The enclaves of Forcados and Badjibo were two territories close to the river

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesNigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, leased to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

under the

Anglo-French Convention of 1898 The Anglo-French Convention of 1898, full name the ''Convention between Great Britain and France for the Delimitation of their respective Possessions to the West of the Niger, and of their respective Possessions and Spheres of Influence to the East ...

. They were obtained by France after several expeditions along the Niger, by Hourst (1894), Granderye (1898–99), Toutée (1895 and 1899-1900), and Lenfant (1901–02, etc.). France wanted to determine whether its colonies in

French Sudan French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Fra ...

could more easily be supplied upstream along the Niger rather than via the traditional

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

route.

Terms of the lease

Lease terms were determined by agreements signed on 20 May 1903 giving effect to article 8 of the convention of 14 June 1898 by the French Foreign Minister Théophile Delcassé, and Sir Edmund Monson, British Ambassador to France. The agreement was reached in the context of the

Entente cordiale The Entente Cordiale (; ) comprised a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904 between the United Kingdom and the French Republic which saw a significant improvement in Anglo-French relations. Beyond the immediate concerns of colonial de ...

between the two countries, ending a period of tension and competition over territories in Africa, and based on the principle of freedom of navigation along the length of the Niger. Each leased territory amounted to approximately 47 hectares (less than 0.2 square miles) and was designated for the unloading, storing and transshipping of goods, with residents confined to staff employed for these purposes together with their families and servants. The lease was for a renewable period of thirty years in each case, and included conditions such as a requirement to enclose the area and to forbid retail trading. The annual rent was set at one franc per year. The enclaves were mentioned in French textbooks in 1926 and described as unoccupied in 1929. The leases were not renewed at the end of the initial thirty-year period.

Forcados

The name 'Forcados' (meaning 'forked') was given to the area by the first Portuguese slave traders to explore the Niger delta in the current

Bayelsa State Bayelsa is one of the states in the South-South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. Yena ...

. The leased area was trapezoid in shape, with the short side on the estuary of the Forcados River near the village of Gula, opposite Ogidiba, and stretching back 700m from the water's edge. Although not signed until 1903, the lease was deemed to run for thirty years from 28 June 1900 and the leased area remained under the law then in force in the British

Southern Nigeria Protectorate Southern Nigeria was a British protectorate in the coastal areas of modern-day Nigeria formed in 1900 from the union of the Niger Coast Protectorate with territories chartered by the Royal Niger Company below Lokoja on the Niger River. The ...

Badjibo

The Badjibo enclave (not to be confused with the place of the same name in

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

) was located at the confluence of the Niger with the much smaller Doko, about 36 km upstream from

Jebba Jebba town is a Yoruba and Nupe city in Kwara State, Nigeria. It has views of the River Niger and has an estimated population of 22,411 as of 2007. The name of the king of Jebba is Oba Abdulkadir Adebara. Gallery File:Canoeing on the Niger R ...

and downstream from the

Boussa New Bussa is a town in Niger State, Nigeria. It is the new site of Bussa after the Kainji Lake dam set the previous location underwater. As of 2007 New Bussa had an estimated population of 24,449. New Bussa is the headquarters of the Borgu Emirate ...

rapids where Mungo Park died. It consisted of a parcel of land in the shape of a parallelogram, with a waterfront of 400m and a depth of 200m, opposite the village of Badjibo. It was next to Fort Arenberg, founded in 1895 by Georges Joseph Toutée and named in honour of

Auguste d'Arenberg Auguste may refer to: People Surname * Arsène Auguste (born 1951), Haitian footballer * Donna Auguste (born 1958), African-American businesswoman * Georges Auguste (born 1933), Haitian painter * Henri Auguste (1759–1816), Parisian gold and ...

before being abandoned. For this reason it is sometimes referred to as the Arenberg enclave. Though not signed until 1903, the lease was deemed to have taken effect on 5 June 1900 and the enclave remained under the law then in force under the British

Northern Nigeria Protectorate Northern Nigeria ( Hausa: ''Arewacin Najeriya'') was a British protectorate which lasted from 1900 until 1914 and covered the northern part of what is now Nigeria. The protectorate spanned and included the emirates of the Sokoto Caliphate ...

.Sir E. Hertslet, The Map of Africa by Treaty, Routledge, 2012 p. 812

Bibliography

Lupton, Kenneth, ‘The Partitioning of Borgu in 1898 and the French Enclaves in Nigeria, 1900-1960’, ''Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria'', 12.3–4 (1984), 77–94

References

{{reflist

External links

* Base Choiseul : conventions de bail d'un terrain situé a
confluent du Doko avec le Niger
(Badjibo - Fort Arenberg) et d'un autre sur la rive gauche de l
rivière Forcados
signées par Théophile Delcassé et Sir Edmund Monson le 20 mai 1903.
Dahomé Niger Touareg –Récit de voyage
by Colonel Georges Joseph Toutée
Le Niger voie ouverte à notre empire africain
by Captain Eugène Lenfant (1905)
Principaux résultats géographiques de la mission Toutée
Commandant Toutée,

Annales de Géographie The ''Annales de Géographie'' is a French journal devoted to geography, first published in 1891. From the start the journal was an influential and respected academic journal. History The ''Annales de Géographie'' was founded in 1891 by Paul Vi ...

1897 (Persée) History of European colonialism French colonial empire France–United Kingdom relations Geopolitical rivalry 1903 in international relations Enclaves and exclaves