and consolidated. This was on the Lower Niger, and the
leading spirit in the enterprise was Sir George Taubman
The Niger
After the discovery of the course of
' the Lower Niger in 1829 several expeditions had
been undertaken, both by the British Government and by
private persons, up the river, but owing to the opposition of the tribes who acted as middlemen between the
European traders on the coast and the native traders in
the interior, and to the unhealthy climatic conditions,
very little progress was made in opening up communication with the inland tribes. Factories were established on
the Niger delta and on the Oil Kivers creeks by several
trading firms, mostly hailing from Liverpool and Glasgow,
but up to the year 1879 nothing was done to secure joint
action. In that year the various trading firms on the
Lower Niger formed themselves into the “ United African
Company,” and the foundations were laid of something like
settled administration. An application was made to the
British Government for a charter in 1881, and the capital
of the company increased to a million sterling. Henceforth the company was known as the “ National African
Company,” and it was acknowledged that its object was
not only to develop the trade of the Lower Niger, but to
extend its operations to the middle reaches of the river,
and to open up direct relations with the great Fulah
empire of Sokoto and the smaller states associated with
Sokoto under a somewhat loosely-defined suzerainty. The
great development of trade which followed the combination of British interests carried out under the skilful
guidance of Mr Goldie-Taubman (now Sir George Goldie)
did not pass unnoticed in France, and, encouraged by
Gambetta, French traders made a bold bid for a position
on the river. Two French companies, with ample capital,
were formed, and various stations were established on the
Lower Niger. Sir George Goldie realized at once the
seriousness of the situation, and lost no time in declaring
commercial war on the new comers. His bold tactics
were entirely successful, and a few days before the meeting of the Berlin Conference he had the satisfaction of
announcing that he had bought out the whole of the
French interests on the river, and that Great Britain alone
possessed any interests on the Lower Niger.
To complete the survey of the political situation in
Africa, when the plenipotentiaries met at Berlin, it is
necessary to refer briefly to the course of
The
position in events in North and East Africa since 1875.
North and In 1881 the French army entered Tunis, and
East
compelled the Bey to sign a treaty placing that
country under French protection. The Sultan
of Turkey formally protested against this invasion of
Ottoman rights, but the Great Powers took no action,
and France was left in undisturbed possession of her
newly - acquired territory. In Egypt the joint control
exercised by Great Britain and France under the Khedival
decree of 10th November 1879 had broken down, owing
to the refusal of France to join in the suppression of the
Arabi Pasha rebellion, and had been abolished by the
decree of 18th January 1883; since which date Great
Britain had assumed a predominant position in Egyptian
affairs. (See Egypt.) In East Africa, north of the Portuguese possessions, where the Sultan of Zanzibar was the
most considerable native potentate, Germany was secretly
preparing the foundations of her present colony of German
East Africa. But no overt act had warned Europe of what
was impending. The story of the foundation of German
East Africa is one of the romances of the continent.
Early in 1884 the Society for German Colonization was
founded, with the avowed object of furthering the newlyawakened colonial aspirations of the German people. It
Was a society inspired and controlled by young men, and
147
j on the 4th November 1884, eleven days before the conference assembled at Berlin, three young Germans arrived as deck passengers at Zanzibar. They were disguised as mechanics, but were in fact Dr Carl Peters the president of the Colonization Society, Joachim Count Pfeil, and Dr Jiihlke, and their stock-in-trade consisted of a number of German flags and a supply of blank treaty forms. They proposed to land on the mainland opposite Zanzibar, and to conclude treaties in the back country with native chiefs placing their territories under German protection. The enterprise was frowned upon by the German Government; but, encouraged by German residents at Zanzibar, the three young pioneers crossed to the mainland, and on the 19th November, while the diplomatists assembled at Berlin were solemnly discussing the rules which were to govern the game of partition, the first “treaty” was signed at Mbuzini, and the German flag raised for the first time in East Africa. In the period between 1875-84 Italy had also obtained her first footing on the African continent. By a treaty with the sultan of Assab, chief of the Danakils, signed on the 15th March 1883 and subsequently approved by the King of Shoa, Italy obtained the cession of part of Ablis (Aussa) on the Bed Sea, Italy undertaking to protect with her fleet the Danakil littoral. One other event of some importance must further be recorded as happening before the meeting of the Berlin Conference. The King of the Belgians had been driven to the conclusion that, if his African enterprise was to obtain any measure of permanent success, its international status must be recognized. To this end negotiations were opened with various Governments. The first Government to “ recognize the flag of the International African Association as the flag of a friendly Government ” was that of the United States, its declaration to that effect bearing date the 22nd April 1884. There were, however, difficulties in the way of obtaining the recognition of the European Powers, and in order to obtain that of France, and while labouring under the feelings of annoyance which had been aroused by the Anglo-Portuguese agreement concluded by Lord Granville in February, King Leopold, on the 23rd April 1884, authorized Colonel Strauch, president of the International Association, to engage to give France “ the right of preference if, through unforeseen circumstances, the Association were compelled to sell its possessions.” France’s formal recognition of the Association as a Government was, however, delayed by the discussion of boundary questions until the following February, and in the meantime Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Holland, and Spain had all recognized the Association; though Germany alone had done so—on 8th Novemberbefore the assembling of the conference. The conference assembled at Berlin on 15th November 1884. Its last sitting was held on the 30th January 1885, and the “General Act of the Berlin Conference ” was signed by the representa- The Berl,n tives of all the Powers attending the con- {^e'nce ference, except the United States, on the 24th February. The European Powers represented were Great Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, Holland, Portugal, Kussia, Sweden and Norway, and Turkey, to name them in the order adopted in the preamble to the General Act. It is unnecessary to examine in detail the results of the labours of the conference. The General Act dealt with six specific subjects: (1) freedom of trade in the basin of the Congo, (2) the slave trade, (3) neutrality of territories in the basin of the Congo, (4) navigation of the Congo, (5) navigation of the Niger, (6) rules for future occupation on the coasts of the African continent. It will be seen that the Act dealt with other matters
