Casement's Maps of the Niger DeltaAuthor(s): Angus MitchellSource: History Ireland, Vol. 14, No. 4, Ireland & Africa (Jul. - Aug., 2006), pp. 50-55Published by: Wordwell Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27725489Accessed: 21/04/2010 17:25

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SOURCES

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Among the different

instruments of power wielded by empire builders, maps might be

considered as special forms of evidence in state formation:

symbolic representations of expanding colonial influence. The mapping of

Africa is synonymous with its

conquest and domination. From the

fifteenth century, when the

Portuguese first navigated the West

African coast, cartographers imposed order upon empty space?terra

incognita?while simultaneously

encoding secret knowledge vital to

commercial advantage, military

strategy and colonial settlement. In

Western eyes, land was only rendered

meaningful once it had been mapped, and, as recent critical theory has

demonstrated, the appropriation of

territory by spatial description lies at

the dark heart of imperial expansion.

50 History IRELAND July/August 2006

. ...... ...

64:? "i4i IS known AD

5,2id.: "'A j

Tx

RO'ger Casement-s thro'yea.rs,:

t h, e NigerCoast P rite";' rc

92 5.).,-A a- S thelew docum(m;ji t have surv e ies of'

d M:aps d-escs,, bin9 .... ....... .. ... . ...... .... ..... ...............

re5pnniaissan'' meys ----h n -nT O ld - i o the:" 'i' tl r1an'd aar'O"'

CaMabar. . . ..... .. .... .

0 6 IL

mpg* ............. .. . .... ....

0 a 0

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Places with people without history But for all the information maps

include, they are simultaneously tools

of deception. Consider, for instance, how they desocialise space and

occlude the tidemarks of history. To

most readers, the Niger delta is

geopolitically unfamiliar. The old

History IRELAND July/August 2006

slaving ports and coastal markets at

Brass, Bonny, Opobo, Old Calabar and

Forcados, defining the coastline

between the Bight of Biafra and the

Bight of Benin, are places with people without history. Maps of the Niger delta, whether ancient or modern, do

not reveal the successive waves of

either exploitation or development

defining the historical changes in this

region.

The delta was once an integral part of the Luso-Britannic West African

trading sphere. Liverpool merchants

long profited from a slave trade

supplying the plantations of the

51

*

?Mb*

lericas.

batlantic sla1

swrajh?<jk to

'legiiraate coi

in able?^k

b Barrels of^alm constituent in the

necessary for

cleanliness of the

the new indusi

Euroge. For most of

the British Foi

tjklet comm<

Bf 1879 one

George Taubman ?oldie, of a highly profitable

monop^V in the palm oil

trade: Rivalry in Africa in

le early 1880s between

in outlawed

in 1807 they was termed

:e', and the trade

replaced by the principal

ction of soap

taining the

king classes in

heartlands of

nineteenth century Office was content

govern.

ireneur,

ntrol

and^ftarice grew unsettled with the

; of the Ge man flag

|roon in July 1884.

lati?itthe of the Berlin

an conference,

?dance of Otto

lfuroP9?ft? a series

?.m 0*1

LU O,

forcing local chiefs to

with an 'X' and theteby their ancestral lands.

As British commercial

initial treaties

sign away Gwato

reluctantly obliged administrative commi

information was i<

primary reason for

shortcomings of pol and an efficient

officer, Major transferred

CromSr's) to und?

gather^

"Right: the mouth of

Below: Map 3--tfom Calabar up the fe

^aftleyof the Opss River -****?? ?

r

k )

7^ _mu????????B?SSS??m

Of THt COCHTRT BKTWEIN TBK lAttBR op nu ora? aro c?oss river.

*W???

region, or Oil Rivers Protectorate, as it

was originally called.

Roger Casement, survey officer

Having demonstrated his competence, Macdonald established his consular

headauarters at Old Calabar and

recrufted an administrative team of

mainly Irish and Scottish officers to

his side. Among them were Henrj^?

Gallwey, Kenneth Campbell

Ralph Moor, a former RIC officer,^ in 1900 became the first

Left: Map 4?across

the Cameroon border. _

\.S oho

P I SL i t'J S mmhm

>u

UL*.

commissioner ?for

the t?tptsst??aX&of

Southern Nigeria. The?foungest ?id most able of

hijs recruits was a 28-ye

old Irishman, Roger Casement, who"

joined up as a survey officer,

time of his appointmer

years irr AMca;; working in

History mELA$$) July/August 2006 %%

capacities as a colohial officer, civil

missionary and labour recruiter on the

Matadi-Leopoldville (Kinshasa)

railway. He was a

around.

The first few

admiaktration

e hub

scussion on

Among a line of

the place was

inan to have

of Macdonald's were relatively

;ular residence r a very animated st African affairs,

languished visitors

F. D. Lugard, the

penal ara^nistirat?r, later credited

with defining ihcj polic? rule, and the unorthodc

yda^yKingsley, *"

Macdonalds', vi

Old Calabar )B&S&m*B?alN>io t African

__^ji ;ars~ hi'the Niger

relatively

pfJg&5?ct r?explorer

joftl|e r?l weeks

x.

voz torete are

jtrZf

SOURCES

unknown. Few documents have

survived from this formative period of

his consular career. The most valuable

material is a series of reports and maps

describing short reconnaissance

journeys he made into the hinterland

around Old Calabar. Together they are

an important testament to various

'technologies' he had leamt and the

role of topographical information in

-the process of economic and

administrative contrpl. By then, he

could navigate by the stars and take

accurate astronomical readings .with

ronqpeters. Casement's reports c?spiayj/ a

remarkable diligenc^?^if^ypKally Victorian curiosity about the natural

world. Descriptive passages ?Wake reference to local

sypeptijk>n, economic exchange langwges^and

H

', .P,%^ri)om%

' Y\ M l?M/V, . ..

tabora ?f V? .//><? hen

Il ? loca?x^uSency, methods of farming,

resources^botanicai observations and

^ie culturkEioipac%f European trade

on indigenous ways Of/life. His keen

eye for ethnographic and

anthropological \ d?tail reveals

important dynarjjits of colonial

authority and a sympathy

for Africans, unusual for whifc| colonials of his ilk.

His brief from((Macdonald was to

explore commer|iaJ possibilities in the

region, make pei?e?uP?^ritact

with

local chiefs, and survey theT?i|itory in

and around Old Calabar asfftM? first

step towjj?ds opening overlaid xo^tes between coastal ports and interior

arkets. <?*x ^

Map 1: from m to Us? and Ibiaki

The fftst map accompanied a repol

narrating a journey from Itu to Us^

and Ibiaku, along; gereute from

Cross Riv^r valley overland tci

Opobo Riv^r and the lands o<(the

Ogoni peopl?. The expedition quic ran into prol^ems. At a village hpst! to the presenc?of white men, aY

^

of bees was let * ~

party and fMmq?% with his life. He

trying to negotiate ?

territory, but event

abort the journey.

Map 2: from Opo^ViaEket to the mouth of the Cross R?yer \SaJt The. most detailed^&ap illustratesWo

sep?rate journey? undertaken inn

effort to connect the vice-consulab

and market at Opobo with the mouth%

of the Cross River via Eket. Casement

produced two reports from this

journey, recording Ijiis efforts to find a

path through the ??angrove swamps and the coastal flo?dplains. The first

part of the journey, from Opobo to

Eket, was successful. The second

journey was largely unsuccessful^ hampered by heavy rain and

' jjg?8

inundation of the swamps.

Map 3: from Calabar up the valley of the Cross River

A third sketch-map illustrates a

journey north from Calabar up the

valley of the Cross ?River, through an

area that was about to be exploited for

palm oil. and untapped extractive

rubber resources. Ah increased global demand for latex, vital to the

i a. <y.

%ft^f/residerifc? at Old Calabar in

?anuar^Jt?f^J^?srJ^i^pJ^ail)

ufacture of rubber tyres and

1 electrical ?sulation, had transformed

A?H& Wost inaccessible ??ica and S<

^During regime in the

brutally coercing

opportunit

Leopold IPs 4 Free State was^

central Africa

^O^nmunities into collectfeg*r\$ber to

finance his lavish building projy back in Brussels?a crime >?gair

humanity that Casemeu?f?^WMft

officially investigate a fej/y?are 't?Bpo/i

imilar and largely unr|?o|ded crimes

being committecl4]^u^ 's tropicaLb?fi^

Map 4:

ttt

the Cameroon border

M^ggp^panylng an

it.^|cribes the route of ?

"$s? journey across the Cameroon

border into\the forested highlands

delimiting: tHkfrontie? between the

Niger Coast Protectorate and German

Cameroon. This, w% was a point of 7

constant diplomatic%nsion during these years.

Composite map: the Ni? Protectorate

Mucfi/t^^^lmMi??^'and/eetail contained in these

cartography^ sketches was

subsequently^

;UGw?t.0.s f^l?a

r )duuJ pla^t, t?r Ben /?. )

Incorporated onto a large-scale map of

^^j?^Hgf i?past Protectorate published in 1894 under Macdonald's name. The

drawing of the map, enabling more

accurate negation, put an end to

these few years of relative calm. In

early 1895 the men trap the city of

Brass revolted agato? the|r0coloni^k masters. It was an&ct j^aefiap?tae:8Aet by force., Gu?]poat?R%re d? '""""* ''"

"?e ground'.

^

lowed in 1897 toW? was swiftly f( le decimation

andflE^^ sale of its"

/collection of bronze

(5tures and t court art, now

iCmk$b$ie in museums id the world;

w

r i

4

'his

vil Jervjpef ihe commented

hough administration had

fcut with the intention of tion it 'quickly developed and

protecting pQwer ultimately

mejr^iaf?h?xing power'. The

reflects his disillusionment e divide between the ideals of

grfip?fialism and the reality of

ie on the spot.

e^djest fragments

j^j?tiim a

|ev

?efeTto y^ Irelarior^efer"to

official appointment The LS

|Ms?' geographical

K criptiorj^^with ?$ ethnographical

?ervrf Co^ar administration

ir\Hhe;>v draa *

is summarised as

experience of ritual

v|0- c?r\uJ)erstition and sacrifice

?nventurog\ tteyond the threshojdicj diploniatio/exchange into

' ~ J

the uiifi^able. Qls b f1

withfean alms

$?hd ?"Almighl

Till a c

prosea histor .

utterance I m?|e theit?^

hangin^bn 3 At?gust t?Mros the

ion i

h?n and Biaf ra

54 \ History JRELA^f^y/August 2006

announced a $23 billion harvest.

Respectively they were the highest recorded profits in American and

British business history. Yet, in spite of

the vast returns, the Niger delta

remains socially ghettoised?few of

the trappings of modernity have

reached this place. Since the Biafran war (1967-70), when it tried to break

with the federal government, its

history has been defined by famine,

oppression and successive waves of

resistance met by ever-increasing

levels of state-sponsored terror and

violence. The delta region?or eye of

the earth?once the home of fishing communities, is now indelibly scarred

with the refuse of the petrochemical

age: circuits of pipes rust in the foetid

delta, and gas is blithely flared into

the atmosphere. Transnational

corporate savagery rules.

A decade ago, the writer, publisher and environmental activist Ken Saro

Wiwa was hanged in Port Harcourt,

along with eight other activists, for

their peaceful campaign to expose Shell Oil's environmental record in

the region, Saro-Wiwa's statement of

SOURCES

H

sixteenth Irish revolutionary to be

executed for his part in the Easter

Rising, the Niger delta entered its

latest phase of interference. The

discovery of huge deposits of oil and

gas in the Niger delta region has left a

ruthless legacy of violations against human and environmental rights. Those same areas that Casement

traversed and mapped are now the

demesne of transnational oil

corporations. In recent decades, the

crumbling locations of slave traders,

palm oil dealers and ivory hunters

have been strategically reactivated by British and US petrochemical

companies. Because of its low sulphur content, 'Bonny Light', the name for

Nigerian crude, is prized by Western

refineries, where environmental

guidelines are strict. Shell has a huge oil terminal at Bonny. Eket is the site

of Exxon Mobil's Qua Iboe terminal, soon to be joined by another massive

refinery, financed by private investment from Texas.

At the start of this year (2006) Exxon Mobil recorded bumper profits of $32 billion. A few days later Shell

Above: Map 5?oil extraction in the

bights of Benin and Biafra today. (NASA)

21 September 1995 to the Ogoni Civil

Disturbances Tribunal bore many resemblances to Casement's speech from the dock 80 years earlier. Both

men were convinced that ultimately

history would absolve them. Neither man doubted that their resistance to

authority was rooted in a deeper ethical duty towards humanity and a

universal responsibility to fight for

environmental justice. These are facts

the maps fail to record, x

Angus Mitchell lectures in history at the

University of Limerick.

Further reading:

J.C. Anene, Southern Nigeria in

transition 1885-1906 (London

1966). I. Okonta and O. Douglas, Where

vultures feast: Shell, human rights and oil (London, 2003).

History IRELAND July/August 2006 55