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Louis Valcke
Louis Pierre Alphonse Valcke (22 December 1857 – 16 March 1940) was a Belgian viceroy and soldier.
Louis Pierre Alphonse Valcke was born in Bruges on 22 December 1857. His parents were Liévin-Pierre Valcke and Clémence d'Ongena. He studied at the Bruges Atheneum, then entered the Military School on 1 December 1874. He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 January 1877. On 27 February 1878 he was assigned to the engineers regiment in Antwerp.
In 1880 Valcke was seconded by the Military Cartographic Institute and assigned to the Upper Congo Studies Committee. He was charged by the king to study how best to reach the center of Africa, and advised the king to abandon the idea of entering via the Indian Ocean. At the end of July 1880 the king authorized Valcke to enter the Congo Basin via the Atlantic. He asked Valcke to maintain complete secrecy about the proposed enterprise, and to be patient and flexible with Henry Morton Stanley, whom he described as being a brilliant explorer and energetic organizer, but with a difficult and ambititious character.
On 4 August 1880 Valcke embarked at Ostend to travel via Liverpool to Banana, which he reached on 2 October 1880, and on 6 October 1880 went up the river to Vivi to contact Stanley. On 15 November 1880 Stanley sent Valcke orders to join him at Ngoma, which Valcke reached on 25 November 1880. Stanley explained that his task was to build a road that would pass the foot of the Ngoma plateau and make it possible to transport equipment, provisions and personnel to establish stations in the Congo territory. Valcke used explosives to blast rocks from the mountain, which combined with tree trunks were used to build the 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) "Valcke's causeway" from Ngoma to N'Konzo. Stanley wrote of Valcke's work, "Though our young friend is frequently suffering from dysentery, by the time he is through with his task, we have finished off our causeway, have levelled it with 24 inches of earth, and a fine compact broad wagon road is the result, along the base of which the baffled river lashes itself into fury.
On 8 December they camped at a place named Khonzo. Stanley steamed the Royal upstream and was able to get within 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of Isangila. From Khonzo 100 men went overland making the road, while the steamers carried materials up by water. By 30 December the expedition had made camp .75 miles (1.21 km) from Isangila, and the steamers were in a cove from which a road could be made to haul them up to their launching place above the rapids. Stanley left Valcke in charge while he returned to Vivi to haul the new wagons and new steel lighter that had been left at the Bundi. The boats were on shore in the camp on 2 January 1881 to be repaired, scraped and painted in readiness for the journey to Manyanga.
In February 1881 Stanley heard rumours that English missionaries were planning to build a post in the region, and asked Valcke to establish an International African Association (AIA) post at Isanghila before they did so. The post was complete within two months. While Valcke continued to develop the Isanghila post, Stanley took the steamers En Avant and Royal up the navigable stretch of the river to Manyanga, where Stanley started to build a post, which he entrusted to Victor Harou. He charged Charles-Marie de Braconnier with building a road from Manianga to the mouth of the Lufu River, bypassing the Ntombo-Mataka falls. Valcke entrusted Isanghila to Eugène Janssens and Frédéric Orban, and joined Stanley in Manianga on 14 July 1881. They left the next day with a contingent of native auxiliaries along the route marked out by Braconnier carrying the En Avant and two whalers they intended to launch at the Stanley Pool.
They reached the Djoué River without difficulty. There they were informed that Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza had signed a treaty with Chief Makoka and claimed possession for France of the whole right shore of the Congo River north of the Pool. The Belgians established a camp on the right bank of the Djoué, and on 3 August 1881 Stanley asked Valcke to return to the coast and try to catch the boat due on 20 August 1881 from Banana to St-Paul de Loanda, He should bring back trade goods to win the chief Ngaliéma over to the AIA. Valcke made the 500 kilometres (310 mi) journey to Banana in seven days. He was suffering from fever and hematuria when he reached Luanda, but managed to acquire the goods and take then to Banana, where he dispatched them to Stanley and then returned to Belgium, reaching Ostend on 23 December 1881.
In Brussels Valcke met King Léopold II, who agreed that it was necessary to move fast to occupy Central Africa. On 8 February 1882 Valcke left for Zanzibar to recruit auxiliaries and bring them to Banana via Cape Town, where he was joined by Alphonse van Gèle. In the meantime, Stanley had undertaken a tiring expedition to the Mfini and Lake Léopold II, where he came down with fever and abdominal pain and was ordered to return to Europe. He was in Vivi when Valcke and Van Gèle arrived in April. Stanley gave Valcke exclusive command of the 256 Zanzibaris, independent of the new administrator Eduard Pechuël-Loesche. Valcke left Lieven van de Velde in Vivi with the sick from the Zanzibari contingent and set out with Van Gèle carrying a new boiler for the Royal and 600 loads of goods. At the Loa height Van Gèle fell ill and had to return to Vivi, while Valcke continued on.
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Louis Valcke
Louis Pierre Alphonse Valcke (22 December 1857 – 16 March 1940) was a Belgian viceroy and soldier.
Louis Pierre Alphonse Valcke was born in Bruges on 22 December 1857. His parents were Liévin-Pierre Valcke and Clémence d'Ongena. He studied at the Bruges Atheneum, then entered the Military School on 1 December 1874. He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 January 1877. On 27 February 1878 he was assigned to the engineers regiment in Antwerp.
In 1880 Valcke was seconded by the Military Cartographic Institute and assigned to the Upper Congo Studies Committee. He was charged by the king to study how best to reach the center of Africa, and advised the king to abandon the idea of entering via the Indian Ocean. At the end of July 1880 the king authorized Valcke to enter the Congo Basin via the Atlantic. He asked Valcke to maintain complete secrecy about the proposed enterprise, and to be patient and flexible with Henry Morton Stanley, whom he described as being a brilliant explorer and energetic organizer, but with a difficult and ambititious character.
On 4 August 1880 Valcke embarked at Ostend to travel via Liverpool to Banana, which he reached on 2 October 1880, and on 6 October 1880 went up the river to Vivi to contact Stanley. On 15 November 1880 Stanley sent Valcke orders to join him at Ngoma, which Valcke reached on 25 November 1880. Stanley explained that his task was to build a road that would pass the foot of the Ngoma plateau and make it possible to transport equipment, provisions and personnel to establish stations in the Congo territory. Valcke used explosives to blast rocks from the mountain, which combined with tree trunks were used to build the 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) "Valcke's causeway" from Ngoma to N'Konzo. Stanley wrote of Valcke's work, "Though our young friend is frequently suffering from dysentery, by the time he is through with his task, we have finished off our causeway, have levelled it with 24 inches of earth, and a fine compact broad wagon road is the result, along the base of which the baffled river lashes itself into fury.
On 8 December they camped at a place named Khonzo. Stanley steamed the Royal upstream and was able to get within 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of Isangila. From Khonzo 100 men went overland making the road, while the steamers carried materials up by water. By 30 December the expedition had made camp .75 miles (1.21 km) from Isangila, and the steamers were in a cove from which a road could be made to haul them up to their launching place above the rapids. Stanley left Valcke in charge while he returned to Vivi to haul the new wagons and new steel lighter that had been left at the Bundi. The boats were on shore in the camp on 2 January 1881 to be repaired, scraped and painted in readiness for the journey to Manyanga.
In February 1881 Stanley heard rumours that English missionaries were planning to build a post in the region, and asked Valcke to establish an International African Association (AIA) post at Isanghila before they did so. The post was complete within two months. While Valcke continued to develop the Isanghila post, Stanley took the steamers En Avant and Royal up the navigable stretch of the river to Manyanga, where Stanley started to build a post, which he entrusted to Victor Harou. He charged Charles-Marie de Braconnier with building a road from Manianga to the mouth of the Lufu River, bypassing the Ntombo-Mataka falls. Valcke entrusted Isanghila to Eugène Janssens and Frédéric Orban, and joined Stanley in Manianga on 14 July 1881. They left the next day with a contingent of native auxiliaries along the route marked out by Braconnier carrying the En Avant and two whalers they intended to launch at the Stanley Pool.
They reached the Djoué River without difficulty. There they were informed that Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza had signed a treaty with Chief Makoka and claimed possession for France of the whole right shore of the Congo River north of the Pool. The Belgians established a camp on the right bank of the Djoué, and on 3 August 1881 Stanley asked Valcke to return to the coast and try to catch the boat due on 20 August 1881 from Banana to St-Paul de Loanda, He should bring back trade goods to win the chief Ngaliéma over to the AIA. Valcke made the 500 kilometres (310 mi) journey to Banana in seven days. He was suffering from fever and hematuria when he reached Luanda, but managed to acquire the goods and take then to Banana, where he dispatched them to Stanley and then returned to Belgium, reaching Ostend on 23 December 1881.
In Brussels Valcke met King Léopold II, who agreed that it was necessary to move fast to occupy Central Africa. On 8 February 1882 Valcke left for Zanzibar to recruit auxiliaries and bring them to Banana via Cape Town, where he was joined by Alphonse van Gèle. In the meantime, Stanley had undertaken a tiring expedition to the Mfini and Lake Léopold II, where he came down with fever and abdominal pain and was ordered to return to Europe. He was in Vivi when Valcke and Van Gèle arrived in April. Stanley gave Valcke exclusive command of the 256 Zanzibaris, independent of the new administrator Eduard Pechuël-Loesche. Valcke left Lieven van de Velde in Vivi with the sick from the Zanzibari contingent and set out with Van Gèle carrying a new boiler for the Royal and 600 loads of goods. At the Loa height Van Gèle fell ill and had to return to Vivi, while Valcke continued on.