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Léopold Louis Joubert (or Ludovic Joubert) (22 February 1842 – 27 May 1927) was a French soldier and lay missionary. He fought for the Papal States between 1860 and 1870 during the Italian unification, which he opposed. He later assisted the
White Fathers , image = Cardinal Lavigerie.jpg , caption = Charles Lavigerie , abbreviation = M.Afr. , nickname = White Fathers , formation = , founder = Archbishop Charles-Martial Allem ...
missionaries in East Africa and played an important role in the suppression of the slave trade between 1885 and 1892. He married a local woman and settled by the shore of Lake Tanganyika, where he lived until his death at the age of eighty five.


Early years

Léopold Louis Joubert was born at Saint-Herblon, France on 22 February 1842. As a child he wanted to be like the Christian warriors of the past. He was given the nickname "Ludovic" as a child, and was often called by this name as an adult. He attended school at
Ancenis Ancenis (; ) is a former commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Ancenis-Saint-Géréon. It is a former sub-prefecture of the department, and was the seat of the former a ...
(1854–1858) and then Combrée (1858–1860). Joubert left school in 1860 to join the army that Pope Pius IX was raising to defend the Papal States as a member of the Franco-Belgian corps that was later called the
Papal Zouaves The Papal Zouaves ( it, Zuavi Pontifici) were an infantry battalion, later regiment, dedicated to defending the Papal States. Named after the French zouave regiments, the ' were mainly young men, unmarried and Catholic, who volunteered to assist P ...
. On 18 September 1860 Joubert fought at the
Battle of Castelfidardo The Battle of Castelfidardo took place on 18 September 1860 at Castelfidardo, a small town in the Marche region of Italy. It was fought between the Sardinian army – acting as the driving force in the war for Italian unification, against the P ...
, where he was wounded, taken prisoner and returned to France. After recovering, he went back to Rome in June 1861, and was appointed Sergeant in 1862. He remained in Rome as a member of the Zouaves after
Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
withdrew the French troops from Italy in December 1866. He became a Lieutenant on 30 December 1866 and Captain on 14 December 1867, aged twenty-five. On 20 September 1870 he commanded the defenders of the
Porta Salaria Porta Salaria was a gate in the Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy. Constructed between 271 AD and 275 AD, it was finally demolished in 1921. History Porta Salaria was part of the Aurelian Walls built by emperor Aurelian in the 3rd century, includ ...
during the unsuccessful defense of Rome against the army of the new
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...
. During the Franco-Prussian War General Athanase Charette organized the French Zouaves as a corps of "Volunteers of the West". Joubert served as a captain in this corps but refused an offer of a permanent commission as a captain in the French army, so as to remain at the service of the Pope. After the war ended in 1871 he returned to La Sébilière in
Mésanger Mésanger (; br, Mezansker) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Population See also *Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department *Hortense Clémentine Tanvet Hortense Clémentine Tanvet (19 November 1880 -13 ...
, where he worked as a farmer until 1879. In 1879 he became secretary to General Charette and tutor to his son. The General was a supporter of the Bourbon monarchy and also a passionate advocate for the Pope's temporal sovereignty.


First African expedition

On 15 January 1880 Joubert left
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
for Algiers where he offered to work as an armed auxiliary protecting the missionaries being dispatched by Archbishop
Charles Lavigerie Charles Martial Allemand Lavigerie (31 October 1825 – 26 November 1892) was a French cardinal, archbishop of Carthage and Algiers and primate of Africa. He also founded the White Fathers. A Catholic priest who became a bishop in France, Laviger ...
's Society of Missionaries of Africa, or White Fathers. The missionary caravans were menaced by armed slave traders in the Great Lakes region of East Africa. On 8 November 1880 Joubert left Algiers with the third caravan in command of six Zouaves. The caravan arrived at Bagamoyo, opposite Zanzibar, on 3 December 1880. After many delays and difficulties it reached
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. ...
in what is now
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 ...
in December 1881. Joubert continued on to
Ujiji Ujiji is a historic town located in Kigoma-Ujiji District of Kigoma Region in Tanzania. The town is the oldest in western Tanzania. In 1900, the population was estimated at 10,000 and in 1967 about 41,000. The site is a registered National His ...
on Lake Tanganyika, which he reached on 7 February 1882. He helped fortify the mission at Mulwewa on the west shore of the lake, and to train the local African defenders. He also helped found missions at the north and south ends of the lake, and was responsible for building the fortified mission of Lavigerieville ( Kibanga). Later the missionaries abandoned three of the new stations due to attacks by the powerful slave traders
Tippu Tip Tippu Tip, or Tippu Tib (1832 – June 14, 1905), real name Ḥamad ibn Muḥammad ibn Jumʿah ibn Rajab ibn Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al Murjabī ( ar, حمد بن محمد بن جمعة بن رجب بن محمد بن سعيد المرجبي), ...
and
Rumaliza Muhammad bin Khalfan bin Khamis al-Barwani () (born c. 1855), commonly known as Rumaliza, was an Arabs, Arab trader of slaves and ivory, active in Central Africa, Central and East Africa in the last part of the nineteenth century. He was a member ...
. A spitting cobra temporarily blinded Joubert. He had to return to France in May 1885 for treatment.


Concept of the Christian kingdom

Cardinal Lavigerie was keen on the idea of establishing a central Christian state that could dominate the interior of Africa and ward off the influence of Freemasons, Socialists, Protestants and Muslims. At one point the kingdom of Buganda was seen as potentially playing this role, and Joubert thought he might have to become "Minister of War to His Black Majesty, Mutesa." This idea was abandoned, as was a plan to use the Kingdom of Lunda as a base. In 1885 the
Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, also known as the Congo Conference (, ) or West Africa Conference (, ), regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergenc ...
settled the European colonial spheres of interest in Africa. The area that now consists of Rwanda, Burundi and
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 ...
(other than
Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...
) became German East Africa. The Belgian station of
Mpala Mpala is the location of an early Catholic mission in the Belgian Congo. A military station was established at Mpala on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in May 1883. It was transferred to the White Fathers missionaries in 1885. At one time it was ho ...
, which had been founded in 1883 by Émile Storms on the west shore of Lake Tanganyika, was militarily isolated now that the stations of Karema and
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. ...
lay in German territory. King
Leopold II of Belgium * german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Leopold I of Belgium , mother = Louise of Orléans , birth_date = , birth_place = Brussels, Belgium , death_date = ...
decided to focus his efforts on the
Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...
, and offered Mpala and Karema to Cardinal Lavigerie for White Fathers missions. Lavigerie accepted the offer, thinking Mpala could be the basis for his Christian state, and that if a suitable African leader could not be found "it would not be impossible ... for a brave and Christian European to fill this esponsibility"


Return to Africa

Later in 1885 Joubert again offered his services to Lavigerie, and this was accepted in a letter of 20 February 1886. Joubert reached
Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...
on 14 June 1886, and reached the mission at Karema on 22 November 1886. He remained there for some months at the request of the Vicar Apostolic, Mgr.
Jean-Baptiste-Frézal Charbonnier Jean-Baptiste-Frézal Charbonnier, M.Afr. (20 May 1842 – 16 March 1888) was a Catholic White Fathers missionary who was Vicar Apostolic of Tanganyika from January 1887 to March 1888. Jean-Baptiste-Frézal Charbonnier was born on 20 May 1842 ...
, to protect the mission against attacks by slavers. He crossed the lake and reached Mpala on 20 March 1887. Charbonnier had given him full authority as civil and military ruler of the Mpala region. Lavigerie later said that Joubert could have become King of Marungu if he had wished. Joubert found that the priests had already organized a police force of local warriors at Mpala. Immediately after arriving, Joubert was thrown into the struggle with dealers in slaves and ivory. He engaged in skirmishes in March and again in August, where his small force of thirty soldiers armed with rifles came close to defeat. Joubert again had to intervene in November 1887, and in 1888 defeated a force of 80 slavers, but his forces were too small to prevent continued attacks. Later, Joubert created a strong and effective military force from three hundred of Storms's fighters. The constant fighting worried some of the missionaries, notably Father François Coulbois, who were concerned that the slavers might decide to attack the mission itself. Joubert married Agnes Atakaye on 13 February 1888. They were to have ten children. Two died young, and one became a priest. When Mgr. Charbonnier died on 16 March 1888, Coulbois became Pro-Vicar of Upper Congo. He did not recognize that Joubert had civil authority, and imposed tight restrictions on his actions. Both men appealed for support to Cardinal Lavigerie. In response, Lavigerie said that the missionaries must have no involvement with military affairs, and the military leader must live at a distance from the mission to avoid being identified with the mission. The new Vicar Apostolic, Bishop
Léonce Bridoux Léonce Bridoux, M. Afr. (15 January 1852 - 20 October 1890) was a Catholic missionary of the White Fathers who became the Vicar Apostolic of Tanganyika. Early years Léonce Bridoux was born on 15 January 1852 in Henin-Liétard, France. His fath ...
, arrived in January 1889. He confirmed that Joubert was both civil and military leader, but said that military operations must be purely defensive. Joubert moved to St Louis de Murumbi, some distance away. This was a fortified village that he built three leagues from Mrumbi mountain, a days walk from Mpala and from the shore of the lake. His voluminous correspondence with his brother in France and with General de Charette is often dated from this village. A visitor to St. Louis Mrumbi in 1891 met Joubert. He said that he "... appeared to be about forty-five years of age, short, but very sturdily built. He said of the station,


Isolation

In January 1889 the mission was cut off from the outside world by
Abushiri Revolt The Abushiri revolt, also known as the slave trader revolt (german: Sklavenhändlerrevolte), was an insurrection in 1888–1889 by the Arab and Swahili population of the areas of the coast of East Africa that were granted, under protest, to G ...
against the Germans in Bagamoyo and Dar es Salaam. Joubert was to receive no mail for three years. The mission suffered from repeated and deadly raids. Around the end of May 1890, while Joubert was absent, a group of Arabs prepared to cross the
Lukuga River The Lukuga River is a tributary of the Lualaba River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that drains Lake Tanganyika. It is unusual in that its flow varies not just seasonally but also due to longer term climate fluctuations. Location ...
about to the north of Mpala. Some skirmishing occurred between the Arabs and the mission's African forces before Joubert could reach the scene. The Arabs tried to negotiate with the missionaries, saying they would not harm the mission if the priests abandoned Joubert. Bridoux refused. It seemed that serious fighting was going to break out, when a storm arose that destroyed some of the Arab fleet and forced them to withdraw. Rumaliza remained determined to eliminate Joubert, who was disrupting the slave trade. By 1891 the slavers had control of the entire western shore of the lake apart from the region defended by Joubert around Mpala and St Louis de Mrumbi. Joubert called for help from Europe. Joubert's status was ambiguous. The Belgians had appointed
Tippu Tip Tippu Tip, or Tippu Tib (1832 – June 14, 1905), real name Ḥamad ibn Muḥammad ibn Jumʿah ibn Rajab ibn Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al Murjabī ( ar, حمد بن محمد بن جمعة بن رجب بن محمد بن سعيد المرجبي), ...
as their lieutenant in the region, but Joubert refused to recognize the authority of the slaver. During a lull in January 1891, Father I. Moinet visited Ujiji. There he found Rumaliza flying a German flag and saying he was waiting for the Germans to arrive so he could hand over to them. In a letter to Joubert in April 1891, Rumaliza asked if he was employed by the missionaries or by the government of the Congo. Joubert was evasive in his reply, pointing out that Rumaliza sometimes flew the German flag, sometimes the flag of Zanzibar and sometimes that of Britain. A Belgian relief expedition was organized. It was led by Captain
Alphonse Jacques Lieutenant-general Baron Jules-Marie-Alphonse Jacques de Dixmude (24 February 1858 – 24 November 1928), often known as General Jacques, was a Belgian military figure of World War I and colonial advocate. Congo Free State He founded Albertv ...
and three other Europeans, and reached Zanzibar in June 1891, Karema on 16 October 1891 and Mpala on 30 October 1891. When the Jacques expedition arrived Joubert's garrison was down to about two hundred men, poorly armed with "a most miscellaneous assortment of chassepots, Remingtons and muzzle-loaders, without suitable cartridges." He also had hardly any medicine left. Captain Jacques gave Captain Joubert papers that made him a Congo citizen and officer of the Congo armed forces. Jacques asked Joubert to remain on the defensive while he moved north, founded the fortress of
Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...
and tried to suppress slaving. Sporadic fighting with the Arabs continued in 1892. The danger from slavers was not finally removed until the 1893 expedition of Baron Francis Dhanis. The European press was critical of these actions, described by ''Le Soir'' in July 1892 as the "military adventures of Cardinal Lavigerie".


Later career

In the mid-1890s the agents of the Congo Free State were directed to assimilate the Christian Kingdom on the west of Lake Tanganyika. The former "king" Joubert was removed from any significant authority. For a period Marungu fell into lawlessness. The Belgian State decorated Joubert in 1896. In 1898 the Force Publique of the Congo mutinied, and for some time the area around Lake Tanganyika was threatened by rebels. After this the region became peaceful. Both the King of Belgium and the Pope later knighted Joubert. After laying down his arms, Joubert became a catechist, teacher and medical worker. He lived on at St Louis de Murumbi until 1910, when it was abandoned due to sleeping sickness. He then founded the mission of Sainte Marie of
Moba Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is a subgenre of strategy video games in which two teams of players compete against each other on a predefined battlefield. Each player controls a single character with a set of distinctive abilities that i ...
, at Misembe on the western lake shore to the south of Mpala. In his last years Joubert became both blind and deaf. He died on 27 May 1927 at the age of 85 after having lived on the shores of Lake Tanganyika for 46 years. Joubert was buried in Baudouinville Cathedral. In 1933 a committee in Brussels commissioned the sculptor Jules Jourdan to create a medallion of Joubert based on photographs. This adorns the rustic memorial that the White Fathers erected in his memory on the heights overlooking the lake at Baudouinville.


References

Notes Citations Sources * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joubert, Leopold Louis 1842 births 1927 deaths French Roman Catholic missionaries People from Loire-Atlantique French soldiers Belgian colonisation in Africa Belgian knights Roman Catholic missionaries in Tanzania French expatriates in Tanzania Belgian Congo people Christian abolitionists French abolitionists