Editing Clements Markham (section)

== Civil servant, geographer, traveller ==

=== India Office, 1857–1867 ===
After the death of his father in 1853 Markham needed paid employment, and in December 1853 secured a junior clerkship in the Legacy Duty Office of the [[Inland Revenue]] at a salary of £90 per annum (around £6,000 in 2008).<ref name= MW/> He found the work tedious, but after six months was able to transfer to the forerunner of what became, in 1857, the [[India Office]]. Here, the work was interesting and rewarding, with sufficient time to allow him to travel and pursue his geographical interests.<ref name = AHM165>A. Markham, pp.&nbsp;165–166.</ref>

In April 1857, Markham married Minna Chichester, who accompanied him on the cinchona mission to Peru and India. Their only child, a daughter Mary Louise (known as May), was born in 1859.<ref>A. Markham, p.&nbsp;169.</ref> As part of his India Office duties Markham investigated and reported to the Indian government on the introduction of Peruvian cotton into the [[Madras Presidency]], on the growth of [[Carapichea ipecacuanha|ipecacuanha]] in Brazil and the possibilities for cultivating this medicinal plant in India, and on the future of the pearl industry at [[Tirunelveli]] in Southern India.<ref>A. Markham, pp.&nbsp;202–204.</ref> He was also involved in an ambitious plan for the transplanting of Brazilian rubber trees, claiming that he would "do for the india-rubber or caoutchouc-yielding trees what had already been done with such happy results for the cinchona trees."<ref name= Dean/> This scheme was not, however, successful.<ref name= Dean>Dean, p.&nbsp;12.</ref>

=== Abyssinia, 1867–1868 ===
[[File:Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala - Project Gutenberg eText 16528.jpg|thumb|Sir [[Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala|Robert Napier]], Abyssinian campaign commander]]
In 1867, Markham was selected to accompany Sir Robert Napier's military expeditionary force to [[Ethiopia|Abyssinia]], as the expedition's geographer.<ref name = AHM210>A. Markham, pp.&nbsp;210–213.</ref> This force was despatched by the British government as a response to actions taken by the Abyssinian [[Tewodros II of Ethiopia|King Theodore]]. In 1862, the king had written to the British government requesting help to modernise his nation, and proposing the appointment of an ambassador, which the British had previously suggested.<ref name= Pankhurst11>Pankhurst, pp.&nbsp;11–14.</ref> Unwilling to risk its monopoly of cotton in Egypt, the British government did not reply. The king reacted to this slight and other snubs by seizing and imprisoning the British consul and his staff, and ordered the arrest and whipping of a missionary who had insulted the king's mother.<ref name= Pankhurst11/> A belated reply to the king's letter resulted in the capture and incarceration of the deputation that brought it.<ref name= Pankhurst11/> After efforts at conciliation failed, the British decided to settle the matter by sending a military expedition. Because the geography of the country was so little known, it was decided that an experienced traveller with map-making skills should accompany the force, hence Markham's appointment.<ref name= AHM210/>

Napier's troops arrived at [[Gulf of Zula|Annesley Bay]] in the [[Red Sea]], early in 1868. Markham was attached to the force's headquarters staff, with responsibility for general survey work and in particular the selection of the route to [[Battle of Magdala|Magdala]], the king's mountain stronghold. Markham also acted as the party's naturalist, reporting on the species of wildlife encountered during the {{convert|400|mi|km|adj=on}} march southward from the coast.<ref name= AHM210/> He accompanied Napier to the walls of Magdala, which was stormed on 10&nbsp;April 1868. As the king's forces charged down the mountain to meet Napier's advancing troops Markham recorded: "The [[Snider–Enfield]] rifles kept up a fire no Abyssinian troops could stand. They were mown down in lines&nbsp;... the most heroic struggle could do nothing in the face of such vast inequality of arms."<ref>Pankhurst, p.&nbsp;16.</ref> Markham added that although the king's misdeeds had been numerous and his cruelties horrible, he had finally died as a hero.<ref>A. Markham, p.&nbsp;20.</ref>

On the orders of General Napier, Magdala was burnt to the ground, its native and foreign guns destroyed and the accumulated treasures in the fortress looted.<ref name= Pankhurst20>Pankhurst, pp.&nbsp;20–21.</ref> The British troops then departed, and Markham was back in England in July 1868. For his services to this campaign Markham was appointed [[Order of the Bath|Companion of the Order of the Bath]] in 1871.<ref name= Baigent/><ref>A. Markham, p.&nbsp;222.</ref>

=== Second Arctic voyage, 1875–1876 ===
[[File:HMS Discovery (1874).jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|{{HMS|Discovery|1874|2}} and {{HMS|Alert|1856|2}} in the Arctic; both ships had auxiliary steam engines]]
Markham had, through his various activities, come to know many influential people, and during the early 1870s used these connections to make the case for a Royal Naval Arctic expedition. Prime minister [[Benjamin Disraeli]] consented, in the "spirit of maritime enterprise that has ever distinguished the English people".<ref>Coleman, p.&nbsp;195.</ref> When the expedition was ready to sail, Markham was invited to accompany it as far as Greenland, on {{HMS|Alert|1856|6}}, one of the expedition's three ships. Markham accepted, and left with the convoy on 29&nbsp;March 1875. He was gone for three months, remaining with ''Alert'' as far as [[Disko Island]] in Baffin Bay.

He wrote of this journey: "I never had a happier cruise&nbsp;... a nobler set of fellows never sailed together."<ref>A. Markham, pp.&nbsp;233–237.</ref> He returned to England on the support vessel {{HMS|Valorous|1851|6}},<ref>Coleman, p.&nbsp;206.</ref> although the homeward voyage was delayed after ''Valorous'' struck a reef and required substantial repairs.<ref>A. Markham, pp.&nbsp;238–239.</ref> Markham's extended absence from his India Office duties, together with his increasing involvement in a range of other interests, caused his superiors to request his resignation. Markham retired from his post in 1877, his 22&nbsp;years of service entitling him to a pension.<ref name= Baigent/>

Meanwhile, the main expedition, under the command of Captain [[George Nares]], had proceeded north with the two ships {{HMS|Discovery|1874|6}} and {{HMS|Alert|1856|6}}. On 1&nbsp;September 1875, they reached 82°&nbsp;24', the highest northern latitude reached by any ship up to that date.<ref>Coleman, p.&nbsp;209.</ref> In the following spring a sledging party led by Markham's cousin, Commander [[Albert Hastings Markham]], achieved a record [[Farthest North]] at 83°&nbsp;20'.<ref>Coleman, p.&nbsp;216.</ref>