WEST AFRICA. 



771 



Crown on Jan. 1, 1900. A part of the territories 

 previously administered by the chartered com- 

 pany were attached to Lagos protectorate. The 

 rest was amalgamated with the Niger Coast pro- 

 tectorate, and divided into Upper and Lower, or 

 Northern and Southern, Nigeria Lower Nigeria 

 administered by Sir Kalph Moor, with the title of 

 High Commissioner; Upper Nigeria, including the 

 kingdom of Sokoto, the subjugated state of Nupe, 

 and the healthy districts north of the lower Benue, 

 administered by Gen. Lugard as British High Com- 

 missioner. The British Government paid to the 

 bondholders of the lioyal Niger Company 120 

 for each 100 of stock, or a sum of 300,000, 

 and to the shareholders 150,000 for land and 

 mining rights and compensation for interruption 

 of business, 300,000 in repayment with interest 

 of sums advanced by the company in excess of 

 revenue to develop the territory, and 106,895 for 

 stores, buildings, steamers, etc., making a total of 

 850,895. The company 'retained some of its sta- 

 tions and a part of its fleet of river steamers and 

 prepared to carry on its commercial operations as 

 before, relieved of the expense of political admin- 

 istration and military protection, but deprived of 

 the monopoly of trade, which, however, it sought 

 to perpetuate by taking in other companies and 

 firms trading in Nigeria. 



The rebellion of the Ashantis of the Gold Coast 

 protectorate had a disturbing effect throughout 

 West Africa. In Nigeria it roused a dangerous 

 temper among the Fulas, whom as the ruling 

 caste the British have taken great pains to con- 

 ciliate. Bishop Tugwell with 5 companions and 

 a caravan of 200 carriers was on the way to Kano, 

 the capital of Hausaland, when the Ashanti out- 

 break occurred, and 500 of the Nigerian division 

 of the West African frontier force were dispatched 

 to the relief of the British besieged in Kumassi. 

 At Horin and other places the native potentates 

 received the English party with honors, and at 

 Zaria the local chief treated them hospitably, but 

 at Kano they were ordered by the king to leave 

 his country on pain of death, and when they 

 reached Zaria on the way back the chief Avas no 

 longer friendly. The Emir of Sokoto refused to 

 allow the British to erect a telegraph in his do- 

 minions. Kontagora, who calls himself King of 

 the Soudan, was openly hostile, and sent his horse- 

 men to attack British detachments whenever they 

 approached his country. 



Sierra Leone, lying between Liberia and French 

 Guinea, has an area of about 4,000 square miles 

 and 74,835 inhabitants, more than half of whom 

 are Christians, many of them descended from lib- 

 erated West Indian slaves. In the schools there 

 are over 6,000 pupils. Palm oil and kernels, earth- 

 nuts, benni seed, kola nuts, rubber, gum copal, 

 and hides are exported. A railroad from Free- 

 town, tlie capital, to Songotown, 30 miles, is con- 

 tinued 30 miles farther to Rotofunk. and will be 

 extended onward to the confines of the protec- 

 torate, which has an area of 30,000 square miles 

 and about 375,000 inhabitants. The Governor is 

 Sir Frederic Cardew. The revenue in 1898 was 

 117,682, of which 89,524 came from customs; 

 expenditure, 121,112. A loan of 310,000 from 

 the British exchequer has been authorized for rail- 

 road construction. The imports in 1898 amounted 

 to 606,349, of which 134,674 were for cotton 

 cloth, 23.639 for spirits, and 18.724 for tobacco. 

 The value of exports was 290.991, of which 

 112.063 represent palm kernels, 52,504 rubber, 

 and 49,671 kola nuts. The vessels entered and 

 cleared in 1898 had an aggregate tonnage of 1,110,- 

 228 tons. In the spring of 1900 a rising of the 

 Younies in the Ronietta district had to be put 



down by a detachment of the West African regi- 

 ment, in September a disturbance occurred in the 

 Karene district of the protectorate, provoked by 

 the conduct of an officer of the frontier police. 

 In November Sir Frederic Cardew, whose policy 

 caused the insurrection of 1899, retired arid was 

 succeeded as Governor by Sir C. King-Harman. 

 The imposition of -a heavy hut tax on the natives 

 of the protectorate who had only recently been 

 brought under British control, and also the mode 

 in which it was collected, was the cause of the 

 rising and massacres, and it was so reported by Sir 

 David Chalmers, who went out as royal commis- 

 sioner to investigate the charges against the Gov- 

 ernor and the district commissioners. The Sec- 

 retary of State for the Colonies did not act at the 

 time upon the findings of the royal commissioner 

 because they contained serious accusations against 

 public officials, but after a sufficient interval Sir 

 Frederic Cardew was replaced. He had imposed 

 the hut tax with the approval of the Colonial 

 Office in order to raise the money within the col- 

 ony and protectorate to support the force of fron- 

 tier police that was organized primarily to coun- 

 teract the military power of France in the Hinh r- 

 Idiid and bring as much territory as possible under 

 British influence. The arbitrary conduct of the 

 district commissioners, who are chiefs of the frontier 

 police as well as judicial officers, having the power 

 to inflict capital punishment, although not men of 

 legal training, continued to give occasion for com- 

 plaints, as also the conduct of the frontier police, 

 composed entirely of natives, many of whom had 

 been slaves of the chiefs whom they arrested and 

 accused. 



Gambia has an area of 69 square miles and 

 14,300 inhabitants within the colony, Bathurst, 

 the capital, having 6,000; and the protectorate 

 has an area of 2,700 square miles and 200,000 in- 

 habitants. The exports are earthnuts, hides, bees- 

 wax, cotton, and rubber, and the natives cultivate 

 also corn and rice. The Administrator is Sir R. B. 

 Llewelyn. The income in 1898 was 46,718, and 

 expenditure 29,035. The revenue from customs 

 was 33,762. The value of imports was 246,092, 

 of which 60.787 were for cotton cloth, 4,373 

 for spirits, and 7,190 for tobacco. The exports 

 were 247,832 in value, the chief articles being 

 earthnuts for 200,309 and rubber for 30,468. 

 The vessels entered and cleared during 1898 had an 

 aggregate tonnage of 328,145 tons. In June, 1900, 

 the Mandingoes attacked two British traveling 

 commissioners on the banks of the Gambia river, 

 and killed them and their escort. 



German West Africa. The German posses- 

 sions are Kamerun and Togoland. both declared 

 German protectorates in 1884. Kamerun has an 

 area of about 191,130 square miles, with 3,500.000 

 inhabitants. There were 348 German, 36 English, 

 and 39 other white residents in the middle of 

 1899. In a botanic garden at Victoria experi- 

 ments are made with economical plants of the 

 tropics with a view to introduce cultures suited 

 to the climate. Plantations of cacao, coffee, and 

 tobacco have been started. The value of imports 

 in 1899 was 10.638,955 marks. The exports 

 amotmted to 5,145,822 marks, the principal arti- 

 cles being palm kernels for 1.365.608 marks, palm 

 oil for 893.361 marks, gum for 1.928.080 marks, 

 ivory for 598,471 marks, and cacao for 813.115 

 marks. The imports consist mainly of cotton 

 cloth, spirits, salt, and hardware. During 1899 

 the number of vessels that visited the ports was 

 66, of 81,891 tons. A district of 34.000 square 

 miles in the northwest has been conceded to the 

 Northwest Kamerun Company authorized to pro- 

 mote immigration and to carry on agnicultural, 



