Stanley: The Impossible Life of Africa's Greatest Explorer by Tim Jeal

Author:Tim Jeal
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2009-04-11T10:41:00+00:00

NINETEEN

Who Stole the Congo?

After a brief return to London, Stanley travelled to Ostend, where he arrived on z August 1884 for a series of meetings with the king at the Chalet Royal, his seaside summer residence. Although he had laboured hard for five years and checkmated de Brazza and the French on the Pool and Upper Congo, Stanley felt anxious about his reception. In November 1883 his letter to Harry Johnston had been published in The Times,, and two months later the king had written rebuking him for having told Johnston that a British protectorate at the mouth of the Congo was needed to curb the brutality of the Portuguese. `You lessen your own work by inciting the English to proclaim an English protectorate,' Leopold told Stanley. `I earnestly beg you to desist writing in this manner ... it can only produce much harm.'2

But in early August, Leopold was no longer worried that Stanley's pro-British indiscretions might upset the Germans and the French enough to stop them recognizing the AIC as an independent state. Stanley had no idea that in April, three months earlier, Leopold had dreamed up a brilliant diplomatic ruse to stop the French seizing the Congo by force. He had offered France first option (the droit de preference) on the AIC's territories - exercisable in the event of his financial collapse. At a stroke this had ended France's fear that the Congo might, as Stanley seemed to wish, one day end up in Britain's portfolio of colonies. Knowing herself heir apparent to the Congo, France no longer wished to do anything to threaten the existence of the AIC. Leopold meant to keep Stanley in the dark about his French agreement for as long as possible, to stop him raising a storm in Britain against the protectionist French.

To retain `first option' on 11.5 million square miles of central Africa, the French had promised Leopold that they would recognize the AIC as a state the moment they were asked to do so.' But Leopold had been obliged to pay a price for his new deal. France's principal demand was that Stanley should never return to the Congo. Six years earlier, the king had assured Stanley that if his work on the Congo was crowned with success, he would be sent back there as Governor-General. But three months ago Leopold had promised Jules Ferry, the French prime minister, that Stanley (the man who had made his future colony possible) would never return to the Congo.4 It was a betrayal on the grand scale. The French prime minister had also insisted that the king appoint no more Anglo-Saxon personnel, and this too had been conceded without argument. Leopold had decided to keep Stanley sweet by deliberately deceiving him and continuing to hint that he would soon be sent back to Africa.5

The king had an immediate reason for wishing to keep his former Chief Agent in a cooperative mood. Leopold knew that an international conference of the great powers would soon determine

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