Louis-Napoléon Chaltin (1857–1933) was a Belgian career soldier and colonial official notable for his service in the

Congo Free State The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo (), was a large Sovereign state, state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by Leopold II of Belgium, King Leopold II, the const ...

during the late 19th century.

Colonial career

Louis-Napoléon Chaltin was born in

Ixelles (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Pentagon (Brussels), Brusse ...

, a suburb of

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

on 27 April 1857. He was appointed a lieutenant in the

Belgian Army The Land Component (, ), historically and commonly still referred to as the Belgian Army (, ), is the Land warfare, land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land ...

in 1885 and entered the service of the recently created

in 1891.

Congo Arab war

In 1893, at the time of the

Congo Arab war The Congo Arab war was a colonial war between the Congo Free State and Arab-Swahili warlords associated with the Indian Ocean slave trade in the eastern regions of the Congo Basin between 1892 and 1894. The war was caused by the Free State and ...

, he was head of the ''

Force Publique The ''Force Publique'' (, "Public Force"; ) was the military of the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo from 1885 to 1960. It was established after Belgian Army officers travelled to the Free State to found an armed force in the colony on L ...

'' station at

Basoko Basoko is a town on the Congo River in the Tshopo Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of 2009 it had an estimated population of 47,970. Climate Notable people *George Grenfell George Grenfell (21 August 1849, in Sancre ...

. He left this post to ascend the

Lomami River The Lomami River (, , ) is a major tributary of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The river is approximately long. It flows north, west of and parallel to the upper Congo. The Lomami rises in the south of the country, near ...

Bena-Kamba Bena Kamba is a community on the Lomami River in Maniema province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Lomami, which flows northward parallel to the Lualaba or Upper Congo River, is navigable as far south as Bena Kamba. From there, it is ...

, then striking overland to Riba Riba, near present-day

Kindu Kindu is a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the capital of Maniema province. It has a population of about 200,000 and is situated on the Lualaba River at an altitude of about 500 metres, and is about 400 km west of Bukavu. Kindu is ...

. Chaltin burned down Riba Riba. When rebuilt, the town took the name of Lokandu. He then raised the siege of the Stanley Falls station; now,

Kisangani Kisangani (), formerly Stanleyville (), is the capital of Tshopo, Tshopo Province, located on the Congo River in the eastern part of the central Congo Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the country's fifth-most populous urban a ...

when it was falling to the Swahilis. He defeated the Arab-led forces on 18 May 1893. After defeating them again at Kirundu, the Arabs were expelled from the region. Chaltin secured the Dungu region in the northeast of the Free State and was commander of the

Haut-Uélé Haut-Uélé (French for "Upper Uélé") is one of the 21 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Haut-Uélé, Bas-Uélé, Ituri, and Tshopo provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the forme ...

district from 1893.

Failed Nile expedition

In 1896,

King Leopold II Leopold II (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909) was the second king of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909, and the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908. Born in Brussels as the second but eldest-surviving son of King Le ...

decided to extend the Free State territory to the northeast. His forces were to advance first to the

Lado Enclave The Lado Enclave (; ) was a leased territory administered by the Congo Free State and later by the Belgian Congo that existed from 1894 until 1910. Situated on the west bank of the Upper Nile in what is now South Sudan and northwest Uganda, it wa ...

on the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

, which had been ceded to him but not yet occupied, and then northward towards

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

, capital of the declining Mahdist state of Sudan. A force of 2,700 men led by

Francis, Baron Dhanis Baron Francis Ernest Joseph Marie Dhanis (11 March 1861 – 13 November 1909) was a Belgian colonial civil servant and soldier noted for his service for the Congo Free State during the Congo Arab War and Batetela Rebellion. Early life a ...

was to march by way of the

Aruwimi River The Aruwimi River (, ) is a tributary of the Congo River, located to the north and east of the Congo.Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G. Newnes, Vol. One , Vol. Two The Aruwimi begins as the Ituri River, which rises near ...

, while Chaltin was given a force of 700 men to take a more northerly route along the Bomu River. Dhanis's force was mainly made up of ethnic Tetela, who rebelled and killed several Belgian officers, then went on the region's rampage. Dhanis managed to escape, but it was several years before the

Batetela rebellion The Batetela rebellion () was a series of three military mutinies and a subsequent low-level insurgency which was attributed to members of the Tetela ethnic group in the Congo Free State between 1895 and 1908. Beginning in a mutiny among Tetela ...

was suppressed. Chaltin managed to reach the Nile at Bedden in February 1897 and defeated the Mahdists there in the

Battle of Rejaf The Battle of Rejaf, also known as the Battle of Bedden, was fought on 17 February 1897 between the Belgium, Belgian-led forces of the Congo Free State and Mahdist State, Mahdist rebels in Rejaf (now in present-day South Sudan). The battle resul ...

. This consolidated Leopold's claim to the Upper Nile, but Chaltin did not have the forces to do more.

Later life

Chaltin died in

Uccle Uccle (French language, French, ) or Ukkel (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the southern part of the region, it ...

on 14 March 1933. He gave his name to the town of Aketi Port-Chaltin near

. After independence, the city was renamed Aketi in 1971.

References

Sources

* * * * *
Archive Louis Chaltin
Royal museum for central Africa {{DEFAULTSORT:Chaltin, Louis Napoleon 1857 births 1933 deaths People from Ixelles Belgian Army officers 19th-century Belgian military personnel 20th-century Belgian military personnel Officers of the Force Publique Congo Free State officials Lado Enclave