David Ewen Bartholomew
| David Ewen Batholomew | |
|---|---|
| Born |
c. 1767/1768 Linlithgowshire |
| Died |
19 February 1821 Porto Praya, Cape Verde Islands |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
|
| Years of service | 1795–1821 |
| Rank | Royal Navy Captain |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath |
| Other work | Renowned cartographer |
Captain David Ewen Bartholomew, CB (c. 1767/1768 – 19 February 1821) was an officer of the British Royal Navy and Merchant Navy, who rose from a poor background to become a post captain and prominent surveyor and cartographer, who was the first British man to map numerous sections of the South American, Arabian and African coastlines. During his career, Bartholomew was twice seized by press gangs and forced to serve as a sailor in the Navy, the second occasion at the orders of Lord St Vincent following an argument. This incident provoked outrage at St Vincent's abuse of his authority and resulted in Bartholomew's promotion and employment as a surveyor. He was so successful that in 1818 he was given command of the frigate HMS Leven on which he was ordered to survey the African coast. Many of his fellow officers later became prominent geographers of the early nineteenth century, although Bartholomew died while still on the service, after falling ill with tuberculosis.
Born into a poor family in Linlithgowshire in Scotland, Bartholomew joined the Merchant Navy at a young age and became a highly experienced sailor, travelling to the Baltic Sea and the West Indies, working on hired merchant ships during campaigns against French islands there at the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. He later served on Greenland whalers, but in 1795 was seized by a press gang at Wapping and forcibly recruited into the Royal Navy. Due a superior education (although where he obtained this education is unknown), Bartholomew was rapidly promoted to midshipman, serving in numerous theatres and becoming a favourite of Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham. Bartholomew was present at the surrender of the Dutch fleet in 1799, on HMS Romney in the East Indies and in 1802 was in charge of the ship's chronometers during a voyage to the Red Sea. The Peace of Amiens in the same year saw a reduction in the Navy and Bartholomew was placed in reserve.
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