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Name: SANDYS, James Stuart MA
Photo Source: Judy Aldrick
Nee: 4th son of Rev Timothy Sandys, CMS; brother of Sir John Edwin Sandys
Birth Date: 10.4.1857 Calcutta
Death Date: 31.8.1889 murdered, buried at Shela, Lamu
First Date: 1889
Last Date: 1889
Profession: Civil engineer
Area: Lamu
Book Reference: North, Kiewiet, F. McCartney, Henry Wright
School: Harrow and St. John's College, Cambridge
General Information:
Kiewiet - 1888 - British Company Agents - Pigott and Sandys - making treaties like mad around Witu!
North - Civil Engineer; arr. Zanzibar from Europe on private expedition to EA c. June 1888; appt. British Consular Agent Lamu, unpaid position but to keep 75% of duty collected 28/1/1889; Local appt. as IBEA Co. Agent Lamu 3/3/1889; at Lamu 22/6/1889; died 31/8/1889 off Lamu, on board 'ss Mecca' (BI) aged 32.
Fergus McC - buried at Shela, Lamu aged 32
Cambridge Univ Alumni Adm. pens. at ST JOHN'S, Aug. 25, 1876. S. of the Rev. Timothy, Church Missionary Soc. (and Emily Guthrie). B. Apr. 10, 1857, in Calcutta. Bapt. May 17, 1857. School, Harrow. Matric. Michs. 1876; Scholar; B.A. 1880; M.A. 1883. Assistant Master at Lancaster School, 1881-6. Entered the service of the British East Africa Co.; Agent and Vice-Consul. Died of fever in East Africa, Aug. 31, 1889.
IBEA Co. - Appt. IBEA Co. Agent, Lamu 3/3/1889; d. 31/8/1889 off Lamu on board s.s. Mecca.
Gazette - 7/6/1927 - Buried in graveyard at Shela - J S Sandys MA, His Majesty's Consular Agent 1889; he was murdered by an Arab
Shela cemetery, Lamu in / loving memory / of / J Stuart Sandys M.A. / H.M. Consular Agent and / Representative of the / Imperial British East African Company / at Lamu / died 31st August 1889 / aged 32 / faithful in that which is least
Judy Aldrick, History of the Kenya Coast, no 29, Apr 2026 The inscription on the gravestone reads: 'In loving memory of Stuart Sandys MA, HM Consular Agent and representative of the Imperial East Africa Company at Lamu died 31st August 1889 aged 32. Faithful in that which is least'
James Stuart Sandys was born in Calcutta in 1857 the son of a missionary. He was educated at Harrow and Cambridge and trained as a civil engineer. As an idealistic young man hoping to make his mark in the world in 1888 he joined the Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEACo) and on arrival in Zanzibar was appointed Consular Agent in Lamu. He decided to spend some time travelling and did not reach Lamu to take up his appointment until June 1889, barely two months before his death. The position of Consular Agent was unpaid but Sandys was allowed to keep 75% of the customs duties collected. This seemed a generous arrangement, but in 1889 the issue of tariffs or customs dues in the Lamu region was a dangerous matter. The inexperienced Sandys had stepped into a hornets nest. At the end of 1888 Sultan Simba of Witu established a Customs House at the mouth of the Tana River. This annoyed Lamu as food supplies and much trade came via the river and revenue too. In 1889 a protest was sent pointing out that although Germany had established a protectorate over Witu it did not give them the right to set up a Customs House in what was still the territory of the Sultan of Zanzibar. Herr Toeppen the German Agent in Lamu disagreed. In response he sent a large amount of gunpowder to Sultan Simba of Witu, who immediately ordered his forces to occupy the Customs House. Whereupon the British Agent responded by sending an ultimatum demanding the Customs House and Belezoni Canal be vacated or face the consequences. Battle lines were drawn. The situation became highly volatile and a little impatience or want of tact could easily have led to bloodshed. I can find no report as to how or why Sandys was murdered only that he died aboard the ship SS Mecca presumably of his wounds. After his death the Germans backed down and his successor as Consul, Robert Teesdale Simons, met with the Sultan of Witu to agree a deal.
James Stuart Sandys was born in Calcutta in 1857 the son of a missionary. He was educated at Harrow and Cambridge and trained as a civil engineer. As an idealistic young man hoping to make his mark in the world in 1888 he joined the Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEACo) and on arrival in Zanzibar was appointed Consular Agent in Lamu. He decided to spend some time travelling and did not reach Lamu to take up his appointment until June 1889, barely two months before his death. The position of Consular Agent was unpaid but Sandys was allowed to keep 75% of the customs duties collected. This seemed a generous arrangement, but in 1889 the issue of tariffs or customs dues in the Lamu region was a dangerous matter. The inexperienced Sandys had stepped into a hornets nest. At the end of 1888 Sultan Simba of Witu established a Customs House at the mouth of the Tana River. This annoyed Lamu as food supplies and much trade came via the river and revenue too. In 1889 a protest was sent pointing out that although Germany had established a protectorate over Witu it did not give them the right to set up a Customs House in what was still the territory of the Sultan of Zanzibar. Herr Toeppen the German Agent in Lamu disagreed. In response he sent a large amount of gunpowder to Sultan Simba of Witu, who immediately ordered his forces to occupy the Customs House. Whereupon the British Agent responded by sending an ultimatum demanding the Customs House and Belezoni Canal be vacated or face the consequences. Battle lines were drawn. The situation became highly volatile and a little impatience or want of tact could easily have led to bloodshed. I can find no report as to how or why Sandys was murdered only that he died aboard the ship SS Mecca presumably of his wounds. After his death the Germans backed down and his successor as Consul, Robert Teesdale Simons, met with the Sultan of Witu to agree a deal.