Why did the British Foreign Office consider Sir Richard Burton an unusual consul?

The British Foreign Office viewed Sir Richard Burton as an unusual and problematic consul primarily due to his unconventional interests and explicit documentation of foreign cultures.1

While stationed in Fernando Po, Burton produced detailed accounts of local tribal rituals, including descriptions of fetishism, cannibalism, ritual murder, and sexual practices. Although these writings are now valued by anthropologists, the Foreign Office at the time found his work and behavior to be eccentric, if not outright dangerous.1

Additionally, Burton’s career was marked by a history of controversial reporting. Earlier in his life, while serving as an intelligence officer in India, he authored an explicit report on homosexual brothels in Karachi. When this document was later forwarded to his superiors, it severely damaged his professional reputation and cast a long shadow over his standing within official British circles. These factors combined to create a perception of Burton as a brilliant but volatile figure who frequently operated outside the expected norms of Victorian diplomacy.21