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The Story of the Congo Free State
The Story of the Congo Free State
Social, Political, and Economic Aspects of the Belgian System of Government in Central Africa By Henry Wellington Wack, F.R.G.S. (Member of the New York Bar) With 125 Illustrations and Maps G. P. Putnam’s Sons New York and London The Knickerbocker Press 1905...
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PREFACE
PREFACE
As a student of Mid-African affairs for the past seven years, and a close observer of the rapid progress toward complete civilisation now being made in that part of the world, I have felt it my duty to lay before my countrymen the true and complete story of the conception, formation, and development of the Congo Free State. At a period of such bitter controversy concerning the government of the Congo Free State as the present, it is necessary that I should explain the circumstances under which I
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MAPS.
MAPS.
Outline Map of Africa THE STORY OF THE CONGO FREE STATE...
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CHAPTER I GENESIS OF MID-AFRICAN CIVILISATION
CHAPTER I GENESIS OF MID-AFRICAN CIVILISATION
The decline and fall of great empires has ever been a fascinating subject of study, congenial alike to students of widely diverse opinions and pursuits; yet it must be clear to all that in human interest the breaking up of an empire is as nothing when compared with its founding. The reason is, probably, that so little is known of the origin of great national communities. The United States is almost alone among nations in respect that its growth, from its inception to its mature ultimate triumph,
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CHAPTER II STANLEY, AND KING LEOPOLD II.’S CONCEPTION OF THE CONGO FREE STATE
CHAPTER II STANLEY, AND KING LEOPOLD II.’S CONCEPTION OF THE CONGO FREE STATE
In every case the National Committees of the International Association for the Exploration and Civilisation of Central Africa displayed extraordinary activity; but, as was to be expected, their rate of progress was measured by the Belgian Committee, which met, for the first time, on the 6th of November, 1876, in Brussels, just six weeks after the close of the Brussels Geographical Conference which had decreed its existence. As was fitting in the circumstances, King Leopold was present at the mee
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CHAPTER III FOUNDING OF THE CONGO FREE STATE
CHAPTER III FOUNDING OF THE CONGO FREE STATE
On the 15th day of November, 1884, the International Conference, convened by Prince Bismarck to regulate what that statesman termed “the African question,” held its first meeting. It took place in Berlin, Prince Bismarck presiding. In briefly outlining the object of the Conference, the distinguished president exhibited in no small degree that condensation and lucidity for which his utterances were remarkable. The Imperial Government [said Prince Bismarck] has been guided by the conviction that a
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CHAPTER IV EARLY BELGIAN EXPEDITIONS
CHAPTER IV EARLY BELGIAN EXPEDITIONS
Having narrated the principal political circumstances which eventuated in the founding of the Congo Free State, it now becomes necessary to revert to an earlier period, and sketch briefly the various Belgian expeditions to whose labours are so largely owing our knowledge of the geography of Central Africa, the suppression of the slave trade there, and the establishment of civilising and humanitarian government by Belgians. It is hardly necessary to say that so great an enterprise was not possibl
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CHAPTER V THE WATERWAYS OF THE CONGO
CHAPTER V THE WATERWAYS OF THE CONGO
It was Diego Cam, an intrepid Portuguese navigator, who, in 1484, voyaging towards the mythical East Indies, discovered the Congo. In the name of his sovereign, King Juan II., he took possession of the country, though it does not appear that he proceeded far into the interior. From n’zadi , the native name for river, the Portuguese formed the word Zaire, and it is by this name that the river was long called. It so appears in the map of Martin of Bohemia, who accompanied the expedition. The globe
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CHAPTER VII HORRORS OF THE ARAB SLAVE TRADE
CHAPTER VII HORRORS OF THE ARAB SLAVE TRADE
Slavery: the absolute, irresponsible ownership of one class of human beings by another class; a contract in which the only factors are might on the one side and helplessness on the other; servitude exacted by force. Slavery has existed in all countries from the earliest recorded periods. The most enlightened philosophers of ancient Greece and Rome were unable to conceive a community of which a section was not enslaved by the rest. As a system, slavery, by its long-continued, universal practice,
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CHAPTER XII THE CONGO BEQUEATHED TO BELGIUM
CHAPTER XII THE CONGO BEQUEATHED TO BELGIUM
The Declaration supplemental to the General Act of the Brussels Conference, referred to in the previous chapter, assured an income to the Congo Free State, which, however inadequate for its needs at that time, served, in a degree, to clear its future of the doubt which had caused Belgium, as a nation, to shrink from incurring financial responsibility in support of it. The cost of the early undertakings, from the day in 1876 when Stanley took leave of King Leopold in Brussels and set out upon his
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CHAPTER XIII TRIBES OF THE CONGO STATE
CHAPTER XIII TRIBES OF THE CONGO STATE
The difficulty in arriving at an estimate of the native population of the Congo Free State that tolerably approximates the truth is very great. Some authorities place it at as high as 30,000,000, some as low as 15,000,000, while other observers, equally entitled to respect, assert that 20,000,000 is about accurate. This wide divergence of opinion ceases to be matter for surprise when we reflect that the population of an empire so important as China, known to white men for centuries, is variously
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CHAPTER XIV THE CONGO PUBLIC FORCE
CHAPTER XIV THE CONGO PUBLIC FORCE
The State’s military organisation is constituted by what is called the Congo Public Force ( Force Publique ). It had its origin in the necessities of the International Association before the State had gone far along its difficult way. It was recruited from the blacks of Zanzibar and along the West Coast at Lagos, Sierra Leone, Elmira, and Accra. The first troops were, therefore, foreigners—Zanzibaris and Haussas. Their foreign origin was, in a sense, an element of security to the Association whe
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CHAPTER XVII THE SUPPRESSION OF SLAVERY
CHAPTER XVII THE SUPPRESSION OF SLAVERY
It is an old world-truth, supported by countless historical instances, that the way of the reformer is hard. When his progress is not opposed by vested interests, his enthusiasm is regarded with chilling indifference. However just his cause, he may safely count upon numerous opponents, every one a giant. Even when he has succeeded in establishing a clear case for reform, he is merely set free from one set of difficulties in order to confront other, and generally more formidable, obstacles. When
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CHAPTER XVIII FRONTIERS AND DIPLOMATIC SETTLEMENTS
CHAPTER XVIII FRONTIERS AND DIPLOMATIC SETTLEMENTS
The Conventional Basin of the Congo contains about 1,500,000 square miles, of which the Free State occupies 1,000,000, and its neighbours, France, Great Britain, Germany, and Portugal, about 500,000. On the east of the Free State, and divided from it by Lakes Tanganyika, Kivu, and Albert Edward, is German East Africa, on the coast of the Indian Ocean; on the south-east lie British possessions; on the south the Portuguese, and on the east and north-east the French Congo and Soudan; on the north-e
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CHAPTER XIX THE BAHR-EL-GHAZAL AND THE NILE
CHAPTER XIX THE BAHR-EL-GHAZAL AND THE NILE
In addition to the territories of the Congo Free State proper, the sovereignty of which is vested in Leopold II., King of the Belgians, and his successors, King Leopold holds on lease from Great Britain the Bahr-el-Ghazal up to 10° N. A treaty entered into between the Congo Free State and Great Britain on 12th May, 1894, determines the duration of this lease, and the extent of the territory to which it applies. The conditions are somewhat complicated, partaking in a measure of the nature of an e
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CHAPTER XX MUTINIES OF THE BATETELA TRIBE
CHAPTER XX MUTINIES OF THE BATETELA TRIBE
The hasty and ill-advised trial and execution of the chief, Gongo Lutete, described in another chapter, proved a source of much danger and tribulation to the Congo Free State. It was the act of a misguided and over-zealous officer, without doubt undertaken in good faith, but none the less disastrous upon that account. The incident has never been defended, but always deplored, by the Congo Government, to which it occasioned grievous loss in men, money, and reputation. Lutete’s men were loyal to t
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CHAPTER XXI DISPLACEMENT OF THE POPULATION
CHAPTER XXI DISPLACEMENT OF THE POPULATION
The instinct of the nomad largely prevails in all savage races, but in none does it prevail to a greater extent than among the black tribes of Central Africa. It is one of their marked characteristics, and a fruitful source of trouble. Central African tribes are greatly influenced by their superstitions. Like the North American Indians, they have their medicine men who conjure up all sorts of occult prognostications of imminent and mysterious phenomena. With them the fetish doctor is little less
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JUSTICE—NATIVE CHIEFTAINCIES
JUSTICE—NATIVE CHIEFTAINCIES
To provide a just and equitable process for giving effect to the civil laws of a savage country requires an administrant force of exceptional powers, of rare patience, and of wide sympathies. Highly civilised communities largely govern themselves by the aggregate contribution and example of all orderly persons. The very momentum of their civilisation and the habits and tendencies of a cultured people conduce to the observance of law and the tranquillity of the social life to which the law applie
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
The magistrates by profession number at the present time 32; they are assisted by 25 judicial agents properly so called. The judicial services of Boma, to which are attached seven magistrates by profession, and a dozen judicial agents, allow of: 1. An Appeal Court , composed of a President and two judges, of the State Prosecutor who occupies the seat of the Public Minister on this jurisdiction, and of a Registrar; 2. A Council of War in Appeal , the presidency of which devolves on the President
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NATIVE CHIEFTAINCIES
NATIVE CHIEFTAINCIES
The institution of native chieftaincies, due to the decree of 6th October, 1891, realises an idea too just and too politic for it not to receive all the extension possible. If during the first days that followed the promulgation of that decree the district Commissioners displayed praiseworthy emulation in recognising native chieftaincies, it is not less certain that these have not rendered, up to the present, all the services which we could expect, so far as they were called upon to create betwe
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POSTAL SERVICE
POSTAL SERVICE
There are at present on the Congo: 23 post-offices, sub-post-offices, and depots for stamps. According to the returns before me, there were transported in 1885 only 33,140 letters and printed objects, whereas for 1902 the postal movement was represented by 372,007 letters and printed objects. Correspondence is conveyed by either railway or steamer; on the roads it is forwarded to its destination by special native couriers. The weight of the despatches enclosing letters and printed matter may not
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TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE SERVICE
TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE SERVICE
On 27th November, 1893, the State ordered by decree the first telegraphic line, and in July, 1895, a first wire was stretched across the river; and on 15th September, 1898, it became possible to telephone and telegraph from Boma to Leopoldville, or for a distance of 452 kilometres (282 miles). Later on, and when the transport of material had been made easier by the opening of the Matadi-Leopoldville railway, the telegraph line was extended to Coquilhatville. At the present moment there are thirt
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CHAPTER XXIX THE NEMESIS OF LIBEL
CHAPTER XXIX THE NEMESIS OF LIBEL
On Friday, the 25th of March, 1904, in the King’s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice, London, the case of Captain Henri Joseph Leon De Keyser, and his colleagues-in-arms, Commandants Chaltin and Dubreucq, against Captain Guy Burrows, an Englishman, one time in the service of the Congo Free State, and his publishers, Messrs. R. A. Everett & Co., London, came on for trial before Mr. Justice Ridley and a special jury. The trial of this action for libel is the first which has, so fa
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CHAPTER XXXII TESTIMONY OF TRAVELLERS AND THINKERS
CHAPTER XXXII TESTIMONY OF TRAVELLERS AND THINKERS
SIR HENRY M. STANLEY It will ever be esteemed a fortunate circumstance by all who have regard for historical accuracy, that the late Sir Henry M. Stanley, discoverer of the course of the Congo, who assisted so materially in the creation of the Congo Free State, did not pass away without recording his opinion of the campaign of calumny against the Congo Administration. Incomparably the greatest authority of his time upon this subject, what Stanley had to say about it must be given here in full. I
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CHAPTER XXXIII TESTIMONY OF TRAVELLERS AND THINKERS (Continued)
CHAPTER XXXIII TESTIMONY OF TRAVELLERS AND THINKERS (Continued)
The three authorities whose testimony was given in the preceding chapter are all distinguished travellers of British nationality. It is now proposed to lay before the reader the opinions held upon Belgian Administration in the Congo by three well-known Americans—Mr. James Gustavus Whiteley of Baltimore, member of the Institute of International Law, who has represented the United States Government at several international congresses; the Rev. W. H. Leslie, a missionary of the American Baptist Mis
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CHAPTER XXXIV TESTIMONY OF TRAVELLERS AND THINKERS (Continued)
CHAPTER XXXIV TESTIMONY OF TRAVELLERS AND THINKERS (Continued)
ALEXANDER DAVIS THE following valuable testimony is extracted from an interesting volume written by this gentleman, entitled The Native Problem in South Africa : The Congo atrocities campaign is fed upon just a sufficient substratum of truth to make it plausible. But the public in their administered sentimentality travel very wide of the true case. After a full career of blood-curdling horrors unhesitatingly placed at the door of the administration in highest authority irrespective of conditions
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CHAPTER XXXVII SUMMARY, RETROSPECT, AND PROPHECY
CHAPTER XXXVII SUMMARY, RETROSPECT, AND PROPHECY
The rise and progress of the Congo Free State marks a unique page in modern history. The boldness of the State’s conception, the apparent hopelessness of its early conditions in a region unspeakably savage and barbarous, its gradual evolution under the magic touch of a master hand; the horrifying vicissitudes of its bloody redemption from the accursed slave-raider, and finally its admission into the society of independent nations, constitute a set of circumstances unparelleled in the history of
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TREATY OF VIVI
TREATY OF VIVI
M. August Sparhawk, agent of the International Expedition of the Upper Congo, acting in the name and for the account of the Comité d’Études , of the Lower Congo, and Vivi Mavungu, Vivi Mku, Ngusu Mpanda, Benzane Congo, Kapita, have come together the 13th of June, 1880, at the station Vivi, in order to discuss and to decide upon certain measures of common interest. After full examination they have arrived at the dispositions and engagements which are embodied in the present treaty, to wit: Articl
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TREATY OF MANYANGA
TREATY OF MANYANGA
During the palabre held at Manyanga the 12th of August, 1882, it is agreed between the members hereinafter designated of the Expedition of the Upper Congo: Dr. Edward Pechuel Loesche, chief of the Expedition; Capt. Edmund Hanssens, chief of the division of Leopold-Manyanga; Lieut. Arthur Niles, chief of Manyanga; First Lieut. Orban, deputy chief of Manyanga; Edward Ceris, assistant of Pechuel, representing the Comité of the Upper Congo; and the chiefs hereafter named of Manyanga— Makito, of Kint
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TREATY OF LEOPOLDVILLE
TREATY OF LEOPOLDVILLE
29th of April, 1883. We, the undersigned, chiefs of the district of N’Kamo, of Kuiswangi, of Kimpe, and of all the districts extending from the river Congo to Leopoldville and to Ntamo, up to the river Lutess and the mountains of Sama Sankori, have resolved to put ourselves, as well as our heirs and descendants, under the protection and patronage of the Comité d’Études of the Upper Congo, and to give power to its representative at Miamo to regulate all disputes and conflicts that may arise betwe
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TREATY WITH THE KING OF NIADI STEPHANIEVILLE
TREATY WITH THE KING OF NIADI STEPHANIEVILLE
Between, on the one side, Captain John Grant Elliott, commissioner and representative of the Comité d’Études of the Upper Congo, and, on the other hand, M’Wuln M’Boomga, King of Niadi, in his own name, and in that of his heirs and successors, the following contract has been made and signed in the presence of the witnesses whose signatures are below given: Article I. —The party first named engages himself to make to the second party named above an immediate payment of 60 yards of savelist , 20 pi
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IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 26, 1884—Ordered to be printed Mr. Morgan, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, submitted the following REPORT (To accompany S. Res. 68 and Mis. Doc. 59) The Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom were referred Senate Mis. Doc. No. 59 and Senate Joint Resolution 68, relating to the occupation of the Congo Country, in Africa, have had the same under consideration, and report a substitute for the same, and recommend its passage. The President, in his annual message to this Congress, exp
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I
I
In examining this question from the standpoint of international law, we must first ask if the chiefs of savage tribes can, generally, make treaties, conventions, cessions of territories; in other words, if the tribes which they represent are considered as states, having the capacity to make international treaties, which would be respected as such by all civilised or non-civilised nations. From the fifteenth century till early in the nineteenth century, the rules of international law were regarde
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II
II
Let us take the second question. Can a cession be made to a private citizen ? We are happy to be able to abridge this part of our work by referring to the article, “The Free Navigation of the Congo,” published by our eminent colleague of the Institute, Sir Travers Twiss, in the sixth number of the Revue du droit international for 1883. It is true that Sir Travers Twiss occupies himself with the question whether those associations which are not organised as States can exercise sovereign rights, r
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OTHER AUTHORITIES CITED
OTHER AUTHORITIES CITED
(Extract from the Droit international codifié , by M. Bluntschli.) (Page 68, paragraph 35): A new State has the right to enter into the international association of States, and to be recognised by other powers when its existence cannot be put in doubt and is assured. It has the right because it exists, because international law unites existing States by common laws and principles based upon justice and humanity. Recognition by other sovereign States is a voluntary act on a part of these latter.
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ANOTHER MANNER OF ACQUIRING THE SOVEREIGNTY OF A FREE COUNTRY
ANOTHER MANNER OF ACQUIRING THE SOVEREIGNTY OF A FREE COUNTRY
(From Vattel, Le droit des gens , vol. i., page 489, par. 206.) If free families, scattered over an independent country, unite to form themselves into a nation or a State, they acquire the sovereignty over the whole State which they inhabit, for they possess already the domain; and since they wish to form a political society and to establish a public authority to which all will owe obedience, it is quite manifest that their intention is to confer upon this public authority the right of sovereign
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GENERAL ACT OF THE BERLIN CONFERENCE
GENERAL ACT OF THE BERLIN CONFERENCE
In the name of Almighty God,— His Majesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia; His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, etc., and Apostolic King of Hungary; His Majesty the King of the Belgians; His Majesty the King of Denmark; His Majesty the King of Spain; the President of the United States of America; the President of the French Republic; Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India; His Majesty the King of Italy; His Majesty the King
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DECLARATION OF THE GENERAL ACT OF THE BRUSSELS CONFERENCE, JULY 2, 1890
DECLARATION OF THE GENERAL ACT OF THE BRUSSELS CONFERENCE, JULY 2, 1890
The Powers assembled in Conference at Brussels, who have ratified the General Act of Berlin of the 26th February, 1885, or who have acceded thereto, After having drawn up and signed in concert, in the General Act of this day, a collection of measures intended to put an end to the Negro Slave Trade by land as well as by sea, and to improve the moral and material conditions of existence of the native races; Taking into consideration that the execution of the provisions which they have adopted with
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Memorandum
Memorandum
Lord Lansdowne’s dispatch of the 19th April, 1904, a copy of which was handed to the Congo Government on the 27th April by his Excellency Sir Constantine Phipps, calls for certain remarks. With regard to the opinion to which this dispatch takes exception, “that the interests of humanity have been used in this country as a pretext to conceal designs for the abolition of the Congo State,” it will be well to remember that a Member of the House of Commons declared that he would prefer “to see the Va
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CONCESSIONAIRES, PRIVATE FIRMS, AND COMMERCIAL TRADING COMPANIES IN THE CONGO FREE STATE
CONCESSIONAIRES, PRIVATE FIRMS, AND COMMERCIAL TRADING COMPANIES IN THE CONGO FREE STATE
There are at present over four hundred commercial establishments carrying on trade in the Belgian Congo, among which are the following: Société Anonyme Belge pour le Commerce du Haut-Congo, 31 establishments; Abir, 28; Nieuwe Afrikaansche Handels Vennootschap, 28; Société Anversoise du Commerce au Congo, 22; Comité Spécial du Katanga, 21; Hatton & Cookson [Liverpool], 16; Comptoir Commercial Congolais, 13; Valle & Azevedo, 12; Magasins Généraux, 12; Compagnie du Congo Portugais,
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PRINCIPAL CONGO OFFICIALS IN BRUSSELS, CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION
PRINCIPAL CONGO OFFICIALS IN BRUSSELS, CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION
OFFICIALS OF THE LOCAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE CONGO FREE STATE THE BELGIAN MINISTER TO THE UNITED STATES Baron Ludovic Moncheur , Belgian Legation, Washington, D.C. Baron Moncheur graduated at the University of Louvain (Belgium) in philosophy, letters, and law, with the highest honours. He entered the diplomatic service of Belgium at the age of twenty-five, and was successively Attaché to the Belgian Legation at The Hague in 1883; Second Secretary, Belgian Legation at Vienna, 1885; First Secretar
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