ABSTRACT
James Bruce was born to a wealthy landowning gentleman of Scotland. His early years were punctuated by a series of movements. At eight, he was sent to London for schooling. He learned draughtsmanship and practised his art skills. This prepared him for the post he would soon accept, of consul in Algiers. Bruce's journey followed this path: in 1765, he left Algiers, travelling through Jebel Aures and Tunis, then on a pilgrim road to Tripoli and Bengazi. He then took a ship, which was wrecked in Cyrenaica, but he did reach Crete and then went to the Levant. From there he decided to go in search of the Nile's source. When he arrived in Egypt, he took on Arab dress. Bruce went from Cairo to the Red Sea and from there to Jidda. He then crossed to Massawa, and on 15 February 1770 reached Gondar, the capital of Ethiopia.
