson as the chief of staff for Beatson's Horse , an irregular Ottoman cavalry unit stationed in Gallipoli . Burton returned to England after an incident which implicated him as
20711-562: Was established as a province separate from the Bombay Presidency with Karachi was once again made capital of Sindh. In 1941, the population of the city had risen to 387,000. At the dawn of independence following the success of the Pakistan Movement in 1947, On 15 August 1947 Capital of Sindh shifted from Karachi to Hyderabad and Karachi was made the national capital of Pakistan. Karachi was Sindh's largest city with
20860-470: Was impaled with a javelin, the point entering one cheek and exiting the other, leaving a permanent scar; he was forced to escape with the weapon still transfixing his head. Burton subsequently wrote that the Somalis were a "fierce and turbulent race". However, the failure of this expedition was viewed harshly by the British authorities, and a two-year investigation was set up to determine to what extent Burton
21009-538: Was more likely the other way around, Burton being jealous and resentful of Speke's determination and success. "As the years went by, [Burton] would neglect no opportunity to deride and undermine Speke's geographical theories and achievements". Speke had earlier proven his mettle by trekking through the mountains of Tibet , but Burton regarded him as inferior as he did not speak any Arabic or African languages. Despite his fascination with non-European cultures, some have portrayed Burton as an unabashed imperialist convinced of
21158-449: Was not promoted further, either in army life or in the diplomatic service. As an obituary described: "...he was ill fitted to run in official harness, and he had a Byronic love of shocking people, of telling tales against himself that had no foundation in fact." Ouida reported: "Men at the FO [Foreign Office] ... used to hint dark horrors about Burton, and certainly justly or unjustly he
21307-460: Was one of the many peculiar habits that set him apart from other British officers in India. While in the Bombay Army, he kept a large menagerie of tame monkeys in the hopes of learning their language , accumulating sixty "words". He also earned the nickname "Ruffian Dick" for his "demonic ferocity as a fighter and because he had fought in single combat more enemies than perhaps any other man of his time". According to Rice, "Burton now regarded
21456-470: Was prevalent in an area of the southern latitudes named by him the " Sotadic zone ". Perhaps Burton's best-known book is his translation of The Kama Sutra . It is untrue that he was the translator, since the original manuscript was in ancient Sanskrit , which he could not read. However, he collaborated with Forster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot on the work and provided translations from other manuscripts of later translations. The Kama Shastra Society first printed
21605-571: Was regarded as an economic role model around the world, with Seoul , South Korea, borrowing from the city's second "Five-Year Plan". Several examples of Modernist architect were built in Karachi during this period, including the Mazar-e-Quaid mausoleum, the distinct Masjid-e-Tooba , and the Habib Bank Plaza (the tallest building in all of South Asia at the time). The city's population by 1961 had grown 369% compared to 1941. By
21754-677: Was said to enjoy the notoriety and even once laughingly claimed to have done it. A doctor once asked him: "How do you feel when you have killed a man?", Burton retorted: "Quite jolly, what about you?". When asked by a priest about the same incident Burton is said to have replied: "Sir, I'm proud to say I have committed every sin in the Decalogue ." Stanley Lane-Poole , a Burton detractor, reported that Burton "confessed rather shamefacedly that he had never killed anybody at any time." These allegations coupled with Burton's often irascible nature were said to have harmed his career and may explain why he
21903-419: Was the mother tongue of 51% of Karachi in 1941, but only 8.5% in 1951, while Urdu grew to become the mother tongue of 51% of Karachi's population. 100,000 Muhajir refugees arrived annually in Karachi until 1952. Muhajirs kept arriving from different parts of India till 2000. Karachi was selected as the first capital of Pakistan, and was administered as a federal district separate from Sindh beginning in 1948,
22052-431: Was transferred to Santos in Brazil. Once there, Burton travelled through Brazil's central highlands, canoeing down the São Francisco River from its source to the falls of Paulo Afonso . He documented his experiences in The Highlands of Brazil (1869). In 1868 and 1869, he made two visits to the war zone of the Paraguayan War , which he described in his Letters from the Battlefields of Paraguay (1870). In 1868, he
22201-418: Was used for the first time in a Dutch document from 1742, in which a merchant ship de Ridderkerk is shipwrecked near the settlement. In 1770s, Karachi came under the control of the Khan of Kalat , which attracted a second wave of Balochi settlers. In 1795, Karachi was annexed by the Talpurs , triggering a third wave of Balochi settlers who arrived from central Sindh and southern Punjab. The Talpurs built
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