Théodore Nilis
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Théodore Victor Edouard Adolphe Arthur Nilis (27 June 1851 – 23 April 1905) was a Belgian soldier and colonial official.


Early years (1851–1881)

Théodore Victor Edouard Adolphe Arthur Nilis was born in Brilow,
Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...
,
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...
on 27 June 1851. His parents were Adolphe Nilis, a Belgian, and Amélie Hesse. On 1 October 1879 Nilis enrolled in the Military School, and on 8 April 1872 he was named sub-lieutenant. He entered the War School in 1875, and three years later graduated with a ''
brevet d'état-major A ''brevet d'état-major'' ( French) or ''stafbrevet'' ( Dutch), both literally "general staff brevet", is a form of military distinction in France and Belgium which denotes that an officer has completed a course at a military academy. A recipi ...
''.


First tour in the Congo (1881–1883)

Nilis resigned from the army in February 1881, but was reinstated a few months later so he could serve in Africa for the Comité d'Etudes du Haut-Congo. He embarked at
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on 1 February 1882, accompanied by Captain Edmond Hanssens and Lieutenant Nicolas Grang. They arrived at
Banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...
on 12 March 1882. Nilis was appointed second in command at the
Manyanga Manyanga was a staging post on the route from the coast to Léopoldville during the days of the Congo Free State. It was at the upper end of a navigable reach of the Congo River from Isangila, further downstream to the west. Above Manyanga goods h ...
post, where Lieutenant Victor Harou was commander. When he arrived in Vivi he heard that Anthony Swinburne was being threatened by the local people at
Isangila Isangila, formerly called Isanghila or Isanguila is the headquarters of a sector of the Seke-Banza territory in Kongo Central province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Location The lower part of the Congo River below Stanley Pool first de ...
. Émile Parfonry was head of the
Isangila Isangila, formerly called Isanghila or Isanguila is the headquarters of a sector of the Seke-Banza territory in Kongo Central province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Location The lower part of the Congo River below Stanley Pool first de ...
station. Nilis, Louis-Gustave Amelot and Joseph Vandevelde brought reinforcements to Isangila. They found the reports had been exaggerated, and sailed upstream in the ''Royal'' to Manyanga. When they arrived there Nilis fell ill, but quickly recovered. On 20 April 1882 Harou was ordered by Stanley to return to Europe. His engagement was until August, but the hardships of his station at Manyanga-Nord were too much for his health. He handed over his command to Nilis. The situation in Manyanga was disturbed. The Zanzibari troops were treating the country as though it had been conquered. The local Bakongo people blamed their excesses on the Belgians, and there were frequent conflicts. On 27 April 1882 Nilis was told that 300 Bakongo were marching against Manyanga. Hanssens was informed at once and although sick left Isangila with reinforcements. Calm was restored, but on 19 August there was an insurrection at N'tembo Motaka. Hanssens, Nilis and Charles Callewaert intervened and quickly restored order. The chief agreed to accept the protectorate of the
International Association of the Congo The International Association of the Congo (), also known as the International Congo Society, was an association founded on 17 November 1879 by Leopold II of Belgium to further his interests in the Congo. It replaced the Belgian Committee for S ...
. At the start of September the scientific expedition of Eduard Pechuël-Loesche was attacked in Mowa. Callewaert led troops from Manyanga and Grang led others from
Léopoldville Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-growing megacities, with an estimated population of 17 million ...
to reinforce Nilis and restore order. A few days later the people of Bandanga rose up, but Nilis managed to make them submit. Nilis fell ill and became bedridden. The local people heard this and decided to starve out the station, but a reinforcement column from Léopoldville intimidated them and made them resume supplies to Manyanga. In October 1882 Henri Avaert was assigned toManyanga under the command of Nilis. He fell ill, but was treated with a combination of morphine and quinine by the Reverend William Holman Bentley of the Baptist Missionary Society, and was able to return to Isangila on the ''Royal''. He later told Coquilhat that his life had been saved by these injections. In February 1883
Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author, and politician famous for his exploration of Central Africa and search for missi ...
visited Manyanga. He complimented Nilis on the improvement he had made to the station. He had built large brick houses, cleared large areas around the post and planted bananas, cassava and sorgum. His troops were well trained. After a tornado hit the Isangila station, Lieutenant Parfonry was struck by sunstroke while inspecting the damage and was brought to Manyanga for treatment, where he died shortly after Lusick had committed suicide to escape the pain of a disease. Around the same time Nilis heard that Lieutenant Grang had died of a
bilious fever Bilious fever was a medical diagnosis of fever associated with excessive bile or bilirubin in the blood stream and tissues, causing jaundice (a yellow color in the skin or sclera of the eye). The most common cause was malaria. Viral hepatitis and ...
in Léopoldville. When
Louis Valcke Louis Pierre Alphonse Valcke (22 December 1857 – 16 March 1940) was a Belgian viceroy and soldier. Early years (1857–1880) Louis Pierre Alphonse Valcke was born in Bruges on 22 December 1857. His parents were Liévin-Pierre Valcke and Clém ...
arrived at Manyanga on an inspection tour he found Nilis so depressed by the recent deaths that he sent him down to the coast to rest for a few weeks. Nilis was in
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when Willem Frans Van Kerckhoven arrived there, and the two travelled to Vivi together. Nilis returned to Manyanga on 20 August 1883. The arrival of the Protestant mission of Thomas J. Comber and William Holman Bentley and the Catholic mission of Father Georges Kraft had considerably improved the situation, but Stanley saw that Nilis was exhausted and told him to return to Europe. He embarked at Banana on 7 December 1883.


Regimental duties (1883––1893)

Nilis spent four years in Europe. On 19 March 1888 he joined the service of 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 ...
. He reached Banana on 20 April 1888 and was put in charge of repatriating
Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...
is and Blacks from the Bas-Congo. He brought them back to Zanzibar on 18 June 1888 and left on 3 July 1888, returning to Europe on 24 July 1888. Nilis returned to his regiment and was appointed tutor of applied mathematics, topography and artillery courses at the ''Ecole Militaire''. In March 1889 he was appointed 2nd captain and adjutant to the 6th line regiment, and on 26 June 1892 he was promoted to captain-commander.


Ubangi–Mbomou Expedition (1893–1895)

On 6 July 1893 Nilis returned to the Congo as 1st class captain commander 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 ...
. He was attached to the Ubangi-
Mbomou Mbomou is one of the twenty prefectures of the Central African Republic Since 10 December 2020, The Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central ...
expedition under State Inspector
Georges Le Marinel Georges-Edouard le Marinel (29 June 1860 – 20 November 1914) was a Belgian soldier, engineer, explorer and colonial administrator. He is known for leading explorations of the country around the Ubangi River and Mbomou River, which later became ...
. He reached Yakoma on 5 November 1893. In mid-December he was assigned to lead a reconnaissance expedition to Dār Fertit, with lieutenants Charles de la Kethulle, Gérard and Gonze as his deputies. The expedition left
Bangassou Bangassou is a city in the southeastern of Central African Republic, lying on the north bank of the Mbomou River. It has a population of 24,447 (2003 census) and is the capital of the Mbomou prefecture. It is known for its wildlife, market, and ...
for
Rafaï Rafaï is a town and sub-prefecture on the Chinko River, in the Central African Republic Prefectures of the Central African Republic, prefecture of Mbomou. Its estimated population is about 14,000 people. History The Sultanate of Rafaï was the l ...
on 28 December 1893, with the goal of reaching Hofrah-el-Nahas on the Bahr-el-Fertit. The column left Rafaï on 9 February 1894 heading north and northeast. On 15 February 1894 it reached Sango at the confluence of the Badabo and Mbili rivers. Nilis met chiefs of the Gabbous people there. Gonze fell ill and had to leave the expedition. He died on the way back to Rafaï. The column crossed the Shinko River and on 1 March 1894 reached Bandassi. It passed from the Shinko basin to the
Kotto River The Kotto River (or Koto River) is a tributary of the Oubangui River in the Central African Republic. Its source is on the south side of the Bongo Massif, near Mount Toussoro on the border between the Central African Republic and Sudan. It flows ...
basin, then the
Adda River The Adda (Latin: *Abdua*, or *Addua*; Lombard: *Ada*, or *Adda*) is a river in North Italy, a tributary of the Po. It rises in the Alps near the border with Switzerland and flows through Lake Como. The Adda joins the Po near Castelnuovo Boc ...
basin, a sub-tributary of 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 ...
. It stopped at Katuaka (), home of chief Acmed Curcia. The post later known as Fort de l'Adda was founded there, with Gérard as commander assisted by Henrion. The column was stopped by floods and did not go further. It returned via Kuria, which it reached on 1 April 1894, and on 24 April 1894 arrived at Dabago, where commander
Léon Hanolet Léon-Charles-Édouard Hanolet (25 November 1859 – 1 December 1908) was a Belgian soldier, explorer and colonial administrator. He is known for his explorations in 1894–1895 in what is now the Central African Republic, which led to an agreement ...
was waiting. In May Nilis and de la Kethulle returned to Rafaï. In October 1894 the Mahdist threat was growing, with increasing numbers of attacks. Francqui gave up his attempt to reach the Bahr-el-Ghazal. He gave Lieutenant Colmant the mission of reaching Dem-Ziber. Nilis, who was still in Rafaï with 150–200 men, was to leave for the Adda, then advance if possible to Mechra-el-Rek. Nilis was assisted by lieutenants Lannoy and Libois. An emergency march was made to Katuaka to reinforce Gérard, whose position was in great danger. Libois took command of Bandassi and Lannoy remained with Gerard. A Mahdist offensive threatened to overwhelm the Belgian posts, and the Adda post was already short of food. In the circumstances, Nilis ordered the defenders to leave Adda and brought them back to Rafaï. When he arrived at the Shinko he was ordered by the senior resident De Langhe to go to the rescue of Donckier in Bomu. However, news arrived of the signing of the Franco-Belgian treaty on 14 August 1894 that defined the Bomu River as the frontier between the French and Belgian colonies. The Belgian posts north of the Bomu were to be withdrawn at once. Nilis, who had returned to Semio, was given command of Yakoma. On 1 January 1895 he was given interim command of the Ubangi-Bomu, and then the Ubangi area. He arrived in Banzyville on 10 March 1895, then moved on to Imese. He went down to Boma and on 21 May 1895 sailed from there for Europe.


Last years (1895–1905)

Nilis then returned to his regiment after a short leave. Nilis obtained his pension in June 1901. He died 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 ...
, Belgium on 23 April 1905.


Notes


Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nilis, Theodore Victor Edouard Adolphe Arthur 1851 births 1905 deaths Emigrants from the Kingdom of Prussia Belgian soldiers International Association of the Congo Congo Free State officials