WEST AFRICA. 



cate, had been crushed by Rabah, who held its 

 leader a prisoner. The main body of the Gentil 

 expedition had already reached the borders of 

 Wadai and Bagirmi, where its mission was to 

 spread French influence. On learning of the dis- 

 aster that had befallen his companion's detach- 

 ment, M. Gentil did not then proceed farther 

 into the regions where Rabah and Zobehr Pasha 

 rule. A more powerful force was organized in 

 French Congo, with which he advanced later in 

 the year to the border of Dikka, the seat of Ra- 

 bah's power, on the Shari river, near the point 

 where it enters Lake Chad. M. Gentil found 

 Rabah's army of 12,000 men, with 2,500 rifles and 

 3 guns, intrenched at Kouna. The guns were 

 quickly destroyed by the French field pieces, and 

 after a long and stubborn fight Rabah's forces 

 were put to flight after more than 2,000 were 

 killed, and he himself was wounded. Gentil was 

 unable to follow up the victory, as only half his 

 own force was left, 43 of the Senegalese sharp- 

 shooters having been killed and 4 Europeans and 

 103 of the men wounded. He waited at Kouna 

 until M. de Lamothe, Governor of the French 

 Congo, could send him re-enforcements. Mean- 

 while the Sultan of Bagirmi, over whom Rabah 

 had tyrannized, offered to join the French in over- 

 throwing his power. The military expenditures 

 in 1898 were so great, exceeding the credits voted 

 for the Soudan by 4,000,000 francs, that the 

 French Government decided to change the sys- 

 tem of administration by placing the military au- 

 thorities under the control of the civil power, as 

 in Indo-China. A decree was signed on Oct. 17 

 by which the French Soudan ceased to be a dis- 

 tinct dependency, its territories being divided and 

 apportioned to Senegal, French Guinea, the Ivory 

 Coast, and Dahomey, all of which possessions are 

 placed under the Governor General of West Afri- 

 ca, whose seat is at St. Louis. 



German Possessions. The German protect- 

 orates of Togoland and Cameroons have an esti- 

 mated extent, the former of 33,000 square miles, 

 with 2,500,000 inhabitants, the latter of 191,130 

 square miles, with 3,500,000 inhabitants. Togo- 

 land is on the Slave Coast, between Dahomey 

 and the British Gold Coast colony. The European 

 residents numbered 110 in 1898, all except 8 of 

 them Germans. Lome, Little Popo, Porto Seguro, 

 and Bagida are the seaports. The military force 

 consists of 150 native soldiers under 7 Germans 

 and 100 police. The exports are gum, cacao, palm 

 oil and kernels, caoutchouc, and dyewoods. Corn, 

 yams, tapioca, ginger, and bananas are cultivated. 

 The cultivation of coffee has been introduced. 

 The revenue, which is mainly derived from im- 

 port duties, was 382,020 marks in 189G; expendi- 

 ture, 388,180 marks. The imports in 1897 were of 

 the value of 1,975,940 marks, against 1,886,840 

 marks in 1890; exports, 771,025 marks, against* 

 1,651,416 marks. By the Anglo-German agree- 

 ment of November, 1899, the neutral zone back 

 of Togoland and the British Gold Coast was di- 

 vided on terms more favorable to Great Britain 

 than Germany had before been willing to con- 

 cede, in consideration of the renunciation of Brit- 

 ish rights in Samoa. The district that was left 

 neutral because Germany and Great Britain could 

 not agree on a line of division in 1888 was the 

 only large territory in West Africa as to which 

 there was still a dispute. between European pow- 

 ers. In previous negotiations regarding the di- 

 vision England proposed to'd^aw the line so that 

 of the two large trading centers Salaga should 

 be British and Yendi German. Germany was 

 willing to consent on condition that the corner 

 of the Gold Coast lying east of the Volta river, 



WEST INDIES. 



857 



having an area of about 2,000 square miles and 

 a population of 000,000, should become German 

 territory. This the British Government would 

 not agree to, because the district had long been 

 British and was very valuable. Germany has 

 withdrawn this claim, and has further conceded 

 to Great Britain the province of Mamprusi, north 

 of the neutral zone, with the important trade 

 center of Gambaga for its capital, while the 

 neighboring province of Chakosi, of which the 

 capital is Sansane Mango, is recognized by Great 

 Britain as German. 



Cameroons is inhabited by Bantu negroes in 

 the coast region and Soudan negroes in the in- 

 terior. The protectorate extends northward to 

 Lake Chad. The Europeans residing in the coun- 

 try in 1897 numbered 253, of whom 181 were 

 Germans. The military force consists of 28 Ger- 

 mans and 341 native soldiers. Coffee, cacao, and 

 tobacco plantations have been started near the 

 coast, where the soil, being of volcanic origin, is 

 very fertile. The cultivation of caoutchouc has 

 been attempted, and cloves, vanilla, ginger, and 

 pepper are grown experimentally. The revenue, 

 which is mainly derived from import duties, was 

 546,560 marks, which the German Government 

 supplemented with a contribution of 620,000 

 marks; expenditure, 1,383.400 marks. Gold and 

 iron exist. The value of the imports in 1897 was 

 5,340,000 marks; of exports, 3,706,000 marks, the 

 principal articles being palm kernels for 1,320,000 

 marks, palm oil for 980,000 marks, caoutchouc 

 for 1,060,000 marks, ivory for 370,000 marks, 

 ebony for 111,000 marks, and cacao for 44,000 

 marks. The German authorities early in 1899 

 began a campaign for the suppression of slave 

 raiding and the establishment of their power in 

 the hinterland sufficiently to enable expeditions 

 to explore the country up to Lake Chad. Capt. 

 von Kamptz, with 375 men, marched against the 

 chief of the Wute tribe. The Sultan of Tibati, 

 whose troops were well armed and mounted, came 

 to the assistance of his vassal, and this necessi- 

 tated a campaign against him, which was under- 

 taken in the autumn. This was so successful 

 that the Sultan was taken prisoner. 



WEST INDIES. With the exception of 

 Hayti-Santo Domingo, Cuba, and Porto Rico, all 

 the West Indian islands are dependencies of Eu- 

 ropean powers. In speaking of the West Indian 

 colonies it is usual to include British Guiana, 

 French Guiana, and Dutch Guiana on the main- 

 land of South America, and British Honduras 

 in Central America. Reciprocity treaties were 

 concluded in 1899 between the United States and 

 5 of the principal British colonies in the West 

 Indies. In consideration of certain reductions of 

 the colonial import duties upon American prod- 

 ucts, British Guiana, Jamaica, and Trinidad ob- 

 tain a reduction of 12i per cent, in the duty upon 

 sugar entering an American port; Jamaica, a re- 

 duction of 20 per cent, on citrus fruits, pineap- 

 ples, and vegetables; Trinidad, 12 & per cent, on 

 asphalt; Barbadoes, 12 per cent, on sugar. The 

 reduction of the duty on sugar, in connection 

 with the advantage given in the United States by 

 discriminating duties on the bounty-fed beet 

 sugar of Europe, is calculated to be worth at 

 least $4.25 a ton to the West Indian planters, and 

 to be as advantageous as if they had prevailed 

 upon the British Government to impose counter- 

 vailing duties for their benefit. Three quarters 

 of the 200,000 tons exported by the 4 colonies 

 that have obtained reciprocity already goes to 

 the United States, and under the new treaties the 

 remaining 50,000 tons are likely to go there. Most 

 of the crop of 50,000 tons produced by the other 



