Emin Pasha Relief Expedition - Anxiety About Equatoria

Anxiety About Equatoria

When the Mahdists captured Khartoum in 1885, Egyptian administration of the Sudan collapsed, and the extreme southern province Equatoria, located on the upper reaches of the Nile near Lake Albert was nearly cut off from the outside world. Emin Pasha was a German doctor and naturalist who had been appointed Governor of Equatoria. He was able to send and receive letters via Buganda and Zanzibar and had been informed in February 1886 that the Egyptian government would abandon Equatoria. In July, encouraged by the missionary Alexander Mackay, he had invited the British government to annex Equatoria itself. Although the government was not interested in such a doubtful venture, the British public came to see Emin as a second General Gordon in mortal danger from the Mahdists.

By November, Scottish businessman and philanthropist William Mackinnon, who had been involved in various colonial ventures, had approached Stanley about leading a relief expedition. Stanley declared himself ready "at a moment's notice" to go. Mackinnon then approached J. F. Hutton, a business acquaintance also involved in colonial activities, and together they organized the "Emin Pasha Relief Committee", mostly consisting of Mackinnon's friends, whose first meeting was on 19 December 1886. The Committee raised a total of about £32,000.

Stanley was officially still in the employment of Léopold II of Belgium, by whom he had been employed in carving out Léopold's 'Congo Free State'. As a compromise for letting Stanley go, it was arranged in a meeting in Brussels between Stanley and the king, that the expedition would take a longer route up the Congo River, contrary to plans for a shorter route inland from the eastern African coast. In return, Léopold would provide his Free State steamers for the transportation of the expedition up the river, from Stanley Pool (now Pool Malebo) as far as the mouth of the Aruwimi River.

By 1 January 1887 Stanley was back in London preparing the expedition, to widespread public acclaim.