Out of Transylvania – Florence Baker: Exploring Her Early Life (Part One)

Polite society in Great Britain knew her as Lady Baker, though she was more commonly known as Florence. She became famous after an expedition with Samuel Baker in which they searched for the holy grail of African exploration, the source of the Nile River. While they did not locate the river’s headwaters, they did become the first European explorers to see Murchison Falls and Lake Albert. Along the way, Florence saved the expedition from disaster as her negotiating skills fended off a mutiny by staff who resented the rigid leadership style of her husband. There were many other dangers along the way, everything from malarial diseases to freshwater crocodiles. This would not be the last time the couple found themselves in harm’s way on the African continent. Later she and Samuel would attempt to end the institution of slavery in a region that is today part of South Sudan. Their partnership was historic in every sense of the word.

By that standard, Florence and Samuel Baker were a match made in the Balkans. The couple proved to be excellent travel companions. Their passion for exploration and one another helped them overcome insurmountable odds. It is hard to believe that at the time of their Nile expedition the couple may not have been married (reports are conflicting on this). A formal wedding would take place four years later, in 1865 at a cathedral in England. Those in attendance might have noticed that Florence Baker spoke with a continental European accent. This belied her origins, which were a clue that she went from an upbringing deep in Eastern Europe to becoming one of the great female explorers of Africa.

Another World – Florence Maria von Sass

How does a woman in the 19th century go from an established Transylvanian aristocratic family to becoming an intrepid explorer discovering unknown parts of the African continent? The origins of historical figures can defy the imagination. This is the case with Florence Baker, who only went by that name in adulthood. Her life calls to mind the phrase, “you can’t make this stuff up.” That is because truth really is stranger than fiction, the proof written across the pages of history. Thus, when I stumble upon a historical personage or anecdote that seems too good to be true, I suspend disbelief in the knowledge that could be true. If human beings are involved, then it is well within the realm of possibility. Which brings me to Florence Maria von Sass, better known to history as Florence Baker. Her story is one that astonishes and inspires. It also shows how the vagaries of history can transform someone’s life into something beyond their wildest imaginations, even their own.

Florence was born in 1841 to a noble family in Transylvania of German descent. The 19th century in general was a suitable time to be born in the region for those of the middle and upper classes. Compared to prior centuries, wars were few, tradition dictated society and class status set the course for life. The region, like the rest of the Habsburg Empire, was slowly beginning to modernize. Those of noble birth had promising futures ahead of them or so they believed. The aristocracy were at the top of the class hierarchy. Owning land or being part of a merchant’s family offered the potential for prosperity. Ethnic Germans used thrift and their enterprising skills to carve out a prosperous life for themselves in Transylvania. They had laid down deep roots in the region. This was the world into which Florence was born. She had other ethnic attributes as well. Her father was a Szekely (Hungarian speakers in Transylvania) noble, which meant she had blood connections to the Hungarian ruling class as well.

The War Comes Home – Revolutionary Trajectory

In normal times, someone with Florence’s family connections would have ended up wedding another person of noble descent. She would never have that opportunity because at the age of eight, the dark shadow of war fell over the region. The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 brought armed conflict to Transylvania. Law and order soon broke down. Hungarians in Transylvania and those who sided with them soon had a host of enemies closing in on them. This included the local Romanian population who needed little coaxing to support the Austrian Habsburgs. Oppressed for centuries, the Romanian peasants were on the bottom rung of the ethnic hierarchy of Transylvania. They took the opportunity to begin attacking Hungarians and looting their property. Centuries old enmities came to the fore and produced violent backlashes between peasants and landowners.

At Nagyeneyed (Aiud in present day Romania), where Florence was born, a massacre of the local Hungarian population led by peasants occurred in January 1849. They took the opportunity to take exact revenge on the upper classes. Accounts state that Florence witnessed the murder of her mother, brother and perhaps her father as well. Records of her early years are sketchy at best, but the incident sent her life spiraling into chaos. It put her future on a different trajectory, one more dangerous and fascinating than she could have ever imagined. The massacre made her a homeless refugee. She was fortunate to find shelter with an Armenian family, fleeing the area along with them when they decided to relocate to the Ottoman Empire. At the Danube River port of Vidin (located in present day Bulgaria), Florence went missing. She soon found herself attached to an Ottoman harem.

Into the unknown - Illustration of Samuel and Florence Baker together

The Peculiar Institution – Slaving Away

Slavery under Ottoman rule was feared by European inhabitants during a period stretching from the medieval to the early modern era. Ottoman occupation or raids meant the existing inhabitants of the Balkans, Hungary and Transylvania had to flee from their homelands. Either that or they risked capture and a life of slavery. Ironically, many Ottoman administrators were former slaves. Kidnapped children became soldiers in the Ottoman army. While slavery was a dreadful state of existence, there was at least opportunities for male slaves to secure prominent positions within the empire. For women, the possibilities were not as appealing. They often found themselves in a harem and forced to live a life of sexual servitude. This was the future that Florence faced while a teenager. As a captive, hundreds of kilometers from her previous home, there were insurmountable odds of ever finding freedom. The slave market in Vidin would decide her destiny. At the time, it did not look promising.