Timeline

                         

Africa
Engraving of the Statue of Africa on the Albert Memorial in London

                                                                                                          

Date

Event

 

NOTE - The Rear Column and Advance Column split at Yambuya on 22 June 1887, so the events of the Advance Column incidents are marked  "A"

1881

(1299 in Islamic calendar) The Mahdi announces himself

Nov

Henry Morton Stanley (HMS) founds Leopoldville, Congo

1883

 

 Mar - Apr

Last steamer from Khartoum reaches Emin Pasha’s (EP) outpost at Lado where he has been governing for many years 

Dec

Gladstone orders the British withdrawal from Sudan

1884

 

1 Jan

German explorer Junker visits EP in Lado and Wadelai, staying with him until 1885 

 

In Uganda the Kabaka Mtesa dies and is succeeded by Mwanga

18 Mar

the Mahdi begins his siege of Khartoum

Nov

European Conference on the future of Africa held in Berlin

Nov

EP’s daughter Ferida born. Her mother Sarafan, was an Ethiopian slave and died after giving birth

14 Dec

Last entry in Gordon’s diary before he is killed by the Mahdi’s troops in Khartoum (in early January 1885)

1885

 

13 Feb

 P L Sclater (a well known scientist)  advocates the rescue of EP via one of the East African routes

29 Oct

Bishop Hannington (a British missionary to Uganda) murdered on Mwanga’s orders

 

The Berlin Treaty cedes 1 million square miles in central Africa to King Leopold

31 Dec

EP writes to Felkin from Wadelei.  His letters are published in the Times 10 months later and create a surge of public interest in his plight

1886

 

Feb

Tippu Tib’s half-brother and nephew force the Belgians out of  Stanley Falls (modern Kisangagi)

 

Sudan is abandoned by the Egyptian Government

mid Nov

Mackinnon approaches HMS to see if he is willing to lead the EPRE

15 Nov

HMS advises Mackinnon that the costs of an expedition will be no more than £20,000

11 Dec

Mackinnon sends a telegram to HMS urging his return from the US lecture tour

24 Dec

Barttelot applies to join the expedition

24 Dec

HMS arrives back from America and informs the Government that his preferred route to reach EP is via the Congo, but wants his plan kept secret for the time being

28 Dec

British Government tell Baring (the British representative in Egypt) confidentially that HMS is strongly in favour of the Congo route

29 Dec

First meeting of the EPRE Committee.  The East African route is agreed, despite HMS’s advocacy for the Congo route

30 Dec

HMS meets King Leopold and persuades him to support the Congo route

31 Dec

Mackinnon gives HMS permission to start preparations for the expedition.  Note - at this stage, MacKinnon is unaware of Stanley's meeting with King Leopold the previous day and assumes that the expedition will be travelling through East Africa

1887

 

 Jan

As many as 4000 applications are received for the expedition

9 Jan

EPRE Committee meets to consider a letter received from King Leopold refusing to release HMS from his contract unless the expedition route is changed

12 Jan

Meeting of the EPRE Committee which reluctantly agrees to a change of route 

14 Jan

Barttelot is sent to Africa ahead of the rest of the expedition to recruit Sudanese soldiers in Egypt

20 Jan

Barttelot meets up with Dr Parke in Alexandria and persuades him to apply to join the expedition

21 Jan

Bonny told to join the ship with Baruti (a young African Stanley had brought back to England and who wanted to return home) but there is a confusion and the ship had already sailed

21 Jan

HMS leaves London for Egypt

27 Jan

HMS arrives in Alexandria and meets Dr Parke, who is signed up on 29 January

12 Feb

All the officers leave for Zanzibar on the SS Oriental.  Barttelot is given command of the fighting force of Sudanese soldiers

13 Feb

Smallpox breaks out on board the ship.  Parke vaccinates all the men except Jephson, who is a vaccine sceptic

22 Feb

EPRE arrives in Zanzibar

25 Feb

SS Madura sets sail from Zanzibar with 799 people (including the nine Europeans).  A fight breaks out between Zanzibaris and Sudanese

9 Mar

The expedition arrives at Cape Town and some 2000 visitors come aboard to see Tippu Tib and the members of the expedition

18 Mar

The expedition arrives at Banana point in the Congo State and proceeds up river to Matadi

23 Mar

Dr Parke weighs the men – HMS 168lbs, Jephson 168, Stairs 164, Nelson 176, Parke 162, Barttelot 144, Jameson 144

25 Mar

The expedition sets out on the march from Matadi to Stanley Pool (Leopoldville) 14 sick men left with Lt Baert

21 April

EPRE arrives at Stanley Pool (Leopoldville)

30 April

Troup and Ward separately arrive at Stanley Pool

  April

EP learns that an expedition is on its way to rescue him and writes to Dr Felkin, sneding the letter vai East Africa

14 May

Barttelot reaches Bolobo ahead of the main body of the expedition

15 May

Bonny and Ward told to remain behind at Bolobo with the bulk of the expedition's supplies as HMS takes the reast of the expedition forward

20 May

HMS has a huge row with Jephson and Stairs after they try to prevent looting from local natives

12 June

EPRE arrives at the confluence of Congo/Aruwimi rivers.

15 June

EPRE reaches Yambuya in Stanley and Peace and drive the locals from their village

The main body of the expedition is split in two:

  • The Advance Column comprised HMS, Stairs, Nelson, Jephson and around 400 men with 357 rifles
  • Yambuya Garrison comprised Barttelot, Jameson and around 130 men (of whom at least 48 are sick and dying) with 87 rifles
  • Bolobo contingent which will join Yambuya comprises Troup, Ward, Bonny and 128 men with 52 rifles 
  • By this point EPRE had already lost 57 of the 706 men who started the journey from Zanzibar

22 June

Barttelot arrives at Yambuya camp to join up with the main body of the expedition.

28 June

A - The Advance Column led by HMS leaves Yambuya 

A - HMS gets into a fight with a local village and kills at least 30 men

4 July

A - according to Stairs,  the Advance Column kills a further 2 natives

A - HMS fires on some canoes to prevent the natives escaping with their own food. The advance column is still only 15 miles from Yambuya

5 July

A - MJ reports that his men gartuitously shoot 2 natives

15 July

A - HMS gives a Soudanese soldier 100 lashes for forgetting his rifle

30 July

In Bolobo, Ward has a row with a man and flogs him “until the all the flesh left his seat” (separately attested by both Bonny and Ward)

30 July

A - HMS captures some natives – 5 or 6 are disabled and 3 killed

3 Aug

A - Stairs is sent out to loot for food. 2 of Jephson’s men get 180 lashes for “straying

9 Aug

A - HMS gives 3 men a “heavy dose of the rod” for stealing a goat.  Stairs goes out on another looting party and kills a native

11 Aug

A - The Advance Column is slowly starving to death.  A native is shot

13 Aug

A - Stairs is hit by an arrow and treated by Dr Parke. Stairs kills a native

14 Aug

Steamer arrives at Yambuya with Troup, Ward and Bonny, plus 125 Zanzibaris and 3 boys, bringing letters for the camp

A - 14 Natives are killed by the Advance Column in a fight

17 Aug

A - Advance column kill 8 natives

13 Sept

A - HMS and Stairs in a skirmish, killing at least 2 natives and wound others

20 Sept

Barttelot orders floggings inc Uledi for stealing meat. 

A - HMS hangs a man (Mabruki) for desertion.  He is one of 3 sentenced to death.

21 Sept

Barttelot orders floggings for the theft of a tortoise

27 Sept

Barttelot flogs Bartholomew and Mswa for stealing from Jameson

28 Sept

A - HMS and Stairs attack a village and several nartives are killed over 2 days of fighting.  Parke personally shoots 2 natives

6 Oct

A - Nelson’s feet are very bad so HMS leaves him behind with 60 men, 81 loads but without food, while he marches forward

8 Oct

A - HMS takes a village and kills 2 natives

9 Oct

Jameson in charge of Yambuya camp but choses not to punish a man for stealing ammunition

18 Oct

A - The Advance Column reaches the village of Ipoto

20 Oct

A - HMS hangs a man for selling his rifle to Arabs for food

24 Oct

A - HMS decides to leave Parke at Ipoto, sends MJ back to pick up Nelson and goes forward himself with Stairs and to Lake Albert

26 Oct

A - Stairs and HMS take 145 men forward and MJ takes 40 men back to find Nelson

28 Oct

A - MJ reaches Nelson who is barely alive. Of the 56 men who remained with him, only 6 are left

2 Nov

Uledi flogged for theft

A - MJ gets back to Ipoto and finds Parke struggling for food.

7 Nov

Bartholomew (75 strokes) and Mswa (150strokes) are flogged for stealing

30 Nov

Bonny tells Barttelot that Tippu Tib’s men hated him for refusing to fire on natives on 10 June

A - The Advance Column emerges from the jungle into an area of plentiful food but they find themselves constantly fighting natives

3 Dec

Bugari is discovered stealing a piece of meat

4 Dec

Uledi banished from camp and  Burgari flogged for the theft of the meat

5 Dec

Barttelot flogs 5 men at the instigation of Bonny

9 Dec

Ward draws a cartoon of Bonny to which he takes offence. Next day Ward offends Bonny again

A - HMS says he is determined not to move forward until either the natives made friends or “we give them a good licking

10 Dec

A - One man shot.  HMS orders the burn of all villages in the surrounding area

11 Dec

A - Stairs devastates the country and burns more villages and crops as "retribution"

12 Dec

A - “ we burn our camp on leaving it and the village we occupied below and left the head of one of the natives we had killed suspended from a tree close to the camp as a warning to the natives to behave themselves when we returned this way.  Stanley did not care to waste any more time in making friends with them…They were afraid of our guns especially as Stanley killed a man at a distance of full 600 yards

13 Dec

A - HMS reaches the heights above Lake Albert with only 169 of the 389 men (426 according to Parke) that set out from Yambuya

17 Dec

A - HMS shoots a native at 550 yards and then has the body “...cut up, the Zanzibaris mutilated the body in a horrible way

19 Dec

A - HMS shoots 2 natives and puts the head of one on a pole close to the camp as a warning.

25, 26   Dec

Christmas Day – JJ draws cards for everybody. 

A - HMS decides to punish a village

1888

 

4 Feb

JJ is presented with a human head of a native killed by the Arabs. Burgari deserts

8 Feb

A - Parke and Nelson turn up at Bodo

9 Feb

Bugari found and sentenced to death for desertion.  Troup and JJ say he should be treated mercifully.  Bonny is in favour of shooting him

10 Feb

Bugari executed.

A - Mounteney Jephson sent out on a 5 day forage, attacks villages and kills a native

14 Feb

JJ and EMB set off for Stanley Falls

14 Mar

A - Stairs reaches Ugarrowa and finds 29 out of the 56 men left there have died. He sends 19 men down to search for Barttelot, carrying letters.

18 Mar

JJ heads off towards Kassongo leaving EMB (who is ill) behind in Singatini

1 April

A - HMS heads off for EP with Parke and Mounteney Jephson for the second time

10 April

A - HMS kills a native and injures another with a single bullet

11 April

JJ arrives at Kassongo and meets Tippu Tib.

12 April

A - A blind woman is shot and her head is brought to HMS. 

18 April

A - HMS at Lake Albert Nyanza for the second time

21 April

Barttelot has a row with Troup.  John Henry is caught after stealing EMB’s gun and told he will be executed in 2 days’ time

 22 April

The officers have a discussion about what to do with John Henry. Bonny wants to give him 150 stokes

23 April

John Henry reprieved from execution but gets 300 strokes

25 April

John Henry dies at midday from the beating he received

29 April

A - HMS meets EP Pasha at Nsabe

11 May

Jameson gets involved in the cannibalism incident at Riba Riba

14 May

Barttelot heads over to Stanley Falls.  It takes him 4 days

23 May

Barttelot has a long interview with Tippu Tib offers to provide  400 carriers

26 May

Barttelot and Jameson leave Stanley Falls for Yangambi with 400 men (Barttelot says 320) procured by Tippu Tib

28 May

At Yambuya, Bonny flogs 4 men for insubordination

5 June

SS AIA arrives at Yambuya with Tippu Tib who agrees to give Barttelot more men

6 June

Barttelot swaps his rifle for 15 slaves

7 June

Werner starts to prepare to take the SS AIA back down river.  Barttelot opens HMS’s cases to discard what he cannot carry

8 June

The Rear column comprises 560 men inc 132 left from the 255 who remained at Yambuya

11 June

Barttelot  and the Rear Column finally leave Yambuya amid much looting.

12 June

Jameson and Barttelot separately reach Sala Sala’s camp at sunset.

16/17 June 

A - HMS decides to go back to find out what has happened to the Rear Column. Parke goes with him as far as Ipoto

30 June

Jameson and Bonny meet up again at Eyella where they have to leave behind 5 loads

1 July

Bonny reports that the Manyema carriers are opening loads and have started to take cloth. He has to leave 5 double loads behind

4 July

Barttelot at Stanley Falls and is told of Assad Farran accusation against Jameson

5 July

Last entry in Barttelot diary –“ July 5 Thursday.  Wrote to (Mary), Father, Harry and Mackinnon

7 July

Jameson sends Bonny up to Banalya.  Bonny flogs the man who broke into his chop box, giving him 95 lashes and putting him in chains

8 July

Barttelot still at Singatini (Stanley Falls).  Baert gives him a photo remembrance

15 July

Bonny arrives at Banalya, which is under the headman Abdullah.  He is two days ahead of Barttelot

16 July

Bonny sends some men over to Jameson

17 July

Barttelot arrives at Banalya and thrashes a man.  He talks to Bonny about Jameson and the cannibals

19 July

Death of Barttelot at Banalya. He is buried within a couple of hours of his death

19 July

A - Parke goes on Ruga Ruga (raiding party) with 7 men and to shoot natives and scare them from stealing their crops

21 July

Jameson learns of the death of Barttelot and heads immediately over to Banalya

22 July

Jameson arrives at Banalya an hour before nightfall and Bonny tells him about the shooting of Barttelot

23 July

Jameson learns that the person accused of killing Major Bartleot is called Sanga.  He makes an inventory of Barttelot’s effects

25 July

Jameson heads back to Stanley Falls

6 Aug

Sanga tried and executed at Stanley Falls for killing Barttelot

9 Aug

Jameson heads down river from Stanley Falls by canoe

15 Aug

Bonny writes a letter to Governor General Janssens at Boma “…by written order left by Major Barttelot I am now in command…

16 Aug

The dying Jameson arrives at Bangala station and is met by Ward

17 Aug

Death of Jameson at Bangala

A - HMS arrives at Banalya and is angry about a letter Stairs wrote to Barttelot which he intercepted

19 Aug

A - HMS assumes command of the camp at Banalya

20 Aug

A - The Zanzibaris all complain to HMS about Bonny’s beatings  and says he broke into one of Stanley’s boxes

28 Aug

A - HMS writes his report to the Chairman of the EPRE condemning the actions of the Rear Column.

30 Aug

A - Dr Parke is given a very handsome little native girl named Soufaris, who is about 7-10 years old

6 Sept

A - Zanzibaris capture native women and Bonny tries to buy one but told they belong to HMS

7 Sept

A - Parke reports that 99% of the Zanzibaris have ulcers. He mentions “last night a little native girl was hanged up by the arms until she died…

13 Sept

News of the death of Barttelot reaches England by telegram

16 Sept

A - Parke’s slave girl Soufaris runs away. he is annoyed as he planned to take her back to England and give her to his sister

14 Sept

The news of Barttelot’s death is carried in The Times and other papers

22 Sept

The Times newspaper publishes Ward's telegram announcing the death of Jameson

9 Oct

HMS has a row with Bonny about Barttelot’s effects – “who made you heir to the Major's effects?”

23/24 Dec

Fort Bodo is evacuated. 

1889

 

18 Feb

The Advance and Rear Columns are re-united at Kavalli and Jephson meets up with Stairs, Nelson and Parke.

10 April

The EPRE together with EP, Casati and EP's "people" leave Kavalli’s camp but 3 days later HMS is dangerously ill and the caravan, 1330 strong, halts for a month

5 May

Trial of a mutineer Ruhan who is hanged by HMS

13 May

HMS sends out 120 rifles under Stairs to forage for food in the morning and 120 men under Bonny and Nelson in the afternoon 

14 May

HMS executes a spy

20 Sept

A row over Hongo disintegrates into a row and 17 natives are killed

22–24 Sept

EPRE harassed by Wasukuma tribe and HMS uses the Maxim gun in combat for the first time, killing a man

29 Nov

Caravan mets up with 2 US journalists – Vizetelly (NY Herald) and Stevens (NY World)

4 Dec

EPRE arrives at Bagamoyo and EP falls from a first floor window after a welcome dinner in his honour

19 Dec

HMS brings a legal case against Tippu Tib which drifts on until 1893

1890

 

28 June

In Darkest Africa published

23 Oct

Publication of the Barttelot book

23 Dec

Jameson’s diaries are published

1891

 

Feb

Jameson’s wife, brother and sister-in-law arrive in Zanzibar to find out more about his death and the events at Riba Riba.  Tippu Tib is hundreds of miles inland and never meets them.

1892

 

?28 Oct

EP murdered by Ismailia and Mamba, slaves of Said ben Abedi.  They were found and executed some time later.