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[Illustration: King Leopold II.]
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
COPYRIGHT, 1905
BY
HENRY WELLINGTON WACK
The Knickerbocker Press, New York
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 add this volume to the
literature of that subject.
During a residence of several years in the United Kingdom, I could
not fail to observe the growth there of an organised campaign against
the Congo Free State. That a small section of the British public,
interested in the rubber trade, should by subtle means seek to delude
or should even succeed in deluding, the great British nation so
completely as to obtain general credence for its stories of cruelty
and oppression alleged against King Leopold’s government failed to
move me. It was not my concern, while enjoying the hospitality of
England, to criticise the way in which her religious organisations
were being used to further the selfish aims of a small _clique_ of
Liverpool merchants. But when, within the past year, I perceived
that the campaign of calumny against the Congo Free State was
being extended to the United States, I could not longer regard the
phenomenon with a merely passive interest. It occurred to me that
my knowledge of Mid-African affairs might enable me to place before
the American people a complete statement of the actual facts of the
Congo Free State, and that my self-imposed task could not fail to be
of value at a time when interested partisans were endeavouring to
deceive them.
Having obtained an introduction to the King of the Belgians, I
informed his Majesty that I believed the American people would much
esteem the true history of the affairs of the Congo written by an
American, and that if his Majesty would grant me access to the
archives of the Administration of the Congo Free State in Brussels,
and leave me free to write the story of his enterprise in my own
way, absolutely without interference or suggestion from any of his
ministers or himself, I would undertake the task on my own account.
His Majesty, having considered my credentials and the nature of my
introduction, in due course informed me that all the documents in
the Congo Administration Office were open to my inspection. His
Majesty added that he had no fear but that the American people,
when informed of the truth about the Congo, would appreciate, as
he did, that the Congolese civilisation movement is the greatest
colonising success in the history of the world. I was admitted
into the offices of the Congo Administration and spent many weeks
there searching for, translating, and copying documents. Those which
had already been translated into English, I adopted in the form in
which I found them. When I left Brussels, I again indicated to his
Majesty’s ministers, and to his Majesty himself, that I should write
the story in my own way. I brought away many boxes of memoranda and
documents and at once began to work upon _The Story of the Congo
Free State_. I have not submitted the manuscript or proofs to any
person connected, either directly or indirectly, with his Majesty,
with the Congo Free State, or with the Belgian Government, neither
have I in any way communicated with his Majesty in reference to what
I have written. For all I know, his Majesty may entirely disapprove
of this history. I should, of course, regret exceedingly to learn
that I had displeased the royal host who had extended to me the
hospitality of his country during a long and interesting visit. But
as I am under no obligation whatever to the Congo officials, nor to
his Majesty, and as my original intention of writing an independent
history of the Congo was made quite clear to both, I regard myself as
absolved from blame should the King of the Belgians disapprove of the
straightforward story here presented.
That this story is true, I have satisfied myself in every particular.
It is the story of a great colonising undertaking founded upon modern
social science. It can hardly fail to interest the reader who admires
the courage and daring which small countries sometimes display in
extending their borders and establishing new markets.
Should this book in any way assist my countrymen in thinking out
the underlying motives in the campaign against the Congo, and bring
them to a knowledge of the real issues at stake, my labour will be
sufficiently rewarded.
I take this opportunity to acknowledge my obligation to the works of
Messrs. Stanley, Descamps, Boulger, Johnston, Cattier, and Wauters,
and to all who have kindly assisted me with information.
H. W. W.
NEW YORK, January 2, 1905.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
PREFACE iii
I.—GENESIS OF MID-AFRICAN CIVILISATION 1
II.—STANLEY AND KING LEOPOLD II.’S CONCEPTION
OF THE CONGO FREE STATE 14
III.—FOUNDING OF THE CONGO FREE STATE 23
IV.—EARLY BELGIAN EXPEDITIONS 31
V.—THE WATERWAYS OF THE CONGO 42
VI.—THE STATE AND INTERNATIONAL LAW 64
VII.—HORRORS OF THE ARAB SLAVE TRADE 83
VIII.—THE BERLIN CONFERENCE 92
IX.—THE ECONOMIC RÉGIME OF THE BERLIN
ACT 104
X.—AN APPEAL TO BELGIUM TO SUPPRESS THE
SLAVE TRADE 126
XI.—THE SECOND BRUSSELS CONFERENCE 134
XII.—THE CONGO BEQUEATHED TO BELGIUM 145
XIII.—TRIBES OF THE CONGO STATE 151
XIV.—THE CONGO PUBLIC FORCE 164
XV.—BELGIAN CAMPAIGNS AGAINST THE ARABS 177
XVI.—BELGIAN CAMPAIGNS AGAINST THE ARABS—(_Concluded_) 189
XVII.—THE SUPPRESSION OF SLAVERY 197
XVIII.—FRONTIERS AND DIPLOMATIC SETTLEMENTS 206
XIX.—THE BAHR-EL-GHAZAL AND THE NILE 211
XX.—MUTINIES OF THE BATETELA TRIBE 216
XXI.—DISPLACEMENT OF THE POPULATION 223
XXII.—THE STATE’S ADMINISTRATION: 228
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 231
NATIVE CHIEFTAINCIES 239
XXIII.—THE POSTAL, TELEGRAPH, AND TELEPHONE
SERVICE 243
XXIV.—NAVIGATION, RAILWAYS, ROADS 248
XXV.—SCIENCE, AGRICULTURE, CIVILISING MEASURES 264
XXVI.—TRADE, REVENUE, AND TAXES 274
XXVII.—MISSIONS AND SCHOOLS 298
XXVIII.—STATE LANDS AND CONCESSIONS 308
XXIX.—THE NEMESIS OF LIBEL 340
XXX.—THE CONGO CAMPAIGN IN ENGLAND 366
XXXI.—THE CONGO CAMPAIGN IN AMERICA 385
XXXII.—TESTIMONY OF TRAVELLERS AND THINKERS 397
XXXIII.—TESTIMONY OF TRAVELLERS AND THINKERS—(_Continued_) 411
XXXIV.—TESTIMONY OF TRAVELLERS AND THINKERS—(_Continued_) 418
XXXV.—TESTIMONY OF TRAVELLERS AND THINKERS—(_Concluded_) 424
XXXVI.—THE ATTITUDE OF EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES 446
XXXVII.—SUMMARY, RETROSPECT, AND PROPHECY 472
APPENDIX
The Treaty of Vivi, 13th June, 1880 487
The Treaty of Manyanga, 12th August, 1882 488
The Treaty of Leopoldville, 29th April, 1883 489
The Treaty of Stephanieville, undated 490
Table of other Treaties, Districts ceded, and Stations
established by the International Association of the
Congo 491
Report from the Committee on Foreign Relations to the
Senate of the United States, March 26, 1884 (Senator
John T. Morgan, of Alabama), recommending
the recognition of the International African Association
as a friendly Government, with citations
from the history of the American colonies 492
An essay on “The Free Navigation of the Congo,” by
Sir Travers Twiss, taken from the _Revue de Droit
International_, 1883 502
An argument by Professor Arntz, citing numerous
authorities, on the question, Can Savage Tribes
cede their territory to Private Persons with the
Sovereign Rights appertaining thereto 516
For Treaty between the International Association of the
Congo and the United States, see Chapter IV.
The General Act of the Berlin Conference 530
Declaration of the General Act of the Brussels Conference,
July 2, 1890 552
Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation between
the United States and the Congo Free State, January
24, 1891 553
Protocol in which the United States ratifies the General
Act of the Brussels Conference, February 2, 1892 559
Dispatch from his Britannic Majesty’s Minister at
Brussels enclosing:
A Decree by the Sovereign of the Congo Free State
providing Settlements for native children orphaned
or abandoned, July 12, 1890 561
A Decree instituting a local Commission of Europeans
for the Protection of Natives, September 18, 1896 562
Official letter of instruction thereon from the Secretary
of State to the Governor-General at Boma, in
the Congo Free State, October 1, 1896 563
Letter of Governor-General Wahis to the Reverend
George Grenfell (British), of the Baptist Missionary
Society at Bolobo, transmitting Decree, December
26, 1896 565
Circular to all District Commissioners, Heads of Zones
and of Posts with regard to barbarous customs
prevailing among the native tribes, February 27,
1897 566
Letter from the Reverend George Grenfell to the
Governor-General, July 13, 1897 568
Co-ordinated text of various instructions respecting
relations between state officials and natives 569
Report of first meeting of Commission for Protection
of Natives, May 17, 1897 571
A Decree appointing additional members upon the
Commission for the Protection of Natives, March
23, 1901 572
The British Dispatch to European Powers calling attention
to charges alleged against the Congo Free
State, and inviting consideration thereof. August
8, 1903 573
Letter from Sir Constantine Phipps, his Britannic
Majesty’s Minister at Brussels, transmitting text of
the Note and its enclosures addressed by the Congo
Government to the Powers parties to the Act of
Berlin, replying to the British Dispatch of August
8, 1903 577
Rejoinder of the Congo Government to the Report,
dated December 11, 1903, of Mr. Roger Casement,
his Britannic Majesty’s Consul at Boma, wherein,
amongst others, charges of maltreatment of natives
are made. March 12, 1904 590
Memorandum on the part of the Congo Government
regretting that the British Foreign Office did not
deem it necessary to communicate to it previous
Consular Reports, the names of persons accused
and generally such specific information as would
enable the Congo Government to prosecute offenders,
etc., together with the remarks of the
Secretary-General of the Congo Free State upon
the debates in the British Parliament as to partitioning
that State between the Powers whose
possessions surround it. May 14, 1904 610
Features of the Land System in the African Colonies of
Germany, Great Britain, France, and Portugal 612
Concessionaires, Firms, and Trading Companies in the
Congo Free State 616
Officials of the Congo Free State 617
INDEX 619
ERRATA
Illustration, page 92, _read_ Basoko _for_ Baneko.
Illustration, page 130, _read_ Turumbus _for_ Barumbus.
Illustration, page 216, _read_ Commissary-General.
Illustration, page 226, _read_ House _for_ Mission.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING PAGE
His Majesty Leopold II., King of the Belgians _Frontispiece_
(From a painting by Jef Leempoels.)
Native Huts Built of Leaves (Aruwimi) 4
Elephant Farm on the Bomokandi 8
Basongolo Chiefs (Lokandu) 12
House of Governor-General, Boma 14
The Congo at Lokandu 18
View of the Port of Leopoldville (Stanley Pool) 26
Making a Road (175 kilometres) for Automobiles
(Kwango) 30
A Saddle Ox, Kassai 34
European Travelling in the Uelle District 34
Native Employees of the State Waiting for Rations at
Boma 40
SS. _Leopoldville_ Bound for Boma 42
Departure of Commissioner-General Halfeyt, on Board
SS. _Stanley_, Stanleyville, 1899 46
Departure of SS. _Goodwill_ from Upoto 50
Bridge, 80 Metres (Kwilu) 58
State Pilot Barge, Banana 58
Taking Merchandise to the SS. _Leopoldville_ 66
State Post at Yankomi, near Basoko, Surrounded by
Palisade (Aruwimi) 72
Europeans at Stanleyville, 1902 78
Post-Office, Boma 80
Native Boys, Boma 82
Group of Yie-Yie Women (Uelle) 84
Types of Bearers (North Bank of Cataracts) 84
Native Potters at Work (Aruwimi) 88
Making Manioc Flour, Baneko (Aruwimi) 92
Native Musicians at Lusambo (Lualaba-Kassai) 98
Market, near Boma 104
Government Park, Boma, 1904 110
Students of the State Technical School, New Antwerp
(Bangala) 118
Hospital, Boma 118
Bridge Made of Cement, Boma 126
Types of Barumbus (Stanley Falls) 130
Government Wagons 132
House of Vice-Governor-General, Stanleyville 134
Postmaster’s House, Suruango, 1904 134
A Street in Coquilhatville, 1896 (Equateur) 138
Camp on Line of Cataracts Railroad, Songololo 142
Return from the Hunt at Bumba (Bangala) 144
Baluba Chiefs 144
The Governor’s House, Ponthierville (Upper Congo) 146
European Houses at Coquilhatville (Equateur) 148
Specimens of Hair-dressing among Women of the Sango
Tribe, Banzyville (Ubanghi) 150
Cicatrised Batetela Woman (Lualaba-Kassai) 150
Funeral at Bumba (Bangala) 152
Women Beating Rice, Uelle 154
Tribunal at Boma. Sentencing a Native to Death for
Cannibalism Committed in the Upper Congo 156
Batetela Women (Lualaba-Kassai) 158
Kassai Women Returning from Market 158
African Belles. Hair-dressing of Sango Women at Banzyville,
1894 (Ubanghi) 160
Bangala Women 162
Bakusu Chiefs, Stanleyville 162
Group of Warriors, Djabbir 164
Coffins for Native Chiefs, Wangata, 1897 (Equateur) 164
Native Making Butter at his Home in Botandana
(Kivu) 166
A Bangala Chief, with his Harem 166
Native Canoes, Lower Congo 170
Fishermen, Uvvia 170
Uelle Chief and his Wives, Van Kerckhovenville 172
Port of Leopoldville. Natives at Work 172
Tailors’ School, New Antwerp (Bangala) 174
Steam Saw-Mill, Boma 176
Camp of Bangalas, Stanleyville 178
Types of Lokélés, Jafungas (Oriental Province) 180
Review of Troops by Governor-General at New Antwerp 184
Soldiers’ Mess, Suruango, 1903 (Uelle) 186
Soldiers’ Wives, Bumba 186
The White Man’s Cemetery, Stanleyville 188
Hospital, New Antwerp 188
An Avenue at Boma 190
Office of Secretary-General, Boma 192
Post-Office on River Bank, Boma 192
Bishop’s Palace, Mission of Our Lady of M’Pala (Tanganyika) 196
Office of Director of Transport, Boma 196
Cattle, Luvungy (Kivu) 200
Various Mounts, Lusambo (Lualaba-Kassai) 200
Grand Hotel, Boma 203
Native Ploughing in Botanical Garden at Ealer (Equateur) 206
The Old Covered Market at Boma 210
Commissariat of the District of Banana, 1893 212
King Nekuku and his Suite at Boma 214
Regiment of Commissioner-General Halfeyt, Stanleyville 216
State Officials at Ponthierville 220
Saddle Ox, Lusambo (Lualaba-Kassai) 220
Bird’s-eye View of the Station at Basoko, 1893 222
Dutch Mission, Banana 226
Bishop’s Palace at Baudouinville (Oriental Province) 228
Children of the Settlement School, Boma 234
In the State Printing Office at Boma. Natives Laying-on
and Taking-off 238
Natives Working Sewing Machines at Kisantu 242
Children of the Settlement Drilling at New Antwerp,
1896 (Bangala) 246
Zappo-Zapp Musicians, Luluabourg 250
Band of Government Technical School, Boma 256
Coffee Plantation at Yalicombe (Oriental Province) 258
Shelling Coffee, Stanleyville 270
Making Baskets for Transportation of Rubber (Kassai) 272
Collecting Rubber in Forest of Lusambo (Lualaba-Kassai) 280
Church and Rectory, Matadi 286
Native Carpenters at Work, Mission of New Antwerp, 1897 294
Orphans Praying at St. Truden (Kassai) 302
Children of the Settlement School at Boma Praying 308
Mission of the White Fathers, Tanganyika 314
The Mission, Moanda 320
Missionary Necropolis, Luluabourg 328
Franciscan Sisters at the Mission of St. Gabriel of the
Falls (Oriental Province) 336
Native Christians of the Village of Our Lady of Lourdes,
near the Mission of Luluabourg, 1897 344
Drying Rubber in the Forest (Kassai) 348
Mission Children at New Antwerp 358
A Beautiful Spot in Mayumbe 366
Interior of Cathedral, Baudouinville (Tanganyika) 374
Sisters of New Antwerp Teaching Natives to Weave 374
Building a Bridge for the Cataracts Railroad, 1897 382
Christian Child, New Antwerp (Bangala) 390
Fetich-Idol, Lower Congo 390
Coffee-Drying Grounds, Coquilhatville (Equateur) 398
Bakusu Woman (Lualaba-Kassai) 398
Village near Coquilhatville. A Native Attempt to Copy
the European Style 406
Melting Latex of Rubber in Forest of Lusambo (Lusambo-Kassai) 412
Soldiers’ Mess at Coquilhatville (Equateur) 420
Public Library, Matadi 420
The Station at Bumba 426
Convent of Franciscans of St. Gabriel of the Falls
(Oriental Province) 434
Prison, with Carpenter’s Shop, at New Antwerp (Bangala) 446
Native Planter’s House, near Stanley Falls 446
Mission of New Antwerp (Bangala) 460
The Sultan Djabbir 482
Father Kisouru of the New Antwerp Mission (Bangala) 482
MAPS.
Outline Map of Africa 1
Map of Central Africa At end
[Illustration: Outline Map of Africa]
THE STORY OF
THE CONGO FREE STATE
CHAPTER I
GENESIS OF MID-AFRICAN CIVILISATION
[Sidenote: An Empire in Embryo.]
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, has been watched by
keenly observant eyes, and every particular of its perilous progress
carefully recorded. But when the future historian, with comprehensive
appreciation impossible in a contemporary, reviews the events of the
last quarter of the nineteenth century, one fact will stand well
out before him, a unique and very potent fact, fraught with vast
possibilities for the future—none other than the founding, by the
wisdom of a kingly philanthropist, of a humanitarian, civilising,
free political state in the very heart of savage and cannibalistic
Africa.
Consider for a moment how the great Congo Free State has been evolved
out of a group of warring tribes (in part cannibal), and inquire
what manner of man is Leopold II., King of the Belgians, alone
responsible for this wondrous transformation; and who even now, when
weight of years and record of achievement might well entitle him to
repose, works on bravely, through good and through ill report, for
the prosperity and happiness of the twenty-odd million Africans who
acknowledge him for their Sovereign.
Thirty-six years ago, when the present Sovereign of the Congo Free
State succeeded his father as King of the Belgians, and became known
to the world as Leopold II., Africa was generally referred to as the
“Dark Continent.” At that period, and for long after, even the most
optimistic of statesmen failed to perceive in those vast regions any
promising outlet for the congested populations of the Old World, or
possible markets for their manufactures. Diamonds, small in quantity
and of indifferent quality, had, it is true, been discovered in the
southernmost part of that continent, in a region already appropriated
by the British. Gold, also, was thought to exist there, but not in
paying quantities; while the deadliness of the African climate to
Europeans, in all save a few favoured sections, was an universally
accepted article of faith.
Foremost among the small band of thinkers who totally dissented
from this view was Leopold II., King of the Belgians. A young man
of extraordinarily fine physique, an accomplished linguist, widely
read and travelled, and holding advanced liberal views in all matters
pertaining to statecraft and social science, King Leopold had early
the prescience to perceive in Africa the means to uplift some twenty
or more millions of the Negro race from debased savagery to peaceful
civilisation, and at the same time and by the same means—the latter
a necessarily accompanying incident of the former—found a colony
for the surplus population of the small State of which he is King;
Belgium being then, as now, the most densely populated of European
countries, its people almost entirely dependent on the sale abroad of
the products of their industry.
Bold and original ideas rarely find much favour when first presented
to the world. The bulk of mankind is conservative; it thinks of
yesterday, is oppressed by the troubles of to-day, and lets to-morrow
take care of itself. At first, where King Leopold’s ideas for the
regeneration of Africa attracted any attention at all, they were
regarded with bland smiles as utopian visions, more creditable to the
heart than to the head of the princely visionary. But true genius,
though it may be hampered and delayed in its onward march, is not to
be extinguished either by active opposition or cold indifference. Of
such calibre is King Leopold, or there would to-day be no Congo Free
State, nor what some past-masters in the obscuration of the obvious
are sometimes pleased to call “the Congo Question.”
[Sidenote: A Prophetic Sentence.]
[Sidenote: Gladstone’s Choice.]
So long ago as 1860, King Leopold, then Duke of Brabant, in a speech
delivered before the Belgian Senate, said: “I claim for Belgium her
share of the sea,”—apparently a plain and colourless utterance, but
really the expression of a vital interest for his country, for which
no market spells extinction, and no political power but on Belgian
soil means no market for Belgian goods. In 1860 the attention of
mankind was just beginning to turn to Africa. Two years before,
Sir Richard Burton and Captain Speke had startled geographers by
discovering Lake Tanganyika, a revelation to be soon afterwards
eclipsed by the further discovery of the sources of the Nile and
Lake Victoria, by Speke and Grant. About the same time Sir Samuel
Baker, then in the service of the Khedive of Egypt, discovered Lake
Albert. The travellers whose fortune it was to make these important
discoveries had been preceded by the intrepid Dr. Livingstone, whose
marvellous energies on behalf of civilisation and Christianity were,
however, chiefly confined to the Zambesi Valley until the year
1866, when he first entered the Congo region and further enhanced
his already great reputation by discovering the lakes Moero and
Bangweolo. Then came the discovery of Livingstone—himself so long
lost to his anxious countrymen—by Henry M. Stanley. That was in 1871,
when the armed hosts of France and Germany were engaged in a death
struggle, and led Mr. Gladstone to remark:
The eyes of all the world are bent toward the bloody
battle-fields of France; but I prefer to regard those almost
impenetrable African wilds where a small band of men, whose numbers
may be counted on the fingers of one hand, add year by year to our
knowledge of those little-known regions, carrying with them the
blessings of civilisation and of truth, heralding the extinction of
what for so many ages has been the world’s curse—slavery.
[Illustration: Native Huts Built of Leaves (Aruwimi).]
Gladstone was right. To all civilised peoples, but specially to men
of Anglo-Saxon speech—Englishmen, who had given lavishly of their
millions to free the slaves held in their colonies; Americans,
who had poured out their blood like water in a similar cause—the
accounts given by explorers and missionaries of the horrors of the
slave trade, rampant in Central Africa, were as the smell of powder
to the war-horse. Only a few people are interested in geography as
a science. A vastly greater number are affected by a widening of
the area for trade. But the effectual suppression of slavery is
a question that comes home to everybody. No one can stand aside,
indifferent to it. The ghastly horrors of the murderous raids made by
the remorseless Arab slave-traders upon defenceless Central African
villages, so graphically described by travellers, thrilled the
civilised world. No effort was needed now to direct public attention
to Africa. Africa loomed large in men’s minds; and the question of
slavery, fondly thought to be for ever laid at rest by the tremendous
conflict in America in the early sixties, again became a vital
problem.
[Sidenote: King Leopold’s Main Object.]
Of the numerous activities which distinguish the character of
Leopold II., philanthropy has the greater force. Much that is quite
incontrovertible might be urged in support of this statement; but
this is neither the place nor time to argue that matter. Suffice it
to say here that upon no one did the revelations as to the methods
of capture and subsequent treatment of Central African slaves make a
deeper impression than upon King Leopold. As a lifelong student of
Africa, and a geographer of rare attainments, in personal touch with
all the authorities on the subject, his information was as accurate
and complete as it was possible for it to be. Though the great
European governments had compelled the Khedive of Egypt to exert
himself to the utmost to repress slave-trading on the Upper Nile, and
the complaisant Egyptian ruler had appointed first one Englishman and
then another (Sir Samuel Baker and Charles Gordon, the latter being
the ill-fated General of that name) to administer the government of
the Soudan, and some good resulted, it was well known to King Leopold
that south of the Equator to the Zambesi the slave trade continued to
be prosecuted as vigorously as it had ever been in the remote past.
How might the evil be stamped out? Or, if such a consummation were
too much to hope for within the immediate future, how best might the
evil be checked? In considering these questions, King Leopold very
rightly concluded that the more thorough the knowledge of Central
Africa possessed by Europeans the greater the possibility of success
in their efforts to ameliorate the awful misery of its people.
Imbued with these views, King Leopold in 1876 called the attention
of the principal geographical societies throughout the world to the
conditions then prevailing in Central Africa, and invited all expert
geographers of international reputation to confer in Brussels. The
circular letter of King Leopold convening this Conference, though
perfectly explicit in its terms, has, in light of subsequent events,
been so distorted to serve personal interests, that no excuse is
necessary for reproducing its exact words:
In almost every country [wrote King Leopold], a lively interest
is taken in the geographical discoveries recently made in Central
Africa. The English, the Americans, the Germans, the Italians,
and the French have taken part in their different degrees in this
generous movement. These expeditions are the response to an idea
eminently civilising and Christian: to abolish slavery in Africa,
to pierce the darkness that still envelops that part of the world,
while recognising the resources which appear immense—in a word, to
pour into it the treasures of civilisation: such is the object of
this modern crusade. Hitherto the efforts made have been without
accord, and this has given rise to the opinion, held especially
in England, that those who pursue a common object should confer
together to regulate their march, to establish some landmarks, to
delimit the regions to be explored, so that no enterprise may be
done twice over. I have recently ascertained in England that the
principal members of the Geographical Society of London are very
willing to meet at Brussels the Presidents of the Geographical
Societies of the Continent, and those other persons who, by their
travels, studies, philanthropic tastes, and charitable instincts,
are the most closely identified with the efforts to introduce
civilisation into Africa. This reunion will give rise to a sort of
conference, the object of which would be to discuss in common the
actual situation in Africa, to establish the results attained, to
define those which have to be attained.
[Sidenote: An Historic Conference.]
In cordially accepting King Leopold’s invitation, the six great
nations of Europe selected their most distinguished geographers and
travellers to represent them. Great Britain sent five delegates, all
men of distinction in African affairs, Germany sent four, France
three, Austria two, Russia one, and Italy one. Belgium had eleven
representatives, among them the accomplished Baton Lambermont. The
Conference, which lasted three days, was convened in the royal palace
at Brussels on September 12, 1876. It was opened by King Leopold in
person. The speech made by his Majesty on that occasion follows so
naturally his invitation to the assembled gentlemen that it might
almost be mistaken for a continuation of that document. The reason
for quoting the former now applies to the following exact translation
of the King’s speech:
“Gentlemen,” said his Majesty, “permit me to thank you warmly for
the amiable promptness with which you have been kind enough to come
here at my invitation. Besides the satisfaction that I shall have in
hearing you discuss here the problems in the solution of which we are
interested, I experience the liveliest sense of pleasure in meeting
the distinguished men whose works and valorous efforts on behalf of
civilisation I have followed for many years.
[Illustration: Elephant Farm on the Bomokandi.]
“The subject which brings us together to-day is one that deserves
in the highest degree to engage the attention of the friends of
humanity. To open to civilisation the only part of the globe where
it has not yet penetrated, to pierce the darkness enshrouding entire
populations, that is, if I may venture to say so, a crusade worthy of
this century of progress; and I am happy to discover how much public
sentiment is in favour of its accomplishment. The current is with us.
“Gentlemen, among those who have most closely studied Africa, a
good many have been led to think that there would be advantage to
the common object they pursue if they could be brought together for
the purpose of conference with the object of regulating the march,
combining the efforts, deriving some profit from all circumstances,
and from all resources, and finally, in order to avoid doing the same
work twice over.
“It has appeared to me that Belgium, a central and a neutral state,
would be a spot well chosen for such a reunion, and it is this view
which has emboldened me to call you all here, to my home, for the
little Conference that I have the great satisfaction of opening
to-day. Is it necessary for me to say to you that in inviting you I
have not been guided by egotistic views? No, gentlemen; if Belgium
is small, she is happy and satisfied with her lot. I have no other
ambition but to serve her well. But I will not go so far as to
declare that I should be insensible to the honour which would result
for my country if an important forward movement in a question which
will mark our epoch should be dated from Brussels. I should be happy
that Brussels should become in some way the headquarters of this
civilising movement.
“I have, then, allowed myself to believe that it would be convenient
to you to come together to discuss and to specify, with the
authority belonging to you, the means to be employed in order to
plant definitely the standard of civilisation on the soil of Central
Africa, to agree as to what should be done to interest the public
in your noble enterprise, and to induce it to support you with its
money. For, gentlemen, in works of this kind it is the concurrence
of the greater number that makes success; it is the sympathy of the
masses which it is necessary to solicit, and to know how to obtain.
“With what resources should we not, in fact, be endowed if every one
for whom a franc is little or nothing consented to throw it into
the coffers destined for the suppression of the slave trade in the
interior of Africa!
“Great progress has been already accomplished; the unknown has
been attacked from many sides; and if those here present, who have
enriched science with such important discoveries, would describe
for us the principal points, their exposition would afford us all a
powerful encouragement.
“Among the questions which have still to be examined have been cited:
“1. The precise designation of the basis of operation to be acquired
on the coast of Zanzibar, and near the mouth of the Congo, either by
conventions with the chiefs, or by purchase or leases from private
persons.
“2. Designation of the routes to be opened in their order towards
the interior, and of the stations—hospitable, scientific, and
pacifying—to be organised, as the means of abolishing slavery, of
establishing concord among the chiefs, of procuring for them just and
distinguished judges, etc.
“3. The creation—the work being well defined—of an International
and Central Committee, and of National Committees to prosecute the
execution, each in what will directly concern it, by placing the
object before the public of all countries, and by making an appeal to
the charitable that no good cause has ever addressed in vain.
“Such are, gentlemen, the different points which seem to merit your
attention. If there are others, they will appear in the course of
your discussions, and you will not fail to throw light on them.
“My desire is to serve, as you shall point out to me, the great cause
for which you have already done so much. I place myself at your
disposal for this purpose, and offer you a cordial welcome.”
The object of the Conference, thus clearly outlined by the King, was
loyally adhered to by the delegates, their discussions being strictly
confined to geography and philanthropy, nothing political or personal
obtruding itself upon their deliberations. At the close of its three
days’ session the Conference submitted to King Leopold the following
declaration upon its labours:
In order to attain the object of the International Conference of
Brussels—that is to say, to explore scientifically the unknown
parts of Africa, to facilitate the opening of the routes which
shall enable civilisation to penetrate into the interior of the
African Continent, to discover the means for the suppression of the
slave trade among the Negro race in Africa—it is necessary:
(1) To organise on a common international plan the exploration
of the unknown parts of Africa, by limiting the regions to be
explored—on the east and on the west by the two oceans, the Indian
and the Atlantic, on the south by the basin of the Zambesi, on
the north by the frontiers of the new Egyptian territory and the
independent Soudan. The most appropriate mode of effecting this
exploration will be the employment of a sufficient number of
detached travellers, starting from different bases of operation.
(2) To establish, as bases for these operations, a certain number
of scientific and hospitable stations both on the coasts and in the
interior of Africa—for example, at Bagamoyo and Loanda, as well as
at Ujiji, Nyangwe, and other points already known, which it would
be necessary to connect by intermediate stations.
[Sidenote: The Outcome of the Conference.]
In accordance with the recommendation contained in this declaration
of the Brussels Geographical Conference, “The International
Association for the Exploration and Civilisation of Central Africa”
was formed, consisting of an International Commission sitting in
Brussels, assisted by dependent National Committees in each country.
The executive power of the International Association was vested in an
Executive Committee, of which King Leopold was appointed President.
When the British Government selected Sir Bartle Frere for the
Governorship of the Cape, it became necessary for him to resign his
position as a member of the Executive Committee, the vacancy thus
created being filled by an American, General Sanford, for many
years United States Minister at Brussels.
[Illustration: Basongolo Chiefs, (Lokandu).]
The idea of an International Association for the Exploration and
Civilisation of Central Africa, to which the Brussels Geographical
Conference had given birth, at once began to grow, and flourished
amazingly. Not only were influential committees formed in those
countries which had sent delegates to the Conference, but in other
countries as well, the United States among them.
To show how keen general interest in the civilisation of Central
Africa had now become, it is only necessary to cite a few instances
of the powerful support given to the National Committees. In Spain,
the King; in Austria, the Archduke Rudolph, heir to the Austrian
throne; in Holland, Prince Henry of the Netherlands; in Belgium,
the Count of Flanders, brother of the King; all became Presidents
of their respective National Committees. Philanthropists, men of
science, all who were in any way interested in the world’s progress
towards better things, accorded ungrudging support to the work set in
motion by King Leopold.
The civilisation of Central Africa had now begun in earnest.