CAMBODIA. 



CAMEROONS. 



119 



was shortly afterward attacked, and the gar- 

 rison set fire to the buildings and retreated. 



The insurrection was an organized and gen- 

 eral rising of the people against the French, 

 and against King Norodom for being forced 

 into a treaty sacrificing the independence of 

 the kingdom. The King had remained sullen- 

 ly in his palace, refusing to stir out until the 

 pressure placed upon him was removed. The 

 insurgents made his voluntary imprisonment 

 an involuntary one, and kept him a captive in 

 his palace. The Governor of Cochin China 

 sent troops immediately into Cambodia, and 

 started himself for the scene of the troubles. 

 Lieut.-Col. Miramond led a column by forced 

 marches against Sivotha, and surprised his 

 camp on Jan. 21. The insurgents were dis- 

 persed and their baggage captured. 



A small French detachment captured Fort 

 Angko on June 15 at the point of the bayonet, 

 after four unsuccessful attacks, and pursued 

 the rebels in the direction of the G-ulf of Siam. 

 The Cambodian insurrection spread into north- 

 ern Cochin China. French flying columns 

 scoured the district and suppressed some of 

 the bands. A fort near the frontier in Cam- 

 bodia was destroyed by a column advancing 

 from Chandoc, on July 18. Commander Col- 

 bert marched against a body of insurgents in 

 Pursat, headed by the former Governor of the 

 province, but met with so severe a resistance 

 that he was obliged to send for re-enforcements. 

 On July 11 a Chinese band was driven from 

 intrenched positions in the province of Kam- 

 pot, and routed with heavy loss. For more 

 than a month they had troubled the frontier 

 region between the Mekong and the Gulf of 

 Siain. In the Treang district, north of Chan- 

 doc, the rebels dispersed after several reverses 

 near Takeo. The district immediately sur- 

 rounding the capital was the only one in 

 which tranquillity was preserved. The mili- 

 tary expeditions against the rebels in different 

 parts of the kingdom had no sensible effect in 

 reducing the rebellion. The policy of concili- 

 ation was tried with apparently better results. 

 An instrument was found in the second King, 

 or Obbareach, who was " devoted to France." 

 This important personage made a tour through 

 the province of Banam at the request of the 

 French Resident. Meeting a band of 600 near 

 Toule Toi, he addressed their chiefs, and the 

 next day they surrendered, saying that they 

 had only taken arms through fear of the for- 

 mer Governor, Preay Vang. Shortly after- 

 ward this prominent rebel leader himself came 

 into camp and made his submission with 20 

 chiefs. Inundations hindered French opera- 

 tions in the early summer, and this encouraged 

 the rebels in the northern provinces of Pursat 

 and Kompong Thorn, and in the districts be- 

 tween Hatien and the Mekong, and necessitated 

 the expeditions in July. The Governor of Co- 

 chin China traveled with the second King and 

 his Chief of Cabinet through the central prov- 

 inces. Amnesty was promised to all who had 



not committed Crimea. Several of the govern- 

 ors and insurgent leaders submitted, and bands 

 that had formed dispersed. Straw for rebuild- 

 ing houses and seed-corn were distributed among 

 them, as well as provisions. 



The Governor of Cochin China telegraphed 

 in the beginning of September that, thanks to 

 the active intervention of Norodom, and the 

 second King, the southeastern provinces were 

 tranquillized, but that the province of Pursat 

 was still kept in agitation by Sivotha. 



CAMEROONS. The German Government de- 

 clared a protectorate in 1884 over the various 

 chiefs on the Cameroons river, over the adja- 

 cent district of Bimbia, the island of Nikol, 

 and subsequently over the district of Malimba, 

 Plantation, and Criby. In 1885 the protector- 

 ate was extended over the Cameroons Mount- 

 ain district and over some of the Dualla com- 

 munities on the upper waters of the Cameroons 

 and Mungo rivers. The protectorate of the 

 Cameroons andadjacentdistricts stretches along 

 the coast of Biafra Bay, on the west coast of Af- 

 rica, from the eastern boundary of the British 

 Oil river territory to the northern limit of the 

 French colony of Gaboon,. 



Complications with England. On April 19, 1884, 

 the English Government was officially apprised 

 of the expedition of Dr. Nachtigal, Consul- 

 General and Imperial Commissioner to the 

 West Coast of Africa, to inquire into the condi- 

 tions of German commerce and to " conduct ne- 

 gotiations connected with certain questions." 

 Consul Hewett, aided by the English traders 

 and missionaries on the coast, engaged in busy 

 efforts to forestall the colonizing designs of 

 Germany. The trade of the Cameroons dis- 

 trict was shared by German and English mer- 

 chants, the former having more recently the 

 larger portion of the trade. For five years 

 the leading chiefs had repeatedly asked for 

 English annexation, but had received no an- 

 swer to their communications. Mr. Hewett 

 now obtained a petition from a number of the 

 chiefs, and, on August 23, 1884, Lord Granville 

 notified the German Government that the dis- 

 trict was under British protection. More than 

 a month before, Dr. Nachtigal had secured the 

 cession of the district by treaty with all the 

 chiefs, and had hoisted the German flag. When 

 interrogated as to their change of attitude, the 

 chiefs replied that they had waited for some 

 time for the English answer before accepting 

 the German offers. The accomplished fact was 

 accepted by the English Government, and cor- 

 dial assurances were sent from the English 

 Foreign Office. At the same time the British 

 Government hastened to declare a protectorate 

 over the whole coast north of the new Ger- 

 man colony and over the Niger district up to 

 the confluence of the Benue, without the for- 

 mality observed by Germany of obtaining the 

 consent of all the native rulers and people. A 

 " race " was begun by English agents for the 

 possession of the Cameroons Mountain district, 

 as is described below. The annexation of the 



