Luama River - European Exploration

European Exploration

The explorer Henry Morton Stanley visited the river in October 1876. He said of the people: "They are tolerably hospitable, and permit strangers the free use of their dwellings. The bananas and plantains are very luxuriant, while the Guinea palms supply the people with oil and wine; the forests give them fuel, the rivers fish, and the gardens cassava, groundnuts, and Indian corn". He said of the lower reaches of the river that as far as the Lualaba the current was from three to six knots and the river was about 5 feet (1.5 m) deep, with a shaly bed. Stanley followed the river down to the Lualaba, and then followed the Lualaba downstream as it curved away to the west, determining that it was not the Nile as David Livingstone had surmised, but was the upper part of the Congo River.

The Arab war in the Congo Free State was concluded by a victory by the Force Publique led by Dhanis and Pnthier on the Luama River on 20 October 1893.