The Keen-Eyed Assistant

Episode 1: The Keen-Eyed Asssistant. 10-year-old George is taken by his father on an expedition from their village near modern-day Gdansk to the Volga in Russia, an experience that was to lay the foundation for his life of scientific enquiry.

George Forster went on his first expedition at the age of 10, and at 17 was part of Captain Cook’s second voyage to the South Pacific. A brilliant mind driven by boundless curiosity, he studied the natural world, the people and cultures he encountered and came back imbued with a deep belief in the equality of all races, regardless of colour. His radical views challenged the racial prejudices of his time, as he argued for human rights and against empire, racism and slavery. His support for the aims and actions of the French Revolution brought him into sharp conflict with the German government of the time, and he was largely written out of European history as a result. Andrea Wulf’s biography paints a portrait of a passionate, principled figure whose short life was spent in service to the connections between people rather than the prejudices that set them apart. As he wrote: 'Humans are like harp strings from which a great variety of melodies and harmonies can be produced because of their different lengths. Were the strings all one length, the richness of the music would be lessened.'

Written by Andrea Wulf
Read by Gunnar Cauthery
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies
A BBC Scotland audio production for Radio 4