John Gabriel Stedman (1744 - 7 March 1797) was a distinguished British-Dutch soldier and noted author. He was born in 1744 in Dendermonde; which then was in the Austrian Netherlands; to Robert Stedman; a Scot and an officer in the Dutch Republic's Scots Brigade; and his wife of presumed Dutch noble lineage; Antoinetta Christina van Ceulen.

He lived most of his childhood in 'the Dutch Republic with his parents but spent time with his uncle in Scotland. His years in Surinam; on the northern coast of South America; were characterized by encounters with African slaves and colonial planters; as well as the exotic local flora and fauna.

He recorded his experiences in The Narrative of a Five Years Expedition against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam (1796) which; with its firsthand depictions of slavery and other aspects of colonization; became an important tool in the early abolitionist cause. Pictures From History