May 27, 1887.] 



SCIENCE. 



519 



kept twenty-three miles of coast line on the north 

 side ©f the Kongo. 



At ithe conference the neutrality of the new 

 .■state was guaranteed by the powers, the right of 

 Ithe single states to declare their colonies in Cen- 

 Ifcral Africa as neutral in case of a war was estab- 

 tlished, and free trade was declared in the Kongo 

 fbasin and the adjoining territory from the Atlan- 

 ftic to the Pacific Ocean. Tlius a great step for- 

 nvard in the development of Central Africa was 

 made. 



After the consolidation of the Kongo Free State, 

 the European powers defined the much-disputed 

 boundaries of their colonies by special treaties. 

 The Portuguese territory north of the mouth of the 

 Kongo was enlarged by a treaty between France 

 and Portugal, May 15, 1886, and the northern 

 boundary-line between French and German terri- 

 tory was fixed on Dec. 24, 1885. It was only a 

 few weeks ago that the doubtful bound ai*y -line on 

 the east side of the French possessions, which was 

 originally between tiie Likoma and the Obangi, 

 ^was determined. The French territory extends now 

 to the Obangi River. After Germany had taken 

 possession of Kamerun, its claims came into con- 

 flict with those of England. In July and August 

 last it was decided that a line from the great bend 

 of the Calabar (Cross) River to Jola on the Benue 

 should form the boundary between the two colo- 

 nies. By this treaty the navigable Niger and 

 Benue, which form the best route into the interior 

 of West Africa, came into the possession of the 

 English. In East Africa we find the posses- 

 sions of the German East-African company, which 

 are under the protectorate of Germany. A conse- 

 quence of their purchases was the conference of 

 England, Germany, and France in December, 

 1885, to determine the extent of the sultanate of 

 Zanzibar. This question was settled by an ex- 

 change of notes on the 1st of November, 1886. 

 The principal point of this agreement was the de- 

 termination of a line separating future claims of 

 both states. This line, which runs from the coast 

 to the Victoria Nyanza, may be seen on the ac- 

 companying map. South of the German posses- 

 sions, the Kongo Free State, and the French pos- 

 sessions, the African coasts belong to Portugal. 

 The extent of its possessions towards the interior 

 is not limited by a boundary-line acknowledged 

 by the powers. Germany may raise a claim to 

 the country south of the Kongo Free State, which 

 is almost exclusively known through the explora- 

 tions of German travellers. 



Our notes on the political geography of Central 

 Africa would be incomplete without a description 

 of the states of the natives. Though a great part 

 of Central Africa consists of small communities 



which do not form large states, we find several 

 extensive empires, and several others have been de- 

 stroyed since the Europeans invaded the country. 

 The peoples of Africa are frequently changing 

 their habitations : large empires which are kept 

 together by an energetic king, fall to pieces, and 

 new ones take their place. Several large states, 

 however, have existed for a long period. The 

 most extensive of these is the empire of Muata 

 Yamvo in Lunda. His residence is Mussumba. 

 The government is feudal, there being a number 

 of sub-chiefs who govern their own territories in- 

 dependently, but must send tribute to the Muata 

 Yamvo, and have to follow him in case of war. 

 So long as they conform to these obligations, the 

 tributary states are independent, and the Muata 

 Yamvo does not even interfere with the election 

 of a successor in case one of the chiefs dies. Sev- 

 eral relatives of these sub-chiefs, however, must 

 live in the Muata Yamvo's residence, being kept 



STATES OF CENTRAL AFRICA (according to Fr. Ratzel). 



there as a kind of hostage. Besides the Muata 

 Yamvo, an unmarried woman called the Luko- 

 kesha has a position of high rank in the state. 

 The Muata Yamvo and the Lukokesha are elected 

 by a council, and the election of either of them 

 must be confirmed by the other. The court of the 

 Muata Yamvo consists of a number of councillors 

 and an aristocracy. The whole people is called to 

 an assembly to decide on war or peace and other 

 important public afl:"airs. 



Similar to the constitution of this state are those 

 of most other African states, — despotism com- 

 bined with an oligarchy. The empires of Kongo, 

 Angola, and Loango, near the mouth of the Kongo, 

 had a similar form of government; Angola and 

 Loango were probably tributary to the king of 

 Kongo. 



The history of the Watuta in East Africa shows 

 the origin of the states of that region, so far as 



