In February 1910, a group of six friends played a prank on the British Navy. Newspapers proclaimed it the Dreadnought hoax after the battleship that they targeted. Among the group was Virginia Stephen. She later became known as Virginia Woolf; author of such classics as Mrs. Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), Orlando: A Biography (1928), and A Room of One’s Own (1929).
Michael Mirra explains.
Virginia Woolf, circa 1902.
The Prankster Horace Cole
A hoax is a deception that is intended to be discovered in order to ridicule someone or something. Those being ridiculed may include authority figures or established conventions, rules, and world views. Differing from forgeries, which are intended to go unnoticed, hoaxes require an audience to witness the victim being tricked and to mock the situation. This public attention prevents possible cover-ups and destabilizes the victim’s power.
The presumed leader of the Dreadnought hoax was a man named Horace de Vere Cole. He had previously joined the army and fought in the Second Boer War, which the British referred to as the South African War. By 1899, the British were interested in gold mines found in the Transvaal region, located in the northeastern part of South African Republic, and wanted voting rights given to foreign temporary residents. The Boers (South Africans of Dutch, German, and Huguenot descent) from the Transvaal declared war and defended the region with guerilla tactics. Larger British numbers, a scorched-earth policy affecting food supplies, and an urgency to save dying Boer women and children held in concentration camps contributed to the Boers surrendering in 1902. Part of the peace treaty conditions resulted in an alliance of the British and the Boers against Black Africans. We will return to this topic later.
During the war, Horace was wounded. Virginia, who described him as a “very charming” and “wild young man,” suggested that his injuries and struggle with hearing loss led to him becoming a practical joker. According to her, he could not take up any profession, and being a man with a “good deal of money,” he made it his profession “simply to make people laugh.” In one of his pranks, he dressed as a city worker and stood outside the Bank of England. He then roped off a space in the middle of the street, holding up traffic, and began to pickaxe the pavement. After he made a large hole, he walked away. Allegedly, it was hours before the police discovered that it was not official road work.
The Zanzibar Hoax of 1905
Despite Virginia’s suggestion, Horace at least had ideas of a profession when he became an undergraduate student after returning from the war. It was at Trinity College, Cambridge that he befriended Virgnia’s younger brother, Adrian Stephen. In March of 1905, Horace recruited Adrian for a hoax. The Sultan of Zanzibar, Sayyid Ali bin Hamud al-Busaidi, happened to be visiting London. At the time, Zanzibar was a British Protectorate made up of two islands off the coast of East Africa. It later united with Tanganyika on the mainland to form the United Republic of Tanzania. Horace and Adrian, with three friends, sent a telegram to the Mayor of Cambridge, Algernon S. Campkin, on behalf of the sultan. They claimed that he would be visiting Cambridge later that day and asked if the mayor could show him around.
After the mayor agreed, four of the pranksters dawned embroidered robes, fake beards, and blackface makeup. Adrian wore a headscarf while three of them (Bowen Colthurst, Horace Cole, and Leland Buxton) wore turbans. The fifth member (“Drummer” Howard), acting as their “translator,” wore a suit and overcoat. All had western pants and shoes on.
The disguised party boarded the train at the Liverpool Street Station and made their way to Cambridge. The actual sultan was visiting Buckingham Palace. When the pranksters arrived in Cambridge, they showed caution by claiming that the sultan’s uncle “Prince Mukasa Ali” was standing in for him. Horace acted as the made-up uncle. The mayor and the town clerk greeted the group and brought them in front of a large crowd at Cambridge Guildhall. When directed toward King’s College Chapel, the group refused to enter. They claimed religious reasons, possibly to leave before any detection. Returning to the train station, the group ran back outside and jumped into Hansom cabs that drove them into the country to change their clothes.
The Zanzibar hoax was revealed in The Daily Mail two days later to the embarrassment of the Mayor of Cambridge. The mayor threatened to have the students expelled, but the vice chancellor of the college ultimately did not deem the hoax worthy of expulsion. Virginia, speaking in 1940, recalled thinking it was a “very silly thing to do.” She worried about her brother being able to finish his degree and become a lawyer.
Planning the Dreadnought Hoax
Five years later, Horace and Adrian planned to repeat the Zanzibar hoax. According to Virginia, Horace had a friend in the navy, most likely on the H.M.S. Hawke. There were rivalries in the navy and the younger officers liked to play jokes on each other. This friend asked Horace to play a joke on the H.M.S. Dreadnought. A dreadnought is a type of battleship with the largest range weaponry of its time. The majority of its guns were 12-inch instead of smaller sizes, and it used turbines instead of steam engines. Earlier “pre-dreadnought” battleships were then considered “obsolete.” Its conception was significant because a dreadnought-building race began between Britain and Germany. By the start of World War I, Britain had nineteen dreadnoughts and Germany thirteen. The H.M.S. Dreadnought was a specific dreadnought. It was the first of its kind, having launched in 1906, and was the flagship of the British Home Fleet from 1907-1912. For this hoax, the admiral of the fleet would replace the mayor, and the Emperor of Abyssinia (modern Ethiopia) would substitute for the Sultan of Zanzibar. Substituting one African nobility for another, however, suggests that the hoaxers believed Black peoples were interchangeable.
As they laid their plans, Horace and Adrian recruited four friends. Two of these friends dropped out days before the hoax was set to take place. This was when Virginia entered the story. Horace went to see Adrian at his and Virginia’s 29 Fitzroy Square residence in the Bloomsbury district of London. Virginia was there when Horace explained the situation to Adrian, which led to the two revealing the hoax plans to her. She volunteered to take one of the vacant places. By chance, their friend Duncan Grant stopped by that night and he took the other spot. The remaining two friends were Anthony Buxton and Guy Ridley.
Anthony was chosen to impersonate the Emperor of Abyssinia. However, Emperor Menelik II faced declining health including a minor stroke in 1906 and a partially paralyzing stroke in 1909. Empress Taitu, his wife, had an active role as his advisor and her influence grew during these years. Soon after, Menelik named his fifteen-year-old grandson, Lij Iyasu, his heir apparent. Due to Iyasu’s age, the general and statesman Ras Tesemma Nadow was assigned his regent. Rumors spread that the empress was organizing a resistance to stay in power. It was not until March of 1910, a month after the Dreadnought hoax, that Ras Tesemma prevailed over Empress Taitu. This situation complicates who would have been visiting England at this time and who Anthony should have been correctly impersonating. It is likely that the hoaxers assumed Menelik was still capable because that is who is often referenced.
During the following days, the group went to the shop of costume designer Willy Clarkson in Westminster. They claimed that they were going to a “fancy dress ball.” According to Virginia, Clarkson saw through the lie and was on board with aiding a hoax. At another location, they bought a Swahili grammar book from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. While Swahili was not widely spoken in Abyssinia, it was spoken in Zanzibar. The accurate choice would have been Amharic. Regardless, they spent time attempting to learn Swahili.
The Dreadnought Hoax of 1910
On the morning of the hoax, Clarkson arrived at the home of the Stephen siblings and personally put the wig and blackface makeup on Virginia who was playing a prince. She also wore a turban, fake beard, gold chain, and a royal red satin caftan. Clarkson warned her not to drink or eat, for liquid or the warmth of food could cause her makeup to run. This time, Adrian was acting as the “translator,” so he only wore a bowler hat, fake beard, and a suit with a long coat.
Virginia and Adrian met up with the rest of the group at Paddington Station. There was a first class carriage reserved for the “Emperor of Abyssinia and suite.” Horace, wearing a top hat and suit, was posing as an official from the Foreign Office, which handled affairs between Great Britain and foreign powers. Duncan, Anthony, and Guy were dressed similar to Virginia with turbans, robes, and blackface.
Before the train left the station at 12:40, a telegram was forged to Admiral William May. Another friend, Tudor Ralph Castle, was enlisted solely to send the telegram. It read that “Prince Makalen of Abbysinia [sic]” and suite were arriving in Weymouth (the home of the fleet) at 4:20 and that he wished to see the Dreadnought. It was signed “Harding” [sic], misspelling Charles Hardinge who was the Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office. It is possible that “Prince Makalen” was an inconsistency with their plan or that the “emperor” was an error in their accounts of the hoax. The intention of sending the telegram with short notice was to make sure the admiral did not have any time to check its validity.
Once the train arrived at Weymouth Station, a uniformed naval officer named Peter Willoughby greeted them with a salute. A red carpet was then unfurled and barriers put up to keep the gathering crowd away. The group walked down it in pairs while onlooking men raised their hats and women bowed. Marines presented their arms and the group bowed for them. According to Virginia, they purposely did not smile, believing that native princes should be “severe and dignified.” Willoughby saluted them once more as they entered a car that took them to the pier where marines in blue jackets stood at attention.
The admiral’s steam launch took the group to the Dreadnought. As they approached, they heard the sounds of military music being played. Coincidentally, it was the Zanzibar National Anthem, for the navy could not get the music for the Abyssinian anthem in time.
After boarding, Admiral May bowed and saluted them. Standing nearby was the commander of the Dreadnought, William “Willy” Fisher, who happened to be Virginia and Adrian’s first cousin. He did not recognize Virginia in her costume. According to her, after Fisher looked at Adrian, he said something inaudible to the nearby captain of the Dreadnought. This man was Captain Herbert William Richmond, who was also a friend of the Stephen siblings. In a moment that could have revealed the hoax, luck was on their side and Adrian was not recognized either.
Admiral May suggested, to Adrian and Horace, that “His Majesty” would like to know the different divisions of marines; possibly that the admiral’s center squadron flew red ensigns, the vice admiral’s van squadron flew white ensigns, and the rear admiral’s squadron flew blue ensigns. This put Adrian’s translation skills to test. There was a member of the Dreadnought that spoke Amharic. Fortunately, he was on leave that day. According to Adrian, he “could hardly remember two words” of the Swahili he had practiced. Instead, he broke up and mispronounced words he remembered from Homer, Ovid, and Virgil. It was later reported in newspapers that the “Abyssinians” responded with “bunga-bunga,” and Virginia specifically with “chuck-a-choi.” Some reports described “bunga-bunga” as a catchphrase said in unison at “every fresh sight.” This chorus de-individualizes actual Abyssinians and creates an image of them being amazed at every achievement of Western Civilization. Both Stephen siblings denied the use of these words.
At this point, Admiral May handed over tour duties to Fisher and Richmond. He had planned a day of golf and only left it to greet the “emperor.” The tour included the living quarters, the mess, and the battleship’s equipment. They saw the guns, rangefinders, compasses, and wireless equipment. In order to see this technology, they climbed a ladder onto an observation mast. There was a breeze and it began to rain. Virginia noticed Duncan’s mustache being blown by the wind, revealing his white skin underneath. She nudged Adrian who took Duncan aside to fix the mustache. Adrian had an umbrella, but there were too many people to cover. Therefore, he talked to Richmond about “the heat of the Abyssinian climate and the chill of England.” The captain took the hint and led the group below deck, showing off the officer’s bathrooms.
The tour now led to the wardroom and drinks were offered. To avoid ruining anyone’s makeup, Adrian said that the Abyssinians did not drink alcohol of any kind. Nonalcoholic drinks were then offered, but Adrian said that the Abyssinians did not drink or eat until after sunset and unless it was prepared in a certain way for religious reasons. This was probably what the hoaxers believed to be Islamic traditions. However, Christianity had been the official religion of Abyssinia for over 1500 years. This shows that they were mimicking their expectations and not the reality.
When the tour was ending, an officer asked Adrian if the “emperor” would like a twenty-one gun salute as he left the battleship. Virginia later said that “by this time we had all of us begun to be slightly ashamed of ourselves.” She felt guilty of abusing their hospitality. Adrian declined the offer claiming that the “emperor” wished to suspend any further ceremony.
Marines in blue and red lined up on the deck and saluted as the group returned to the steam launch. Willoughby escorted them back to the pier, pointing out the sites on the way. According to Virginia, he pointed out the H.M.S. Hawke. She imagined the officers on board watching them through spy glasses and laughing. Horace took a case out of his pocket containing a star with jewels, provided by Clarkson. This prop medal represented the Order of the Star of Ethiopia, which was a real award created by Emperor Menelik II in five levels (Knight Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer, and Member). Horace presented it to Willoughby in acknowledgment of the courtesy he had shown “His Majesty” and the “princes.” Willoughby graciously declined stating that he was not allowed to accept an honor from a foreign power.
A car took the group back to the train station, the red carpet, and their first class carriage. As the train left, the “emperor” looked at the people of Weymouth from the window and raised his hands to his forehead. It was now 6:00 in the evening. A meal was arranged to be served in their compartment once the dining carriage was open. Waiters brought in a table. Horace was not done with the hoax, though. He informed the waiters that they could not serve the “emperor” dinner without wearing white gloves, for he could not take a plate from a man with bare hands. The train was held at the next stop while the men left to purchase white gloves. The group did not change out of their costumes until they were home.
Aftermath
The next day, Horace had the group photographed in costume. According to Virginia, she believed it to be a private souvenir of the hoax. It was not long after that she saw the photograph printed in The Daily Mirror with news of their exploit making the front page. A hoax requires an audience after all. The article did not report anyone’s name except for Horace who had leaked the story to The Daily Express and Mirror. Adrian also claimed that Horace acted without his knowledge.
More newspaper articles were followed by questions being asked by members of parliament. Some responded with laughter. However, the hoax reflected the credit of the navy, showed that anyone could forge a telegram to the admiral of the fleet, and raised suspicions of German spies being shown secret equipment. Afterward, Adrian and Duncan apologized to the First Lord of the Admiralty, Reginald McKenna, and explained that they did not mean harm against the admiral or any officers. They were let off with a warning about the hoax. McKenna was stern that the forgery could have led to jail time. However, pursuing the case would bring more publicity, so a light fine was given.
The apology appeased the House of Commons, but not the navy. Young boys would run up to Admiral May and other marines in the street, yelling “bunga-bunga” at them. Fisher eventually learned who was involved. He visited Adrian in a fury and demanded the addresses of the others. Virginia heard their voices from upstairs. Years later, she wrote in a letter that she did not remember seeing her cousin again.
Fisher and three navy officers took a taxi straight to Duncan’s house. Duncan was sitting down to breakfast when they pulled him into the taxi. Somewhere around Hampstead Heath, they got out to cane him. According to Virginia, it was “two ceremonial taps.” He rode the tube home in his slippers despite being offered a ride home from his abductors. Horace received a similar symbolic punishment. For him, it was six ceremonial taps to his backside, which he was allowed to give back. Virginia’s punishment was being called “a common woman of the town” in the mess.
Evaluating History
Biographers often praise Virginia’s involvement, claiming that she decided to take part in the hoax as an expression of solidarity with oppressed groups against imperialist racial hegemonies. To begin supporting this claim, she may have been influenced by the history of radicalism in her family. Her grandfather, Sir James Stephen, drafted the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833. Her godmother, Julia Margaret Cameron, photographed Prince Alemayehu of Abyssinia in British drapery with his British caretaker, Captain Tristram Speedy, holding a lion-skin tippet. This reversed a racist political cartoon that depicted Britannia jailing Emperor Tewodros II, Alemayehu’s father, wearing a feathered headdress. Virginia’s father, Leslie Stephen, opposed slavery in the United States. He also wrote about racism behind British colonialism, believing that the Second Boer War could have been prevented and fearing that England would invade Abyssinia. England did support Italy’s invasion of Abyssinia in 1896. It is suggested that the closest child to Leslie was Virginia and that she was his literary successor. Her interest in his writings could have left an impression.
At the time of the hoax, Virginia was working on a draft of her first novel, The Voyage Out (1915). Its characters are implicated in colonialism, which she linked to racism and sexism. While set in South America, there are allusions to Africa and Abyssinia. Anti-imperialist views are typically interpreted in many of her later works such as The Waves (1931) and Three Guineas (1938). At the very least, she made an expression of solidarity in literature.
Many of the same writings are remembered for their discourse on gender issues. Her challenge of patriarchy is seen as extending back to the hoax. Wearing a beard and acting as a man signaled her stance. Biographers claim that she was ridiculing masculine establishment in the form of the British Navy. Her short story “A Society” (1921) featured a character named Rose who disguised herself as an Ethiopian prince, went aboard a British ship, and received six light taps on the behind as punishment. The story, however, comments on the ramifications of male civilization. The connections between her experiences and Rose have led to the belief that her role in the hoax was a comment on patriarchal values.
Lastly, Virginia married Leonard Woolf in 1912. While he did spend seven years as a colonial administrator in Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka), he returned to England as a vocal opponent of colonialism. He similarly put his views into his novels. Together, they founded the Hogarth Press giving more opportunity for Virginia to publish political writings and reason to view her as standing against oppression.
This claim ignores Sir James Stephen’s role in the British Empire, having served as Counsel to the Colonial Board of Trade. He was nicknamed “Mister Mother-Country” for his devotion to the ideals of the empire. Julia Margaret Cameron’s first major photography exhibit lionized men who opposed abolition in the United States and supported Britain's invasion of Abyssinia. Leslie Stephen preserved England’s nation-builders in the Dictionary of National Biography (1882), perhaps his most famous work. All were complicit with colonialism. As for their potential influence on Virginia, when England supported Italy’s invasion of Abyssinia, she wrote, “What is it all about, and which side am I?” in a letter to her older brother Thoby.
Virginia reported that she entered the hoax for fun. She could have been just as easily influenced by hearing about her brother and his friend’s exploits. In her own account, she presented the hoax as an adventure, expressed remorse, and did not discuss colonialism.
The hoaxers revealed the navy’s ignorance of Abyssinia at the cost of their own. Speaking Swahili and going along with assumed Islamic practices for an Amharic-speaking nation with one of the longest ties to Christianity shows Virginia’s ignorance of the oppressed. There is also the glaring matter of blackface. This was not the only time that Virginia wore blackface makeup. Virginia and her older sister, Vanessa Bell, attended curator Roger Fry’s Post-Impressionist Ball in 1911. In Vanessa’s words, “we wore brillant flowers and beads, we browned our legs and arms and had very little on beneath the draperies.” While this was in response to London audiences’ negative reaction to Fry’s inclusion of non-Western subjects, it did not stop Virginia from using the n-word when writing about another one of Fry’s shows.
Biographers are often quick to claim that Horace and Adrian were not politically motivated by the hoax. Instead, they label them as crude jokesters who probably thought African royalty was inherently funny. In this view, unlike Virginia, they were not interested in ridiculing imperialism or the masculine establishment. Adrian was not interested in his father’s writings and neither of them were particularly studious on history or politics.
This claim may be true for Horace. He was already complicit with colonialism through his involvement in the Second Boer War. His record of pranks, which he favored over studying for exams, does not help his case.
Adrian may deserve more credit. His account reads as anti-militarist and anti-authoritarian. This was something that Virginia’s account lacked. According to Adrian, “anyone who took up an attitude of authority over anyone else was necessarily also someone who offered a leg for everyone else to pull.” He described “armies and suchlike bodies” as “almost irresistible” targets for a hoax. His views were cemented by adding “I do not know either that if everyone shared my feelings towards the great armed forces of the world, the world would not be a happier place to live in.” Perhaps he was the most likely of the hoaxers making a statement.
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Works Cited
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