Emin Pasha Relief Expedition


The Emin Pasha Relief Expedition of 1887 to 1889 was one of the last major European expeditions into the interior of Africa in the nineteenth century. Led by Henry Morton Stanley, its goal was ostensibly the relief of Emin Pasha, the besieged Egyptian governor of Equatoria, who was threatened by Mahdist forces.
Stanley set out to traverse the continent with a force of nearly 700 men, navigating up the Congo River and then through the Ituri rainforest to reach East Africa. The arduous journey caused Stanley to split the expedition into two columns; the advance column eventually reached Emin Pasha in July 1888. A series of mutinies, disagreements, and miscommunications forced Stanley and Emin to withdraw from Equatoria in early 1889.
The expedition was initially celebrated for its ambition in crossing "Darkest Africa". However, soon after Stanley returned to Europe, it gained notoriety for the deaths of so many of its members and reports of brutality. It was the last large-scale private expedition undertaken as part of the Scramble for Africa.

Background

With the capture of Khartoum by the Mahdists in 1885, the Ottoman-Egyptian administration of Sudan collapsed. Equatoria, the extreme southern province of the Sudan, was nearly cut off from the outside world, as it was located in the upper reaches of the Nile near Lake Albert. Emin Pasha was a German Jewish-born Ottoman physician and naturalist who had been appointed Governor of Equatoria by Charles George Gordon, the British general who himself had attempted to relieve Khartoum. Emin, able to send and receive letters via Buganda and Zanzibar, had been informed in February 1886 that the Egyptian government would abandon Equatoria. In July, he was encouraged by missionary Alexander Mackay to invite the British government to annex Equatoria itself. The government was not interested in such a doubtful venture, but the British public came to see Emin as a second General Gordon, in mortal danger from the Mahdists.
Scottish businessman and philanthropist William Mackinnon had been involved in various colonial ventures, and by November he had approached Stanley about leading a relief expedition. Stanley declared himself ready "at a moment's notice" to go. Mackinnon then approached James Frederick Hutton, a business acquaintance also involved in colonial activities, and together they organized the "Emin Pasha Relief Committee", mostly consisting of Mackinnon's friends, among them Francis de Winton. Their first meeting took place on 19 December 1886. The Committee raised a total of about £32,000.
Stanley was officially still in the employment of Leopold II of Belgium, by whom he had been employed in carving out Leopold's 'Congo Free State'. As a compromise for letting Stanley go, it was arranged in a meeting in Brussels between Stanley and the king, that the expedition would take a longer route up the Congo River, contrary to plans for a shorter route inland from the eastern African coast. In return, Leopold would provide his Free State steamers for the transportation of the expedition up the river, from Stanley Pool as far as the mouth of the Aruwimi River.
By 1 January 1887, Stanley was back in London preparing the expedition to widespread public acclaim. Stanley himself was intent that the expedition be one of humanitarian assistance rather than of military conquest. He declared:

Purpose of expedition

In a number of publications made after the expedition, Stanley asserted that the singular purpose of the effort was to offer relief to Emin Pasha.
However, Stanley's other writings point to a secondary goal — territorial annexation. In his account of the expedition, he implied that his meeting with the Sultan of Zanzibar was in regards to British interests in East Africa. These interests were threatened not only by the Mahdists, but also by German imperial ambitions in the region; Germany would not recognize British suzerainty over Zanzibar until 1890.
The records at the National Archives at Kew, London, offer an even deeper insight and show that annexation was a purpose he had been aware of for the expedition. This is because there are a number of treaties curated there, ostensibly gaining British protection for a number of African chiefs. Amongst these were a number that have long been identified as possible frauds. A good example is treaty number 56, supposedly agreed upon between Stanley and the people of "Mazamboni, Katto, and Kalenge". These people had signed over to Stanley "the Sovereign Right and Right of Government over our country for ever in consideration of value received and for the protection he has accorded us and our Neighbours against KabbaRega and his Warasura".

Preparations

The expedition was planned to go to Cairo, then to Zanzibar to hire porters, then south of Africa, around the Cape to the mouth of the Congo, up the Congo by Leopold's steamers, branching off at the Aruwimi River. Stanley intended to establish a camp on the Aruwimi, then go east overland through unknown territory to reach Lake Albert and Equatoria. He then expected that Emin would send the families of Emin's Egyptian employees back along the just-pioneered route, along with a large store of ivory accumulated in Equatoria, while Stanley, Emin, and Emin's soldiers would proceed eastward to Zanzibar. Coincidentally, public doubts over the plan centered around whether it could be achieved; the possibility that Emin might not want to leave seems not to have been considered.
The expedition was the largest and best-equipped to go to Africa; a 28-foot steel boat named the Advance was designed to be divided into 12 sections for carrying over land, and Hiram Maxim presented the expedition with one of his recently invented Maxim guns, which was the first to be brought to Africa. Merely 'exhibiting' the gun was thought to be a scare, which would spare the expedition problems with hostile natives.
The Relief Committee received 400 applications by hopeful participants. From these, Stanley chose the officers who were to accompany him to Africa:
Stanley departed London on 21 January 1887 and arrived in Cairo on 27 January. Egyptian objections to the Congo route were overridden by a telegram from Lord Salisbury, and the expedition was permitted to march under the Egyptian flag. Stanley also met with Mason Bey, Georg August Schweinfurth, and Wilhelm Junker, who had more up-to-date information about Equatoria.
Stanley left Cairo on 3 February, joined up with expedition members during stops in Suez and Aden, and arrived in Zanzibar on 22 February. The next three days were spent packing for the expedition, loading the Madura, and negotiating. Stanley acted as a representative of Mackinnon in convincing the Sultan of Zanzibar to grant a concession for what later became the Imperial British East Africa Company, and made two agreements with Tippu Tib. The first included appointing him as Governor of Stanley Falls, an arrangement much criticized in Europe as a deal with a slave-trader, and the second agreement regarded the provisions of carriers for the expedition. In addition to transporting stores, the carriers were now also expected to bring out some 75 tons of ivory stored in Equatoria. Stanley posted letters to Emin predicting his arrival on Lake Albert around August.

Up the Congo

The expedition left Zanzibar on 25 February and, rounding the Cape of Good Hope, arrived at Banana at the mouth of the Congo on 18 March. Their arrival was somewhat unexpected, because a telegraph cable had broken and local officials had received no instructions. Chartered steamers brought the expedition to Matadi, where the carriers took over, bringing some 800 loads of stores and ammunition to Leopoldville on the Stanley Pool. Progress was slow, since the rainy season was at its height, and food was short – a problem that was to be persistent throughout the expedition.
Image:Peace congoship.jpg|thumb|upright=1.20|Le Peace
Image:Florida01.jpg|thumb|upright=1.20|Le Florida
On 21 April, the expedition arrived at Leopoldville. King Leopold had promised a flotilla of river steamers, but only one worked: the Stanley. Stanley requisitioned two from missionaries of the Baptist Mission and the Livingstone Inland Mission, whose protests were overridden, as well as the Florida, which was still under construction and so used as a barge. Even these were insufficient, so many of the stores were left at Leopoldville and more at Bolobo. At this point, Stanley also announced the division of the expedition: a "rear column" would encamp at Yambuya on the Aruwimi, while the "Advance Column" pressed on to Equatoria.
The voyage up the Congo started 1 May and was generally uneventful. At Bangala Station, Barttelot and Tippu Tib continued up to Stanley Falls in the Henry Reed, while Stanley took the Aruwimi to Yambuya. The inhabitants of Yambuya refused permission to reside in their village, so Stanley attacked and drove the villagers away, turning the deserted village into a fortified camp. Meanwhile, at Stanley Falls, Tippu Tib attempted to acquire carriers, but he believed that Stanley had broken his part of their agreement by leaving ammunition behind, and Barttelot came to Yambuya with only an indefinite promise that carriers would arrive in several weeks.