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FRENCH CONGO
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See also:FRENCH See also:CONGO , the See also:general name of the French possessions in See also:equatorial See also:Africa. They have an See also:area estimated at 700,000 sq. m., with a See also:population, also estimated, of 6,000,000 to 10,000,000. The whites numbered (1906) 1278, of whom 502 were officials. French Congo, officially renamed FRENCH EQUATORIAL AFRICA in 191o, comprises—(1) the See also:Gabun See also:Colony, (2) the See also:Middle Congo Colony, (3) the See also:Ubangi-See also:Shari Circumscription, (4) the See also:Chad Circumscription. The two last-named divisions See also:form the Ubangi-Shari-Chad Colony. The See also:present See also:article treats of French Cong as a unit. It is of highly irregular shape. It is bounded W. by the See also:Atlantic, N. by the (See also:Spanish) Muni See also:River Settlements, the See also:German colony of Cameroon and the See also:Sahara, E. by the Anglo-See also:Egyptian See also:Sudan, and S. by Belgian Congo and the Portuguese territory of See also:Kabinda. In the greater See also:part of its length the See also:southern frontier is the middle course of the Congo and the Ubangi and Mbomu, the See also:chief See also:northern afuents of that stream, but in the See also:south-See also:west the frontier keeps See also:north of the Congo river, whose navigable See also:lower course is partitioned between See also:Belgium and See also:Portugal. The See also:coast See also:line, some 600 m. See also:long, extends from 5° S. to 1° N. The northern frontier, starting inland from the Muni See also:estuary, after skirting the Spanish settlements follows a line See also:drawn a little north of 2° N. and extending See also:east to 16° E. North of this line the See also:country is part of Cameroon, German territory extending so far inland from the Gulf of See also:Guinea as to approach within 130 M. of the Ubangi. From the intersection of the lines named, at which point French Congo is at its narrowest, the frontier runs north and then east until the Shari is reached in 1o° 40' N. The Shari then forms the frontier up to See also:Lake Chad, where French Congo joins the Saharan regions of French West Africa. The eastern frontier, separating the colony from the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, is the See also:water-parting between the See also:Nile and the Congo. The See also:Mahommedan sultanates of See also:Wadai and See also:Bagirmi occupy much of the northern part of French Congo (see WADAI and BAGIRM!).
See also:Physical Features.—The coast line, beginning in the north at See also:Corisco See also:Bay, is shortly afterwards somewhat deeply indented by the ettuary of the Gabun, south of which the See also:shore runs in a nearlystraight line until the See also:delta of the Ogow6 is reached, where Cape See also:Lopez projects N.W. From this point the coast trends uniformly S.E. without presenting any striking features, though the Bay of Mayumba, the roadstead of See also:Loango, and the Pointe Noire may be mentioned. A large proportion of the coast region is occupied by primeval See also:forest, with trees rising to a height of 150 and 200 ft., but there is a considerable variety of scenery—open lagoons, See also:mangrove swamps, scattered clusters of trees, See also:park-like reaches, dense walls of tangled underwood along the See also:rivers, prairies of tall grass and patches, of cultivation. Behind the coast region is a See also:ridge which rises from 3000 to 4500 ft., called the Crystal Mountains, then a See also:plateau with an See also:elevation varying from 1500 to 2800 ft., cleft with deep river-
See also:Emery See also: The most important, the Ogow6 (q.v.), is, however, navigable from its mouth to N'Jole, a distance of 235 M. Rivers to the south of the Ogow6 are the Nyanga, 120 M. long, and the Kwilu. The latter, 320 M. in length, is formed by the Kiasi and the Lukt6; it has a very winding course, flowing by turns from north to south, from east to west, from south to north-west and from north to south-west. It is encumbered with rocks and eddies, and is navigable only over 38 m., and for five months in the See also:year. The mouth is 110o ft. wide. The Muni river, the northernmost in the colony, is obstructed by cataracts in its passage through the escarpment to the coast. Nearly all the upper See also:basin of the Shari (q.v.) as well as the right See also:bank of the lower river is within French Congo. The greater part of the country belongs, however, to the drainage area of the Congo river. In addition to the northern See also:banks of the Mbomu and Ubangi, 330 M. of the north shore of the Congo itself are in the French See also:protectorate as well as numerous subsidiary streams. For some Too m. however, the right bank of the Sanga, the most important of these subsidiary streams, is in German territory (see CONGO). See also:Geology.—Three See also:main divisions are recognized in the French Congo:—(1) the littoral See also:zone, covered with See also:alluvium and superficial deposits and underlain by See also:Tertiary and Cretaceous rocks; (2) the See also:mountain zone of the Crystal Mountains, composed of See also:granite, metamorphic and See also:ancient sediments; (3) the plateau of the northern portion of the Congo basin, occupied by See also:Karroo sandstones. The core of the Crystal Mountains consists of granite and See also:schists. a° A -a-See also:swat.) ,e° B ° aa C FRENCH WEST AFRICAl 4,'* K_t n e m abash r% a/r° t NiG O - c.... xut 3.a.k r Fae 9- a. f o z+See also:war .. ON. ' • t See also:Minot) f. 9 .1' 1 • ~l p1.!00 ,See also:cano e h n, fxiT zW a a O 10_ ~'_ .f ,.~ h _Y~ -eG~°`~ See also:rao sots^-_~ ®~/ , '''4. ~r /D .i- r`. u _ ,o .t, 4'gnn, DitW R 7 , •. ~~ Fi ryj `~`u7t`c { a ~tI- 1 B Q' o r n :u etas.. ,, y 5,, 1. x#~ d/~` P T d A N 1 ; See also:Man Cbt p1MC W1 _ T -' f ti ~l "ut - saws. R u n r - tr t,. nt«tittt'; y/ See also:Dar °~. egi a~ See also:Bauchi Du k. tits K B A sa. ~ 1 ae, ~b'~r~bTl 1 } C .. .,r*y ,'. }See also:fir-} 0 1 t .,4 1Nabas f V 9. T Y' l!w~ ~~ ~. la na, f A<n.m~w1°n1 Maw d°~, A N . ,Y mms •F yS r e '- + o Mi.A5fAJbofa, K B .7 has, I ~~~ r ct a t See also:ine a w am " r is, se y ---. . A~ • 8 r llg~tld' Y gtb4.- t. . PCCey(nplMw z g. cask E Rj b O N. " v+ Circ .' e. .. Dent -- ubeu ~uwat , w U n a 0j ums, rt .tlon , p. > , F b c o §~1,. } 3~,,ga.~Pfi ~ k Q ~ i Y n See also:ea// `• "~ . So y 3 ~ BaAO ~ ~ Ott \ \ a ~cM•t ''`v k/ '°NBa"a C•C t - 'o UO ~f set .r bsr Mb , Bans ~ t a ::.1'.r[ 1`^1' aia.ai i O \~~ a/ 15 Neoruma 'o-3 - "—r-6.1. es f NO 14 4sj 01,11 ) y °aso baY< we. ~ -- a r 8 N, k,: See also:ass, E.. o i~ b, q tao9 lOiMa a`T-Ba -nul r. 1^5rass oAn Congo #~1 1 v~ P !. t Mt — N 2 s AT a b B 2 erq; ~A 1~4 /r''KJ ~~ Kabob.. ' t -~" d I .. ... is,,,,., ,.as. a l A Et ,~ .. .. YOa ,go •.,ZQ N B bo uy ~i T~F.IE '. G L1bra- Ile p ,.I 5 ass, K a•. ri 1 sOUoM , l L See also:Dort BsSOko :~=ZCa `~` ut'ttonwaoS o T `~E r onthtrrvnl See also:aaa U N - t ° a 1 u a a'•° pia a' °°"° cl c +~ F tc !, , jyd~• 1 QF. °°o, L.Leopo d ~nferz r 2 t~ ? q F xn FRENCH CONGO 3~RS t° 9 a } J f El Mak D ~° Fen 3 See also:English See also:Miles --a,g.y~ '..: 1 <' @ •Y N eq „ La... am may s. Le 3 C =y y~ Y Z. YIII a •. O $° 100 e00 30D 400 1e itt Boundaries of See also:Colon!e Boundaries of Circumscriptions...._. O $° A = g0 AiNG ULA 4n • t6° r B See also:Longitude East 24° of See also:Greenwich Infolded with them, and.on the flanks, are three See also:rock systems ascribed to the See also:Silurian, Devonian and Carboniferous. These are unfossiliferous, but fossils of Devonian See also:age occur on the Congo (see CONGO See also:FREE See also:STATE). Granite covers wide areas north-west of the Crystal Mountains. The plateau sandstones See also:lie horizontally and consist of a lower red See also:sandstone See also:group and an upper See also: Fireflies, mosquitoes and sandflies are among the most familiar forms of See also:insect See also:life. A See also:kind of See also:ant builds very striking See also:bent-See also:house or See also:umbrella-shaped nests rising on the See also:tree trunks one above the other. Among the more characteristic forms of vegetation are baobabs, See also:silk-See also:cotton trees, See also:screw-pines and palms—especially Hyphaene guineensis (a See also:fan-palm), Raphia (the See also:wine-palm), and Elaeis guineensis (the oil-palm). Anonaceous See also:plants (notably Anona senegalensis, and the pallabanda, an See also:olive-See also:myrtle-like tree, are common in the prairies; the See also:papyrus shoots up to a height of 20 ft. along the rivers; the banks are fringed by the cottony Hibiscus tiliaceus, ipomaeas and fragrant jasmines; and the thickets are See also:bound together in one inextricable See also:mass by lianas of many kinds. In the upper Shari region. and that of the Kotto tributary of the Ubangi, are See also:species of the See also:coffee tree, one species attaining a height of over 6o ft. Its See also:bean resembles that of Abyssinian coffee of See also:medium quality. Among the See also:fruit trees are the See also:mango and the papaw, the See also:orange and the See also:lemon. See also:Negro-See also:pepper (a variety of See also:capsicum) and See also:ginger grow See also:wild. Inhabitants and Chief Towns.—A See also:census, necessarily imperfect, taken in 1906 showed a See also:total population, exclusive of Wadai, of 652,000, divided in districts as follows:—Gabun, 376,000; Middle Congo, 259,000; Ubangi-Shari, 2,130,000; Chad, 885,000. The country is peopled by diverse negro races, and, in the regions bordering Lake Chad and in Wadai, by See also:Fula, See also:Hausa, See also:Arabs and semi-Arab tribes. Among the best-known tribes living in French Congo are the See also:Fang (Fans), the See also:Bakalai, the Batekes and the Zandeh or Niam-Niam. Several of the tribes are cannibals and among many of them the fetish See also:worship characteristic of the West See also:African negroes prevails. Their See also:civilization is of a See also:low See also:order. In the northern regions the See also:majority of the inhabitants are Mahommedans, and it is only in those districts that organized and powerful states exist. Elsewhere the authority of a chief or " See also: Stores for See also:government posts in the Chad territory are forwarded by this route. There is, however, no connecting See also:link between the coast rivers—Gabun, Ogowe and Kwilu and the Congo See also:system. A railway, about 500 M. long, from the Gabun to the Sanga is projected and the surveys for the purpose made. Another route surveyed for a railway is that from Loango to Brazzaville. A narrow-See also:gauge line, 75 M. long, from Brazzaville to Mindule in the cataracts region was begun in See also:November 1908, the first railway to be built in French Congo. The See also:district served by the line is See also:rich in See also:copper and other minerals. From Wadai a See also:caravan route across the Sahara leads to See also:Bengazi on the shores of the Mediterranean. See also:Telegraph lines connect Loango with Brazzaville and Libreville, there is telegraphic communication with See also:Europe by submarine See also:cable, and steamship communication between Loango and Libreville and See also:Marseilles, See also:Bordeaux, See also:Liverpool and See also:Hamburg. See also:Trade and See also:Agriculture.—The chief See also:wealth of the colony consists in the products of its forests and in See also:ivory. The natives, in addition to manioc, their See also:principal See also:food, cultivate bananas, ground nuts and See also:tobacco. On plantations owned by Europeans coffee, See also:cocoa and See also:vanilla are grown. European vegetables are raised easily. See also:Gold, iron and copper are found. Copper ores have been exported from Mindule since 1905. The chief exports are See also:rubber and ivory, next in importance coming palm nuts and palm oil, See also:ebony and other See also:woods, coffee, cocoa and See also:copal. The imports are mainly cotton and See also:metal goods, See also:spirits and foodstuffs. In the Gabun and in the basin of the Ogowe the French customs See also:tariff, with some modifications, prevails, but in the Congo basin, that is, in the greater part of the country, by virtue of See also:international agreements, no discrimination can be made. between French and other merchandise, whilst customs duties must not exceed lo % ad valorem., In the Shari basin and in Wadai the Anglo-French See also:declaration of March 1899 accorded for See also:thirty years equal treatment to See also:British and French goods. The value of the trade See also:rose in the ten years 1896–1905 from £360,000 to £85o,00o, imports and exports being nearly equal. The bulk of the export trade is with Great See also:Britain, which takes most of the rubber, See also:France coming second and See also:Germany third. The imports are in about equal proportions from France and See also:foreign countries. See also:Land See also:Tenure. The Concessions Regime.—Land held by the natives is governed by tribal See also:law, but the state only recognizes native ownership in land actually occupied by the See also:aborigines. The greater part of the country is considered a state domain. Land held by Europeans is subject to the See also:Civil See also:Code of France except such estates as have been registered under the terms of a See also:decree of the 28th of March 1899, when, See also:registration having been effected, the See also:title to the land is guaranteed by the state. Nearly the whole of the colony has been divided since 1899 into large estates held by limited liability companies to whom has been granted the See also:sole right of exploiting the land leased to them. The companies holding concessions numbered in 1904 about See also:forty, with a combined capital of over £2,000,000, whilst the concessions varied in See also:size from 425 sq. M. to 54,000 sq. in. One effect of the granting of concessions was the rapid decline in the business of non-concessionaire traders, of whom the most important were Liverpool merchants established in the Gabun before the See also:advent of the French. As by the See also:Act of See also:Berlin of 1885, to which all the European See also:powers were signatories, equality of treatment in commercial affairs was guaranteed to all nations in the Congo basin, protests were raised against the terms of the concessions. The reply was that the critics confused the exercise of the right of proprietor-See also:ship with the act of See also:commerce, and that in no country was the landowner who farmed his land and sold the produce regarded as a See also:merchant. Various decisions by the See also:judges of the colony during 1902 and 1903 and by the French tour de cassation in 1905 See also:con-firmed that contention. The See also:action of the companies was, however, in most cases, neither beneficial to the country nor financially successful, whilst the native cultivators resented the See also:prohibition of their trading See also:direct with their former customers. The See also:case of the Liverpool traders was taken up by the British government and it was agreed that the dispute should be settled by See also:arbitration. In September 19o8 the French government issued a decree reorganizing and rendering more stringent the See also:control exercised by the See also:local authorities over the concession companies, especially in matters concerning the rights of natives and the See also:liberty of commerce. See also:History.—The Gabun was visited in the 15th See also:century by the Portuguese explorers, and it became one of the chief seats of the slave trade. It was not, however, till well on in the I9th century that Europeans made any more permanent See also:settlement than was absolutely necessary for the See also:maintenance of their commerce. In 1839 See also:Captain (afterwards See also:Admiral) Bouet-Willaumez obtained for France the right of See also:residence on the See also:left bank, and in 1842 he secured better positions on the right bank. The See also:primary See also:object of the French settlement was to secure a 1 Berlin Act of 1885; See also:Brussels See also:conference of 1890 (see AFRICA: History). port wherein men-of-war could revictual. The chief See also:establishment, Libreville, was founded in 1849, with negroes taken from a slave ship. The settlement in See also:time acquired importance as a trading port. In 1867 the troops numbered about 'coo, and the civil population about 5000, while the See also:official reports about the same date claimed for the whole colony an area of 8000 sq. m. and a population of 186,000. Cape Lopez had been ceded to France in 1862, and the colony's coast-line extended, nominally, to a length of zoo m. In consequence of the war with Germany the colony was practically abandoned in 1871, the establishment at Libreville being maintained as a coaling See also:depot merely. In 1875, however, France again turned her See also:attention to the Gabun estuary, the See also:hinterland of which had already been partly explored. See also:Paul du Chaillu penetrated (1855-1859 and 1863-1865) to the south of the Ogowe; Walker, an English merchant, explored the Ngunye, an affluent of the Ogowe, in 1866. In 1872-1873 See also:Alfred See also:Marche, a French naturalist, and the See also:marquis de See also:Compiegne' explored a portion of the Ogowe basin, but it was not until the expedition of 1875-1878 that the country east of the Ogowe was reached. This expedition was led by Savorgnan de Brazza (q.v.), who was accompanied by Dr See also:Noel See also:Eugene Ballay, and, for part of the time, by Marche. De Brazza's expedition, which was compelled to remain for many months at several places, ascended the Ogowe over 400 m., and beyond the basin of that stream discovered the Alima, which was, though the explorers were ignorant of the fact, a tributary of the Congo. From the Alima, de Brazza and Ballay turned north and finally reached the Gabun in November 1878, the See also:journey being less fruitful in results than the time it occupied would indicate. Returning to Europe, de Brazza learned that H. M. Stanley had revealed the See also:mystery of the Congo, and in his next journey, begun See also:December 1879, the French traveller undertook to find a way to the Congo above the rapids via the Ogowe. In this he was successful, and in September 188o reached Stanley Pool, on the north side of which Brazzaville was subsequently founded. Returning to the Gabun by the lower Congo, de Brazza met Stanley. Both explorers were nominally in the service of the International African Association (see CONGO FREE STATE), but de Brazza in reality acted solely in the interests of De France and concluded See also:treaties with Makoko, " king Brazza treaties s of the Batekes," and other chieftains, placing very large areas under the See also:protection of that country. The conflicting claims of the Association (which became the Congo Free State) and France were adjusted by a See also:convention signed in See also:February 1885. In the meantime de Brazza and Ballay had more fully explored the country behind the coast regions of Gabun and Loango, the last-named seaport being occupied by France in 1883. The conclusion of agreements with Germany (December 1885 and February-March 1894) and with Portugal (May 1886) secured France in the See also:possession of the western portion of the colony as it now exists, whilst an arrangement with the Congo Free State in 1887 settled difficulties which had arisen in the Ubangi district. The See also:extension of French See also:influence northward towardsLake Chad and eastward to the See also:verge of the basin of the Nile followed, though The not without involving the country in serious disputes advance with the other European powers possessing rights in towards those regions. By creating the posts of Bangi (189o), the "He' Wesso and Abiras (1891), France strengthened her See also:Fashoda hold over the Ubangi and the Sanga. But at the same time the Congo Free State passed the parallel of 40 N.—which, after the See also:compromise of 1887, France had regarded as the southern boundary of her possessions—and, occupying the sultanate of Bangasso (north of the Ubangi river), pushed on as far as 90 N. The dispute which ensued was only settled in 1894 and after
' See also: The Congo-Cameroon frontier was precisely defined by another Franco-German agreement in See also:April 1908, following a detailed survey made by See also:joint commissioners in 1905 and 1906. For a comprehensive description of these international rivalries see AFRICA, § 5, and for the con-quest of the Chad regions see BAGIRMI and RABAH ZOBEIR. In the other portions of the colony French See also:rule was accepted by the natives, for the most part, peaceably. For the relations of France with Wadai see that article. Following the acquisitions for France of de Brazza, the ancient Gabun colony was joined to the Congo territories. From 1886 to 1889 Gabun was, however, separately administered. By decree of the 11th of December 1888 the whole of the French possessions were created one " colony " under the See also:style of Congo See also:francais, with various subdivisions; they were placed under a See also:commissioner-general (de Brazza) having his residence at Brazzaville. This arrangement proved detrimental to the economic development of the Gabun settlements, which being outside the limits of the free trade conventional basin of the Congo (see AFRICA, § 5) enjoyed a See also:separate tariff. By decree of the 29th of December 1903 (which became operative in July 1904) Congo fran9ais was divided into four parts as named in the opening See also:paragraph. The first commissioner-general under the new See also:scheme was Emile Gentil, the explorer of the Shari and Chad. In 1905 de Brazza was sent out from France to investigate charges of See also:cruelty and maladministration brought against officials of the colony, several of which proved well founded. De Brazza died at See also:Dakar when on his way See also:home. The French government, after considering the See also:report he had drawn up, decided to retain Gentil as commissioner-general, making however (decree of 15th of February 1906) various changes in See also:administration with a view to protect the natives and control the concession companies. Gentil, who devoted the next two years to the reorganization of the finances of the country and the development of its commerce, resigned his See also:post in February 1908. He was succeeded by M. See also:Merlin, whose title was changed (June 1908) to that of governor-general. Administration and See also:Revenue.—The governor-general has control over the whole of French Congo, but does not directly administer any part of it, the separate colonies being under lieutenant-See also:governors. The Gabun colony includes the Gabun estuary and the whole of the coast-line of French Congo, together with the basin of the Ogowe river. The inland frontier is so drawn as to include all the hinter-land not within the Congo free-trade zone (the Chad district excepted). The Middle Congo has for its western frontier the Gabun colony and Cameroon, and extends inland to the easterly See also:bend of the Ubangi river; the two circumscriptions extend east and north of the Middle Congo. There is a general See also:budget for the whole of French Congo; each colony has also a separate budget and administrative See also:autonomy. As in other French colonies the legislative See also:power is in the French See also:chambers only, but in the See also:absence of specific legislation presidential decrees have the force of law. A judicial service See also:independent of the executive exists, but the district administrators also exercise judicial functions. See also:Education is in the hands of the missionaries, upwards of 50 See also:schools being established by 1909. The military force maintained consists of natives officered by Europeans. Flora and Fauna.—The seashore and the river banks are lined with mangroves, but the most important tree of the coast See also:belt is the oil-palm. The dense forests also contain many varieties of lianas or rubber vines, huge bombax and bamboos. See also:Gum-producing and See also:kola trees are abundant, and there are many fruit trees, the orange and citron growing well in the Susu and Futa Jallon districts. The cotton and coffee plants are indigenous; See also:banana plantations surround the villages. The See also:baobab and the karite (shea butter tree) are found only in the Niger districts. The fauna is not so varied as was formerly the case, large See also:game having been to a great extent driven out of the coast regions. The elephant is rare See also:save in the Niger regions. The See also:lion is now only found in the northern parts of Futa Jallon; panthers, leopards, hyenas and wild See also:cats are more common and the See also:civet is found. Hippopotamus, See also:otter and the wild See also:boar are numerous; a species of wild ox of small size with See also:black horns and very agile is also found. The forests contain many kinds of monkeys, including huge chimpanzees; See also:antelope are widespread but rather rare. Serpents are very common, both venomous and non-venomous; the pythons attain a great size. Fights between these huge serpents and the crocodiles which infest all the rivers are said to be not uncommon. Turtles are abundant along the coasts and in the Los Islands. Oysters are found in large See also:numbers in the estuaries and fixed to the submerged parts of the mangroves. Fresh-water oysters, which attain a large size, are also found in the rivers, particularly in the Niger. Fish are abundant, one large-headed species, in the Susu See also:tongue called khokon, is so numerous as to have given its name to a See also:province, Kokunia. Birds are very numerous; they include various eagles, several kinds of See also:heron, the egret, the See also:marabout, the See also:crane and the See also:pelican; turacos or See also:plantain-eaters, are common, as are other brilliantly plumaged birds. See also:Green and See also:grey parrots, ravens, swallows and magpies are also common. Inhabitants.—On the banks of the Cogon dwell the Tendas and Iolas, See also:primitive Negro tribes allied to those of Portuguese Guinea (q.v.). All other inhabitants of French Guinea are regarded as comparatively See also:late arrivals from the interior who have displaced the aboriines.i Among the earliest of the new corners are the Baga, the Nalu, the Landuman and the Timni, regarded as typical Negroes (q.v.). This See also:migration southward appears to have taken See also:place before the 17th century. To-See also:day the Baga occupy the coast land between the Cogon and the Rio Pongo, and the Landuman the country immediately behind that of the Baga. The other tribes named are but sparsely represented in French Guinea, the coast region south of the See also:Nunez and all the interior up to Futa Jallon being occupied by the Susu, a tribe belonging to the great Mandingan See also:race, which forced its way seaward about the beginning of the 18th century and pressed back the Timni into Sierra Leone. Futa Jallon is peopled principally by Fula (q.v.), and the See also:rest of the country by Malinke and other tribes of See also:Mandingo (q.v.). The Mandingo, the Fula and the Susu are Mahommedans, though the Susu retain many of their ancient See also:rites and beliefs—those associated with spirit worship and fetish, still the See also:religion of the Baga and other tribes. In the north-west part of Futa Jallon are found remnants of the aborigines, such as the Tiapi, Koniagui and the Bassari, all typical Negro tribes. The white inhabitants number a few hundreds only and are mainly French. Many of the coast peoples show, however, distinct traces of white See also:blood, the result chiefly of the former presence of European slave traders. Thus at the Rio Pongo there are numerous mulattos. South of that river the coast tribes speak largely See also:pidgin English. Towns.—The principal towns are Konakry the capital, See also:Bake, on the Rio Nunez, Dubreka, on the coast, a little north of Konakry, Beaty, on the Melakori, Timbo and See also:Labe, the chief towns of Futa Jallon, Heremakono and Kindia, on the main road to the Niger, urussa and Siguiri, on a navigable stretch of that river, and Bissandugu, formerly Samory's capital, an important military station east of the Niger. Konakry, in 9° 30' N., 13° 46' W., population about 20,000, is the one port of entry on the coast. It is built on the little island of Tombo which lies off the promontory of Konakry, the See also:town being joined to the mainland by an iron See also:bridge. During the administration of Noel Ballay (1848–1902), governor of the colony 189o–1900, Konakry was transformed from a place of small importance to one of the chief ports on the west coast of Africa and a serious See also:rival to See also:Freetown, Sierra Leone. It has since grown considerably, and is provided with wharves and docks and a See also:jetty io66 ft. long. There is an ample See also:supply of See also:good water, and a large public See also:garden in the centre of the town. In front of Government House is a statue of M. Ballay. Konakry is a port of See also:call for French, British and German steamship companies, and is in telegraphic communication with Europe. It is the starting-point of a railway to the Niger (see below). The See also:retail trade is in the hands of Syrians. The town is governed by a See also:municipality.
Products and See also:Industry.—French Guinea possesses a fertile See also:soil, and is rich in tropical produce. The chief products are rubber, brought from the interior, and palm oil and palm kernels, obtained in the coast regions. Cotton is cultivated in the Niger basin. Gum copal, ground-nuts and See also:sesame are largely cultivated, partly for
Revenue is derived from taxes on land, See also:rent paid by concession companies, a capitation or hut tax on natives, and customs receipts, supplemented by a subvention from France. In addition to defraying the military expenses, about £ioo,000 a year, a See also: In 1907 the budget of the Congo balanced at about £250,000 without the aid of this subvention. In 1909 the chambers sanctioned a See also:loan for the colony of £840,000, guaranteed by France and to he applied to the establishment of administrative stations and public See also:works. Paul du Chaillu, Explorations and Adventures in Equatorial Africa (See also:London, 1861) ; A Journey to Ashonga Land (London, 1867) ; and See also:Sir R. See also:Burton, Two Trips to See also:Gorilla Land (London, 1876). Of later works see See also:Mary H. See also:Kingsley, Travels in West Africa (London, 1897) ; A. B. de See also:Mezieres, Rapport de See also:mission sur le Haut Oubangui, le M`Bomou et le Bahr-el-Ghazal (See also:Paris, 1903) ; and C. See also:Maistre, A travers l'Afrique centrale du Congo an Niger,' 802–1803 (Paris, 1895). For the See also:story of the concession companies see E. D. See also:Morel, The British Case in French Congo (London, 1903). (F. R. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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