{{Short description, French colonial enterprise in Africa
The Marchand Mission was an expedition undertaken by French emissary
Jean-Baptiste Marchand
Jean-Baptiste Marchand (; 22 November 1863 – 14 January 1934) was a French general and explorer in Africa. Marchand is best known for commanding the French expeditionary force during the 1898 Fashoda Incident.
Career
Marchand was born in ...
(1863-1934) and 150 men with designs to expand French colonial power in northeastern Africa.
Starting from
Libreville
Libreville (; ) is the capital and largest city of Gabon, located on the Gabon Estuary. Libreville occupies of the northwestern province of Estuaire Province, Estuaire. Libreville is also a port on the Gabon Estuary, near the Gulf of Guinea. A ...
(in present-day Gabon) in 1897, the Marchand expedition spent 14 arduous months crossing largely uncharted regions of north central Africa. They finally reached the fort of
Fashoda
Kodok or Kothok (), formerly known as Fashoda, is a town in the Fashoda County of Upper Nile (state), Upper Nile State, in the Greater Upper Nile region of South Sudan. Kodok is the capital of Shilluk people, Shilluk country, formally known as the ...
on the upper Nile on July 10, 1898, and hoisted the French flag. On September 18, a flotilla of British gunboats led by
Horatio Kitchener
Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener (; 24 June 1850 – 5 June 1916) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator. Kitchener came to prominence for his imperial campaigns, his involvement in the Second Boer War, a ...
arrived at Fashoda; Kitchener had just defeated
Mahdi
The Mahdi () is a figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, End of Times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad, and will appear shortly before Jesu ...
forces at The
Battle of Omdurman
The Battle of Omdurman, also known as the Battle of Karary, was fought during the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan between a British–Egyptian expeditionary force commanded by British Commander-in-Chief (sirdar) major general Horatio Herbert ...
, and was in the process of reconquering the
Sudan
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
in the name of the Egyptian
Khedive
Khedive ( ; ; ) was an honorific title of Classical Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the Khedive of Egypt, viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"Khedive" ''Encyclopaedi ...
. The confrontation of the French and British was cordial but both sides insisted on their right to Fashoda.
News of the encounter was relayed to Paris and London and each side accused the other of expansionism and aggression. A stalemate (the
Fashoda Incident
The Fashoda Incident, also known as the Fashoda Crisis ( French: ''Crise de Fachoda''), was the climax of imperialist territorial disputes between Britain and France in East Africa, occurring between 10 July to 3 November 1898. A French expedit ...
) continued until November 3 when French Foreign Minister
Théophile Delcassé
Théophile Delcassé (; 1 March 185222 February 1923) was a French politician who served as foreign minister from 1898 to 1905. He is best known for his hatred of German Empire, Germany and efforts to secure alliances with Russian Empire, Russ ...
, fearing the possibility of war, withdrew Marchand and his troops and ceded the Sudan to the British.
The Marchand Mission was a major French attempt during the great period of colonial expansion to link colonial territories across the breadth of Africa. Some 45,000 porters struggled over 2000 miles to achieve the conquest, carrying hundreds of tons of supplies.
References
* Charles Zorgbibe, "Fashoda 1898, England Settles on the Nile"
* George Tabor, "The Cape to Cairo Railway (2003)"
1898 in Sudan1897 in Africa