French-British rivalry

During the 1840s and 50s, West Africa was the site of fledgling colonial rivalry between European powers. The Nuñez region lay between the French colony of Senegal and British Gambia and Sierra Leone. French traders were increasingly challenged by commercial trading expeditions from Britain, Belgium and America.

Early Belgian colonial ambitions in the region

Because of his first marriage to Princess Charlotte of Wales, which would have made him prince consort of the United Kingdom had she not died at 21, Leopold I had been studying Britain's colonial questions and had become a strong partisan of colonisation.^[2] Once he accepted the Belgian throne, he was thus convinced that the new country needed its own colonies.^[2] The Rio Nunez had been a colonial interest of Belgium since 1845 but was being set up more as a trading outpost than a true colony.^[1] One of the first merchants to take an interest in the region was Abraham Cohen,^[1] who persuaded the King that it was a worthy opportunity.^[3] The Belgian Royal Navy's Louise Marie schooner was thus sent to investigate the region on 17 December 1847; it arrived in the Bay of Gorée on 11 January 1848.^[3] They stayed in the Rio Nunez in February and March and learned that the river had the potential to be successfully exploited except during the rainy season.^[3]

Local power struggle

Lamina, King of the Nalous.

The indigenous people were split into two groups ever since the death of the jing of the Landoumas in late 1846, who occupied the upper section of the river beyond Rapass (or Ropaz). One group supported Tongo who was also the Britain's choice (at the beginning), and another supported Mayoré, his brother, and was supported by France (at the beginning). Mayoré had also gained the support of the Nalous, who had pledged their armed support.^[3] That angered Tongo, who set fire to Walkaria but was beaten by Joura, the brother of Lamina, King of the Nalous, and was forced to retreat inland. The proxy war led to a treaty between France and Britain that forbade either party from intervening on the river.^[3] Van Haverbeke, the Belgian commanding officer, seized the opportunity by signing a convention with Lamina where the latter ceded to the King of the Belgians both sides of the Rio Nunez, up to one mile inland, from the backwater upstream of Rapass to the backwater downstream of Victoria.^[3] Against regular payments by the Belgians, he would also provide them with protection.^[3] The Louise-Marie then sailed to Belgium and back down to the Rio Nunez to bring the treaty that was to be ratified.^[3] Meanwhile, Cohen was to be in charge of commerce in the region.^[3] Their return was not well received by the French regional commander, Édouard Bouët-Willaumez, who thought the river to be very important to France and was unhappy to have been ordered by his government to protect the Belgian at all cost.^[3] On 11 February 1849, Lamina came aboard the schooner and received to his great pleasure his uniform complete with epaulettes from the Belgians.^[3]

The French-Belgian commercial outpost of Bicaise on the Rio Nunez.

Once the treaty with Lamina signed, the Belgians wanted to make an agreement with Mayoré, who was becoming less and less hospitable to Europeans.^[3] Mayoré had expulsed Ismaël Tay, a Frenchman and his own brother in-law, and kidnapped his wife-and child, whom he felt threatened by since he could one day have a claim to his throne.^[3] The Belgians organised an expedition with Bicaise, a local merchant, and discovered Mayoré's people constructing a building meant for two English merchants, Braithwaith and Marin, on land owned by Bicaise without his authorisation.^[3] Brathwaith and Marin had arrived in the area at the same time as the Louise-Marie and had made many gifts to Mayoré to earn his favour.^[3] The Belgian officers then disembarked and set up near Bicaise's house which was on a plateau. They became surrounded by about 400 locals armed with rifles. When the Belgians aimed at Mayoré's hut, the locals soon began pleading not to destroy their village, declared that Mayoré was a drunk oppressor and confirmed Ismael's complaints. Van Haverbeke then went to see Mayoré and demanded an answer from him by 11pm or to except an attack. At around 10pm, they received a positive answer and left the village with Ismael's wife and child, who had been saved without Mayoré's knowledge.^[3]

On the 27th, Van Haverbeke learned of Mayore's plans to take back the wife and child and ordered his troops to inspect every ship going up river. On the same day, the British ship Favourite's commander went to see Haverbeke to protest his actions on account of Britain's treaty with France, but he admitted that his superiors had misinterpreted the treaty, which did not concern Belgium or any other third parties. Ismael then learned that his family had been taken prisoner again by Mayoré. French and Belgians then met and decided to overthrow Mayoré and name Lamina as his successor. A party was sent to make a last effort to get the prisoners back. Meanwhile, the locals told the expedition that the two British traders had brought about 30 guns the day before to Mayoré's forces while they flew the white flag.^[3] Later that day, a delegation of Foulhas arrived and denounced Mayoré, and Landouma dignitaries (Mayore's own peoples) came to say that Mayore was acting under influence of the British traders and that unlike their king, the Landouma chiefs wanted to give Ismael's family back.^[3] Five days later, on the 16th, after many talks between French and Belgian command, the blockade of the river by the Louise-Marie had started. On the 17th, a letter was sent to the British merchants to leave the area or to have their possessions destroyed by the attack. Two days later, they arrived at Bicaise's home with a peace offering on behalf of Mayore, but that was distrusted by the French and the Belgians, who held the view that they could not trust Mayore. On the 20th, a letter from the Britons was received that stated that they would hold the French and Belgian governments responsible of any damage that they would suffer, as they refused to leave Boké.^[3] On the 23rd, Tongo and 150 of his men arrived holding red flags. They were then armed by the French. On the same day, the French intercepted the two British fleeing traders and kept them on board until the attack was over.^[3] An official declaration of war was then sent to Mayore.