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 Nyangwé. 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.