Msiri

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Msiri (c. 1830 - December 20, 1891) founded and ruled the Yeke Kingdom (also called the Garanganze or Garenganze kingdom) in south-east Katanga, DR Congo from about 1856 to 1891. His name is sometimes spelled 'M'Siri' in articles in French. Other variants are 'Mziri', 'Msidi', and 'Mushidi'; and his full name was Mwenda Msiri Ngelengwa Shitambi.[1]

South-central Africa in 1880 showing the central position of Msiri’s Kingdom and the principal trade routes, with the approximate territories of Msiri’s main allies (names in yellow) and the European powers (names in orange) before borders were settled by the Berlin Conference. The east coast trade was controlled by the Sultan of Zanzibar. Areas of influence of other tribes and of France, Germany, not shown.
South-central Africa in 1880 showing the central position of Msiri’s Kingdom and the principal trade routes, with the approximate territories of Msiri’s main allies (names in yellow) and the European powers (names in orange) before borders were settled by the Berlin Conference. The east coast trade was controlled by the Sultan of Zanzibar. Areas of influence of other tribes and of France, Germany, not shown.

Contents

[edit] Msiri's Life

[edit] His origins

Msiri was a Nyamwezi (also known as 'Yeke' or 'Bayeke') from Tabora in Tanzania and a trader, like his father, involved in the copper, ivory and slave trade controlled by the Sultan of Zanzibar and his Arab and Swahili agents,[2] following a route to Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika and then to Lake Mweru and Katanga.

[edit] His rise to power

Msiri began to import guns and gunpowder and formed a militia which gave him considerable power over his neighbours, in addition to his alliances with the Arab, Swahili and Nyamwezi traders.[2] He linked up with Tippu Tip who controlled the eastern Congo from from Lake Tanganyika up to what is now Uganda in the north-east. He was allied to the Nyamwezi leader Mirambo who controlled the land route between Lake Tanganyika and the coast, and sought to emulate him. He married into the Luba royal family, starting his practice of using wives as spies.[3][4]

Msiri settled in what was to be called Katanga (in his time it was 'Garanganza') around 1856 and by the time of David Livingstone's visit to Mwata Kazembe VIII in 1867 had taken control of most of the Mwata's territory and trade on the west bank of the Luapula River.[5] He traded his copper east with the Ovimbundu people in Angola, taking control of that trade by the Luba people to his north-west and halting their southwards expansion.[3]

In 1870 some of Msiri's allies attacked and killed Mwata Kazembe VIII and Msiri subsequently influenced the appointment of his successors. Msiri's control of south-east Katanga and its copper resources was consolidated.[5]

In 1884, wishing to gain some advice on how to deal with the approaching European colonial powers, he invited a missionary, Frederick Stanley Arnot, whom he had heard was in Angola, to come to his capital at Bunkeya, 180 km west of the Luapula. In 1886 Arnot arrived and was the first white person to settle in Katanga.[6]

[edit] Arrival of Alfred Sharpe

Cecil Rhodes’ British South Africa Company (BSAC) and Belgian King Leopold II’s Congo Free State (CFS) both wanted to sign treaties with Msiri to fulfil their colonial ambitions and competed to do so. Some of Msiri's subordinate chiefs and trading competitors took the opportunity of the arrival of new powers in the land to start rebellions against his authority. In November 1890 Alfred Sharpe arrived in Bunkeya on behalf of the BSAC and the British Consul in Central Africa, Sir Harry Johnston with a mineral rights concession and a British Protectorate treaty for signature. Arnot had by then left but had been replaced by Charles Swan and Dan Crawford. Msiri and his officials could not read English and Sharpe described the agreement favourably, but Arnot had advised Msiri to have any treaties translated, and Swan now gave the same advice.[7] When the treaty's real contents were revealed to Msiri, enraged, he sent Sharpe away empty-handed.[5] For more detail, see the article on Alfred Sharpe.

[edit] Arrival of Paul le Marinel

On 18 April 1891 a Belgian expedition of about 350 men arrived led by Paul Le Marinel. He obtained a letter signed by Msiri and witnessed by Swan, that Msiri would accept CFS agents in his territory.[8]

[edit] Arrival of the Stairs Expedition and the killing of Msiri

On December 14 1891 an armed CFS 'pacification' expedition armed with with nearly 400 troops and porters and some cannons, led by an Canadian mercenary, Captain W. E. Stairs, aiming to raise the CFS flag and claim Katanga, by force if necessary. Negotiations commenced and Msiri indicated he may agree if supplied with gunpowder.[5] There are differing accounts of what happened next.

According to the Stairs expedition's doctor, with negotiations faltering, Stairs sent his second-in-command, Belgian Lieutenant Omer Bodson, to arrest Msiri, whereupon a fracas ensued, Bodson shot Msiri and was in turn shot and mortally wounded by one of Msiri's men, dying later.[9]

Accoriding to a letter which Stairs wrote to Arnot two weeks later, he (Stairs) flew the CFS flag (which Msiri opposed), and consequently Msiri refused to come to a ceremony of blood brotherhood with Stairs. He sent sent two officers and 100 men to arrest Msiri, but Msiri and his men stood their ground and cocked their guns. Msiri drew a sword (a gift from Stairs), so one of the officers, Omer Bodson, shot Msiri.[4]

In Dan Crawford's account, after shooting Msiri during the fracas, Bodson cut off his head and shouted "I have killed a tiger! Vive le Roi!", before dying later.[10]

In some accounts of the Garanganze people, Msiri speared Bodson to death and was shot by other members of the expedition.[11]

A story spread among the Garanganze that the expedition kept Msiri's head, but it cursed and killed everyone who carried it[11] and eventually, this included Stairs himself, who died of fever within a year on his way to the coast. It was alleged he had with him Msiri's head in a can of kerosene.[5]

[edit] The Aftermath

Stairs' forces massacred many of Msiri's people, the population dispersed, but many of Msiri's soldiers made revenge attacks, despite Stairs having cannons and building a stockade on the site of Msiri's palace. The removal of Msiri's authority and Belgian efforts to establish control resulted in disorder and instability for some time, consequently Dan Crawford moved to Lake Mweru and set up a mission to which many Garanganze gravitated.[5]

The Congo Free State's claim to Katanga (which it subcontracted to the Compagnie du Katanga) was accepted by the British at the 1894-5 Berlin Conference. The slave trade from south-east Katanga to Lake Tanganyika declined, though in the Congo Free State slavery as practiced by King Leopold II's agents did not end until after the country was taken over by the Belgian state in 1908. The people returned to Bunkeya and continued the Garanganze chieftaincy which, despite internal exile for some years and official neglect by the Belgian colonial authorities who ruled directly rather than through chiefs, continues to this day using the name 'Mwami Msiri'.[1]

[edit] Summing up Msiri: Brutal Tyrant or Warrior King?

“There can be little doubt, judging from various contemporary accounts, that his rule was arbitrary, vindictive, cruel, and despotic. He was a warlord who enslaved his neighbours and whose capital was surrounded by palisades on which hung the skulls of his enemies.”[6]

“Msiri was fearless in battle and magnanimous in time of peace. His generosity and loyalty to the Yeke people made him a beloved monarch, whose legend was passed down in the oral tradition of story telling, later kept alive through written accounts and Yeke traditional songs.”[1]

These quotations illustrate the different perspectives of colonisers and colonised.

[edit] Msiri's strategy

In a region and age dominated by armed traders, Msiri was very successful. He either controlled or had a hand in trade routes from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. This took ruthlessness and arms (and over his neighbours, Msiri had what would be called in the west ‘superior military technology’). But it also took a strategic eye, and the guile and persuasion required to form alliances with hundred of other tribes, rulers and traders. He did this through his wives, who numbered more than 500. He took a wife from the village of each subordinate chief, making the chief think this gave him an advocate at Msiri's court, but the wife was used to spy on the chief instead and obtain information about his dealings and loyalty."[4]

The first missionaries in Katanga did not set out to ‘civilise a tyrant’; he invited them to come so he could gain an insight and advice into how to deal with the encroaching Europeans. And this strategy worked, at least at first: Sharpe would have pulled the wool over his eyes without Arnot and Swan’s advice.[6] Unfortunately for Msiri they did not know that Leopold, by contrast, intended to take Katanga by force if not by treaty.

[edit] Arnot's account

Of the contemporary written accounts of Msiri, all were by or based on accounts of people in the pay of either Leopold or the BSAC, the only exception being Arnot and his missionary colleagues, the closest there were to neutral observers. Arnot referred to Msiri as "a thorough gentleman," and established a working relationship with him, with a certain amount of mutual respect. Msiri gave Arnot land to build his own hut, a small clinic, a church, and a school. When Arnot returned to London he recruited three more missionaries to go to Msiri in Bunkeya.[6]

Arnot's diaries say of living in Bunkeya: " . . the quietness and peace that reigns is remarkable. The fear of Msidi is great. He is sharp and severe in his government, though I see or hear of nothing in the way of torture or cruelty . . . executions are common, but death is inflicted at once . . . [the cases] have been those of actual crime . . ."[4]

[edit] Some context

In terms of enslaving conquered tribes and displaying skulls of enemies, Msiri was no different from rulers in other human societies at the same stage of development. Barely 200 years had passed since heads of enemies of the monarch were displayed on spears at the Tower of London.[12]

The geography and demographics of that part of Africa enables people to disperse into the bush when threatened. David Livingstone reported twenty years earlier that Mwata Kazembe VIII Chinkonkole Kafuti so tyrannised his people that many had moved away and he could muster scarcely 1000 men; when Msiri’s allies (possibly at Msiri’s instigation) advanced to assassinate him, Chinkonkole Kafuti’s people did not warn him, but let him be taken by surprise.[13] By contrast, Msiri’s capital, Bunkeya, had a population of 60,000—80,000,[4] and after his death his men did not immediately give up but counter-attacked the better-equipped invader.

[edit] Questions remain

A political quotations website offers these as the last words of Omer Bodson:

"I don't mind dying now that I've killed Msiri. Thank God my death will not be in vain. I've delivered Africa from one of her most detestable tyrants." Said by Bodson to the Stairs Expedition’s doctor, Moloney.[14]

Moloney wrote up his account on his return to London in 1892.[9] British public opinion was beginning to favour more ethical rule in the British Empire, influenced by the writings of people such as Livingstone.[15] A justification of the killing of Msiri was required, and Moloney was fortunate to be able to report such eloquent dying words from Bodson. Furthermore, King Leopold was engaged in a campaign to legitimise his Congo Free State (at which he was successful at the 1884 Berlin Conference).

Stairs' letter to Arnot does not reveal on what justification he raised the Congo Free State flag over Msiri's territory. The text of the letter Msiri signed for le Marinel only allows CFS agents in Garanganze. Stairs' letter reveals that Bodson fired because Msiri stood his ground, and Bodson still had the choice of backing off.[4] The ‘contemporary accounts’ (i.e. European written accounts) of Msiri’s death emphasised self-defence as the motive and claimed he was a bloodthirsty tyrant.[16]

The question remains as to whether Msiri was a ‘bloodthirsty tyrant’ before, or only after, he was killed.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c http://www.kingmsiri.com/index2.htm "Mwami Msiri, King of Garanganze". Website accessed 8 February 2007.
  2. ^ a b http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/centrafrica/msiri.html World History at Korean Minjok Leadership Academy: ”Msiri's Kingdom” accessed 8 February 2007
  3. ^ a b http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/9chapter3.shtml "The Story of Africa: The East African Slave Trade". British Broadcasting Corporation (World Service) Accessed 8 February 2007.
  4. ^ a b c d e f NRZAM website: R S Arnot: "F S Arnot and Msidi", Northern Rhodesia Journal, Vol III, No. 5 pp 428-434 (1958).
  5. ^ a b c d e f David Gordon: “Decentralized Despots or Contingent Chiefs: Comparing Colonial Chiefs in Northern Rhodesia and the Belgian Congo.” KwaZulu-Natal History and African Studies Seminar, University of Natal, Durban, 2000.
  6. ^ a b c d http://www.dacb.org/stories/demrepcongo/arnot_stanley.html Dr. J. Keir Howard: "Arnot, Frederick Stanley", in Dictionary of African Christian Biography, website accessed 9 February 2007
  7. ^ http://www.dacb.org/stories/demrepcongo/crawford_daniel.html Dr. J. Keir Howard: "Crawford, Daniel", in Dictionary of African Christian Biography, website accessed 7 February 2007
  8. ^ Website Les Expatries Lubumbashi, Extrait du livre UMHK 1906-1956: "Le Capitaine Paul le Marinel & Alexandre Delcomune." This is an extract from a history of the Belgian mining company Union Minière du Haut Katanga. Accessed 28 March 2007.
  9. ^ a b Joseph A. Moloney: "The Stairs Expedition to Katangaland", The Geographical Journal, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Sep., 1893)
  10. ^ G. E. Tilsley: "Dan Crawford: Missionary and Pioneer in Central Africa". Oliphants, London, 1929.
  11. ^ a b http://www2.fmg.uva.nl/lpca/aps/tshibumba1a.html “The history of Zaire as told and painted by Tshibumba Kanda Matulu in conversation with Johannes Fabian” Archives of Popular Swahili, Volume 2, Issue 2 (11 November 1998) ISSN: 1570-0178
  12. ^ http://www.castles.me.uk/traitors-gate.htm Alchin, L.K. “Castles: Traitor’s Gate”, accessed February 10 2007.
  13. ^ David Livingstone & Horace Waller (Ed): The Last Journals of David Livingstone in Central Africa from 1865 to his Death. Two Volumes. John Murray, London, 1874.
  14. ^ http://www.politicalquotes.org/Quotedisplay.aspx?DocID=13222 Eigen's Political & Historical Quotations: Omer Bodson, dying words to Military Doctor Moloney, 1892. (The website describes Bodson as a ‘British officer’). Accessed 10 February 2007.
  15. ^ Corelli Barnett: The Audit of War: The Illusion and Reality of Britain as a Great Nation (Macmillan, 1986)
  16. ^ E. G. Ravenstein: "Recent Explorations in the South-Eastern Congo Basin", The Geographical Journal, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Mar., 1893)
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