{"id":229213,"date":"2026-07-02T11:37:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T09:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wereldwyd.co.za\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T11:38:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T09:38:30","slug":"americas-emperor-from-the-cape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wereldwyd.co.za\/en\/americas-emperor-from-the-cape\/","title":{"rendered":"America\u2019s emperor from the Cape \u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Alana Bailey<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This month\u2019s contribution about traces of local history abroad is not about a monument, but about a remarkable man with such an interesting life that the facts sound stranger than fiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was Joshua Abraham Norton, born in Deptford, England in February 1818. Two years later, his parents immigrated to the Cape Colony as 1820 Settlers. They settled in Algoa Bay (Port Elizabeth\/Gqeberha) and initially did quite well but eventually fell on hard times. Joshua and his father did not have a good relationship. Apparently, all of this resulted in Joshua immigrating to America in 1845.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March 1846, he arrived in Boston. According to his own later accounts, he then spent time in South America and finally settled in San Francisco in 1849 with $40,000. Here he established the business Joshua Norton & Company. It was involved in real estate transactions and imports. He must have had exceptional business acumen, because three years later his nest egg was said to have grown to about $250,000. He came to know the city\u2019s most influential people and enjoyed the respect of the San Francisco community. He soon belonged to the leading clubs and served on important committees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1852, however, he suffered an enormous loss with a transaction to import rice because of bad advice. For the next two years, he tried to recover his money through legal action but was unsuccessful and lost even more money. In 1856, he was declared bankrupt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He now had to move into a modest boarding house. His attempts to be elected as a local tax collector or a member of the American Congress failed. All these setbacks seem to have caused him to fall into a severe depression that would determine the pattern of the rest of his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July 1859, he paid to have his manifesto published in the newspaper, the San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin<\/em>. It was addressed to the \u201ccitizens of the Union\u201d and contained his proposed solutions to national problems. On 17 September 1859, he followed it up with this proclamation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the peremptory request of a large majority of the citizens of these United States, I, Joshua Norton, formerly of Algoa Bay, Cape of Good Hope, and now for the last nine years and ten months past of San Francisco, California, declare and proclaim myself Emperor of these United States; and in virtue of the authority thereby in me vested do hereby order and direct the representatives of the different States of the Union to assemble in Musical Hall, of this city, on the 1st day of February next, then and there to make such alterations in the existing laws of the Union as may ameliorate the evils under which the country is laboring, and thereby cause confidence to exist, both at home and abroad, in our stability and integrity.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norton I.,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emperor of the United States.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus began the reign of \u201cEmperor Norton the First\u201d spanning some twenty years \u2013 if only in his mind. His calls for the abolition of Congress and the conversion of America into a monarchy with himself as emperor were, of course, unsuccessful. However, this did not discourage him. He spent his life proposing better government measures to make the citizens of America more prosperous. One of his biographers declared: \u201cSome say he\u2019d gone mad; others say he\u2019d gone wise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His regular proclamations in the newspapers were always in good language. Many of these were remarkably sensible and with some he was even ahead of his time. They included calls against corruption and the abuse of tax money. He was also in favour of women\u2019s suffrage, minority rights and equal treatment for all races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He constantly expanded his knowledge by reading newspapers, visiting libraries, or attending theater productions, lectures and the public meetings of local authorities. He also liked to play chess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However he lived from hand to mouth in his small boarding house room. His food and rent were often paid by well-wishers. This did not, however, limit his style \u2013 he was always dressed in a uniform (sometimes that of the Union forces, sometimes of the Confederates, which were probably donations). This was sometimes supplemented with giant gold epaulettes, a carnation in his jacket\u2019s buttonhole, a sword or walking stick, and a beaverskin hat topped with an ostrich feather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He even had his own currency printed and the authorities of San Francisco allowed for it to be exchanged for dollars. This is testament to the love the city and its people had for this eccentric man. He became a kind of tourist attraction and small plaster figurines of him were sold to the public. Once, an overzealous policeman arrested him for \u201cinsane behaviour\u201d. The media and public were outraged and immediately demanded his release. This was followed by a public apology from the police chief and thereafter he was loyally saluted on the street by all police officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For his part, he was just as fond of the city\u2019s people \u2013 among other things, he would award the title of \u201cKing \/ Queen of the Day\u201d to adults and especially children if they had performed some kind of good deed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the rainy evening of 8 January 1880, he was going to attend a debate. On the way, he collapsed and died. According to newspaper reports of the time, as many as ten thousand people paid their last respects to him at the undertaker\u2019s parlour where his body was kept until his burial \u2013 from labourers on their way to work, to prominent businessmen, clergymen, pickpockets, elegant ladies and beggars. The crowd was so large that the police were called in to control them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time of his death, he had only about $6 in his pockets and no other belongings. A fund was established and soon raised enough money to prevent him from being buried as a pauper. In 1934, the cemetery where he was laid to rest was cleared and he was reburied elsewhere with military honours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His legacy is impressive \u2013 characters in works by Mark Twain and Robert Louis Stevenson are based on him. There are songs about him and works of art with him as subject. His grave is still frequently visited. The Emperor Norton Trust conducts research on him and campaigns to have landmarks in San Francisco named after him. The Trust has a comprehensive website with information and photographs of the \u201cemperor\u201d and was therefore the main source of information for this article about a unique man who left traces of the Cape in American history.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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