THE PEOPLE OF THE CONGO RIVER BASIN.
Stanley estimated the population of the Upper Congo basin at forty-three
millions. Other explorers testify to the dense population and to the
extent of the villages, as they are termed.
One writer tells of the great astonishment he felt at the length of
these villages. It was no uncommon thing to find five and six miles of
continuous street.
An Arab guide told Stanley that he had sometimes been two hours in
passing through some of these villages. An eminent German explorer
states that in one section of the country an almost unbroken line of
huts and structures stretches along the established caravan route.
The people are often barbarous to strangers, yet it is possible to
approach them by means of trade. They are very keen to take advantage of
the trader who offers the goods of the white man in exchange for the
articles they have to barter.
Stanley wrote a detailed account of his explorations in this region
under the title "Across the Dark Continent." The book was eagerly read,
and had a great influence upon the civilized world at the time of its
publication.
The most noticeable result was the establishment of missions, not only
along the Congo, but around Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika, and even
in West, East, and Central Africa.
Travelers from France, Portugal, and Germany, fired with enthusiasm, set
out to explore these vast regions; and, as a result, most of the
European nations became interested in making as many annexations as they
could to their possessions in Africa.
As a direct result of all this great interest, the savage tribes that
infest the region of the Upper Congo were brought into a state of
semi-civilization, and to the point where they would show, if not a
friendly, at least a reasonably tolerant spirit towards the white man.
The aim of the missionaries was to bring the minds of these poor savages
from the darkness, of ignorance, superstition, and idolatry into the
light of Christianity, to show them the benefits of peace, the
advantages of trade, and the results of an intercourse with the world of
civilization.
Above all other objects that the hearts of the missionaries held sacred
was the abolition of the slave trade, which, with all its attendant
horrors, was the destruction of the people.
The enormity of the African slave trade was not over-estimated. The
Arabs made it their special occupation to deal in what was known as the
"ebony trade." Under the pretext of searching for ivory, they
perpetrated the most cruel and heartless deeds.
Without a thought of the poor savages, they kept up a system of
slaughter that knew no mercy, and drained the very life blood of the
people of Central Africa.
Even from a selfish point of view, the white man saw it was for his
advantage to destroy the slave trade. How could he be expected to
advance into the heart of Africa without the aid of the strong,
able-bodied natives? With the depopulation of the country, too, the
well-worn, beaten tracks, the shady groves of banana trees, the broad
fields of waving grain would disappear, and only devastation and ruin
remain, as distressing pictures in this now fertile section.
The white man saw only too plainly that the slave trade did not affect
the negro alone, but that it affected the loss or the profit of the
whole civilized world. What availed it that the riches of Central Africa
were apparently inexhaustible, if the native tribes were not left to
help gather them?
We can form some estimate of the cruel work of the Arab slave traders
from the account of it given by one author. In his book, "The Arab in
Central Africa," he describes the destructive work of an Arab caravan.
In the course of eleven months, not only had they pillaged an extent of
country containing some thirty thousand square miles, but they had
secured nearly twenty-five thousand captives. Nor was this the extent of
their cruel work; for, during that time, they destroyed upwards of one
hundred villages, and killed about four thousand of the inhabitants.
As this was the fifth caravan which had hunted this territory over, it
was estimated that no less than thirty thousand lives had been
sacrificed to secure a comparatively small number of slaves.
Another writer declares that it was no unusual thing for four hundred
thousand slaves to be brought into market in the course of a single
year, while as many as two million lives were sacrificed in order to
bring these slaves to the coast for trading purposes.
Stanley, in his journey through Manyema, was impressed by the extreme
fertility of the section and by the numerous villages, as he traversed
the country from Tanganyika to Nyangwe. A few months later the whole
country presented the distressing pictures of depopulation and
devastation.
The region of Tanganyika Lake was considered a high road by caravans.
Professor Drummond, in his interesting book, gives a description of the
crafty Arab, who would sometimes settle in a well-favored spot for a
year, or even longer. Here, he would accumulate immense quantities of
ivory, until his money was exhausted. Then, on some slight pretext, he
would engage in a quarrel with one or two of the natives. He would soon
be pined by his friends, all well armed. The quarrel would become
general, and would assume the character of a general massacre. Villages
would then be burned, homes laid waste, and the strongest, ablest
natives spared only to serve as beasts of burden to transport the tons
of ivory to the coast. Here, when his load of ivory had been sold, the
wily Arab traded off his "ebony" to the masters of slaving vessels.
In view of such facts, it is not surprising that representatives of
different European nations formed "The International Association of the
Congo." Its objects were threefold: philanthropic, scientific, and
commercial.
We have seen the need of a spirit of philanthropy and the object of the
missionaries in dealing with the tribes of the Congo River basin.
Science was now to be advanced by means of surveys of the river basin;
for this would reveal the physical features of the country, its natural
facilities, and its wealth of productions. The interests of commerce
were also to be considered and extended.
First, an outlet was to be provided for the great wealth of the interior
of Africa, and an opening made for trade in the manufactures of all
Europe. Second, roads and bridges were to be built, settlements were to
be formed, and land cultivated. Third, hostile tribes were to be brought
into harmony; a main road was to be established, not only for the
transportation of goods, but to open a means of communication with the
many Congo tribes, and gradually to bring them into a state of
civilization.
Stanley was offered the important position of director of the expedition
which the association sent out. He sailed for the Congo, after leaving
Zanzibar, by way of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, landing at Banana
Point, which is at the mouth of the river.