330 



FRANCE. 



agreement made with Germany in 1885, regulat- 

 ing the boundary of Cameroons, France prom- 

 ised to undertake no political enterprises west of 

 15 of west longitude. The French have been act- 

 ive in establishing protectorates with the pur- 

 pose of uniting their possessions in Algeria, 

 Senegal, and the Congo. They possess the coast 

 from Cape Blanco to the Portuguese district 

 north of the mouth of the Congo, except the 

 British colonies of Gambia, Sierra Leone, the 

 Gold Coast, the territory of the British Niger 

 Company, Portuguese Guinea, Liberia, and the 

 German possessions of Togoland and Cameroons. 

 The interior, from Algeria to the French Congo 

 and from Senegambia to Lake Chad, is conceded 

 to France, with the exception of the region east 

 of the British Niger territory and Cameroons. 

 In that region the English through the Royal 

 Niger Company and the Germans endeavor to 

 defeat the French project of uniting their pos- 

 sessions, for that would shut them off from ex- 

 tension into the Central Soudan and the terri- 

 tories north of the Congo State, the only parts 

 of Africa that have not yet been occupied or 

 divided into spheres of influence. The French 

 Sahara has an area of about 1,000,000 square 

 miles. The territories of Senegal, the Rivieres 

 du Sud, the French Soudan, and the settlements 

 on the Guinea coast cover about 550,000 square 

 miles. The French Congo and Gabun have an 

 area of 250,000 square miles. The Sahara is 

 mostly unexplored desert, and the population 

 is unknown. Senegal and the Rivieres du Sud 

 have a population of 174,000, the annexed terri- 

 tories about 1,100,000, the French Soudan 360,- 

 000, the protectorates of the Soudan 2,500,000, 

 and the Congo and Gabun about 6,900,000. The 

 revenue of the French Congo and Gabun for 

 1892 was 2,168,287 francs. Senegal is admin- 

 istered by a Governor-General, assisted by a Colo- 

 nial Council, and sends a Deputy to the French 

 Chamber. St. Louis, the capital, has a popula- 

 tion of 20,000. There is a railroad 246 miles in 

 length, which is being extended toward the mid- 

 dle Niger. The revenue in 1893 was 3.280,692 

 francs, exclusive of the expenditure of the French 

 Government for military and exploratory pur- 

 poses, which amounted to 6,183,898 francs in 

 1893. The exports are groundnuts, India rub- 

 ber, gums, woods, skins, etc. The value of the 

 imports for 1889 was 29,000.000 francs; of the 

 exports, 16,500,000 francs. The Rivieres du Sud, 

 which became a separate colony in 1890, and was 

 united for administrative purposes with the 

 Gold Coast and Bight of Benin settlements in 

 1892, cost the French Government 33,000 francs 

 in 1892. The settlements on the Gold Coast are 

 Grand Bassam, Assinie, Grand Lahou, and Jacke- 

 ville ; and those on the Bight of Benin are Porto 

 Novo, Kotonu, Grand Popo, and Agoue. The 

 imports of the two colonies for 1889 were 3,692,- 

 510 francs, and the exports 2,742,278 francs in 

 value. The French Government contributed 

 943,500 francs for this administration in 1893. 

 In 1893 the French colonies on the coast of- 

 Guinea were definitely constituted into three 

 separate possessions : French Guinea, the Ivory 

 Coast, and Benin, each having its own governor. 

 A dispute with the Republic of Liberia con- 

 cerning 100 miles of coast adjoining the French 

 Gold Coast was settled by a joint commission 



in December, 1892. The agreement delimits the 

 inland frontier of Liberia as well. Liberia re- 

 gains possession of her settlements on the Grain 

 Coast, and abandons her claim to the coast east 

 of the Cavally, which river forms the boundary 

 up to the junction of the Fired uguba, beyond 

 which the frontier follows the watershed of the 

 Fireduguba basin, passing to the south of Mu- 

 sardu and Mohammadu, until it reaches the 

 English frontier of Sierra Leone. A dispute 

 arose in the spring of 1893 regarding the limits 

 of the British colony of Gambia. British officers 

 raised the English flag at Panchang and Niam- 

 buntang, claiming that these points were within 

 10 kilometres of the river, and that that was the 

 limit of British jurisdiction. French officers 

 came and hauled down the flags, and the ques- 

 tion was then reserved for diplomatic settlement. 



The French Soudan, comprising the region of 

 the middle Niger and the upper" Senegal, was 

 formerly administered, under the direction of 

 the Governor-General, by the superior military 

 commandant, who has his headquarters at Kayes. 

 A revenue of about 400,000 francs is raised. The 

 cost to the French Government in 1893 was 

 5,189,622 francs. There is a railroad from Kayes 

 to Bafoulabe, 94 miles. 



In 1893 Col. Achinard, the military com- 

 mandant, was made Governor. In order to es- 

 tablish French rule in this region it was neces- 

 sary to overcome the native tyrants Ahmadu 

 and Samory. Ahmadu, the ruler of a large part 

 of the empire founded by his father, El Iladj 

 Omer, when expelled from Segu by the French, 

 still maintained his power in the kingdom of 

 Massina, while his brother, Agibu, ruled inde- 

 pendently in Dingiray, on the opposite side of 

 the region occupied by the French and border- 

 ing on Futa Jallon, which is a protectorate that 

 is under the command of the Governor of French 

 Guinea. The operations against Ahmadu were 

 continued until Massina also was occupied, and 

 Agibu was installed by the French as .king in 

 Bandiagara, the capital. Close to the borders 

 of this country and commercially dependent 

 upon it is Timbuctu, the great town of the Tu- 

 aregs, access to which by way of the Niger is 

 now in French control, as well as the northern 

 caravan routes. The Algerian Government has 

 established good relations with the eastern mem- 

 bers of this large and warlike tribe of Berbers, 

 and the Governor of the French Soudan there- 

 fore hopes to induce the chief of Timbuctu to 

 accept a French protectorate. In the spring of 

 1893 Capt. Blachere endeavored to capture Ah- 

 madu, who fled eastward, and escaped with his 

 family after his force was exterminated. 



Samory's forces were broken up in the spring 

 of 1893 by Col. Combes, who occupied Eriman- 

 kono and Faranna. Objections were raised by 

 the British authorities of Sierra Leone. One 

 band with 700 rifles was put to flight by Col. 

 Combes, another consisting of 1,200 men, sur- 

 rendered to Capt. Dargelot, and the rest were 

 pursued by Capt. Briquelot, while Samory fled 

 and concealed himself from his own followers. 



Dahomey. At the beginning of 1893 the 

 forces of Gen. Dodds held Abomey, the capital 

 of Behanzin, whose army had dwindled to 2,000. 

 With this force he was afraid to give battle. 

 His credit with the European traders who had 



