The Yeke Kingdom (also called the ''Garanganze'' or ''Garenganze'' kingdom) of the Garanganze people in Katanga, DR Congo, was short-lived, existing from about 1856 to 1891 under one king,

Msiri Msiri (c. 1830 – December 20, 1891) founded and ruled the Yeke Kingdom (also called the Garanganze or Garenganze kingdom) in south-east Katanga (now in DR Congo) from about 1856 to 1891. His name is sometimes spelled 'M'Siri' in articles in ...

, but it became for a while the most powerful state in south-central Africa, controlling a territory of about half a million square kilometres. The Yeke Kingdom also controlled the only

trade route A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a sing ...

across the continent from east to west, since the Kalahari Desert and Lozi Kingdom in the south and the Congo rainforest in the north blocked alternative routes. It achieved this control through natural resources and force of arms—Msiri traded Katanga's

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...

principally, but also

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

and ivory, for

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). T ...

and firearms—and by alliances through marriage. The most important alliances were with Portuguese–

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

ns in the Benguela area, with Tippu Tip in the north and with Nyamwezi and Swahili traders in the east, and indirectly with the Sultan of Zanzibar who controlled the east coast traders. Msiri was in fact a Nyamwezi (also known as 'Yeke' or 'Bayeke') from

Tabora Tabora is the capital of Tanzania's Tabora Region and is classified as a municipality by the Tanzanian government. It is also the administrative seat of Tabora Urban District. According to the 2012 census, the district had a population of 226,999 ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

who got himself appointed as successor to a Wasanga chief west of the Luapula River by defeating the chief's Lunda enemies. Once installed he conquered the neighbouring tribes and expanded the chieftainship into a kingdom. From its capital at Bunkeya, the Yeke Kingdom took over the western territory of

Mwata Kazembe Kazembe is a traditional kingdom in modern-day Zambia, Southeastern Congo. For more than 250 years, Kazembe has been an influential kingdom of the Kiluba- Chibemba, speaking the language of the Eastern Luba- Lunda people of south-central Afric ...

, stopped the southwards expansion of the Luba Empire and subjugated tribes in the southwest, on the trading route to

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

. When King Leopold II of Belgium was told that the Yeke Kingdom controlled east-west trade and was rich in

and possibly

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

, he sent expeditions to try to obtain a treaty for the kingdom to join his Congo Free State (CFS).

Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Bri ...

also sent expeditions to sign up the kingdom to his

British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC or BSACo) was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expect ...

's chartered territories. The 'scramble for Katanga' was won by Leopold's

Stairs Expedition The Stairs Expedition to Katanga (1891−92), led by Captain William Stairs, was the winner in a race between two imperial powers, the British South Africa Company BSAC and the Congo Free State, to claim Katanga, a vast mineral-rich territor ...

, which ended the kingdom by killing Msiri, and took over the territory for the CFS, but with its own administration until it was more closely incorporated into the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

. Captain Stairs, the expedition's leader, installed one of Msiri's adopted sons, Mukanda-Bantu, as his successor but of a vastly reduced area with a radius of only 20 km from Bunkeya, and with the status of a chief.Joseph A. Moloney: With Captain Stairs to Katanga. S. Low, Marston & Company, London, 1893. The chieftainship continues to this day under the title ''Mwata Msiri''.http://www.kingmsiri.com/index2.htm "Mwami Msiri, King of Garanganze". Website accessed 8 February 2007.

References

{{coord missing, Democratic Republic of the Congo Countries in precolonial Africa History of Katanga 19th century in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

See also

References