circa 1697
Giolo (also Jeoly), "The Painted Prince," was born on the island of Moangis (located between Celebes and Mindanao) and was captured in the late 17th century along with his family after a misadventure at sea. By 1690, Giolo had already been sold twice into slavery when he came into the "possession" of buccaneer and naturalist William Dampier, who was sailing the world seeking profit and adventure.
Dampier admiringly describes him as, "...painted all down the breast, between his shoulders and behind; on his thighs (mostly) before; and in the form of several broad rings or bracelets, round his arms and legs." The tattoos were not representations of animals but a "very curious" graphic design, "full of great variety of lines, flourishes and chequered work."
Originally planning to travel with Giolo to Moangis, where he might "gain a commerce with [his] people for cloves," circumstances persuaded Dampier (despite any fondness he may have felt) to exhibit his 'painted prince' in England as an exotic spectacle. Once he had made his money, Dampier intended to buy a ship "to carry [Giolo] back to [Moangis] and re-instate him there in his own country." This romantic notion, however, was also pragmatic: Dampier hoped that by Giolo's "favor and negotiation to establish a traffic for the spices and other products of those islands."
Upon Dampier's return to England, he found himself lacking funds and quickly fell "amongst rooks" who pressured him to part with Giolo. In their book about Dampier titled A Pirate of Exquisite Mind, Diana and Michael Preston suggest that, "...the loss of [Giolo] not only dashed Dampier's business schemes but was also an emotional blow. He had looked after him for months, tending him through bereavement and illness. Even though he had himself planned to exhibit [Giolo], it must have been a wrench to abandon him to strangers in a bewildering new land to the uncertain fate of being 'carried about to be shown as a sight.' He would describe [Giolo] in his book with greater feeling than anyone else, including [his wife], to whom he referred only once and in passing."
Giolo's new owners quickly exploited him, printing flyers and a promotional booklet that described Giolo's early life in fantastic detail and attributing their own meanings and even magical powers to his tattoos. Ultimately, and perhaps mercifully (as it was within a year of his arrival in England), Giolo died of small-pox in Oxford in 1692.1
1 Preston, D. and M. A Pirate of Exquisite Mind. The Penguin Group: The Berkeley Publishing Group, 2004
There's a special chapter on him on a book by IUP on Dampier, but I couldn't open it. This text I got from a blog site.
http://princegiolo.blogspot.com/2007/11/wh...ince-giolo.html
