Robert Barkley Shaw
| Robert Barkley Shaw | |
|---|---|
| Born |
12 July 1839 Upper Clapton, London |
| Died | 15 June 1879 (aged 39) |
| Nationality | English |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom 
|
| Alma mater |
Marlborough College Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Explorer and Diplomat |
Robert Barkley Shaw (12 July 1839 – 15 June 1879) was a British explorer and diplomat. He was an early visitor by an English traveller to Kashgar in Central Asia, and he established a relation with the local leader; he was later a member of a diplomatic expedition to the area. He became a diplomat in northern India and in Mandalay.
He was born in Upper Clapton, London, and was educated at schools on the continent, at Marlborough College, and at Trinity College, Cambridge. Unable to recover his health after an attack of rheumatic fever, he gave up the idea of entering the army, and in 1859 he went to Kangra in the Himalayas, where he settled as a tea-planter.
He had an adventurous spirit, and was interested in exploring the then almost unknown country north of the Karakoram; after one or two tentative excursions, he started in May 1868 for Eastern Turkestan, travelling as a merchant. In September 1868 Shaw agreed to meet a rival another Englishman George Hayward around the camp-fires in the mountains between Lashgar and Yarkand. Shaw's mission was not military in character but primarily commercial. But both men recognised the value of mapping the uncharted territory of the Pamir Mountains. Shaw went on ahead while his colleague descended into the river gorges of the Karakoram. Shaw sent gifts ahead to Yakub Beg, hoping to meet him first. He reached Yarkand where he was cordially received on 8 December. Hayward had also arrived; and they continued living in separate accommodations. They could see the snow-capped Pamirs and the Taklamakan Desert sands beyond. They were the first Englishmen to visit these places.
At Kashgar on 11 January 1869 he was escorted into the palace, and on the next morning conducted a successful meeting with Yakub Beg, who had recently overthrown Chinese rule and was head of the region. In a detailed diary account Shaw described the other-worldly experience of "this assemblage of thousands." Shaw spoke a little Persian, but still managed to convey the purpose of his visit; to open up a trade route, particularly of Indian tea. Suitably impressed by the wares on offer, Yakub Beg declared "enjoy yourself a few days", while Shaw later retorted in his diary that "the King dismissed me graciously."
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