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Description
Yes, I do realize that's not how Swahili is spelled in French, but I refuse to believe that it's not spelled Swahilais, just like how I refuse to believe that the French words for Ireland and Greenland are Irlande and Groenland. Seriously, Frenchmen, you can call them Iréterre (or simply Ire) and Verteterre, but Irlande and Groenland? For shame
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4th Explorers’ War- Swahili War 1889-1891

  With France building the Great Canal of Suez, Britain feared that this could be detrimental to her grasp on India. One way or another, France would undermine Britain with the Suez Canal, and the best way Britain could think to prevent the inevitable French assault was to prevent any more French expansion on the East African and Arabian Sea coasts, and to do this Britain was going to make allies and puppets of the remaining East African states and conquering and distributing the unclaimed territory. But, it was apparent that this was not made aware to the French (or, more likely, the French simply chose to ignore it), for throughout the construction of the Great Canal of Suez, they plotted on their conquest of the Swahili Coast.

  And so the French Advisory Council waited and planned, and when the Great Canal of Suez opened, Napoleon III officially ushered in a new arm of the French Military, the Flotte des Alliés, with their first mission to transport the Armée (headed once more by Jean-Marie Le Toulonnais Lachance) through the Great Canal and on to Lindi, just south of old Kilwa. Lindi was part conquered and claimed by Portugal as part of the British organization effort of East Africa, and as such was seen by many as, technically, an invasion of Portugal.

  When this invasion was discovered, the British and Portuguese fleets set sail to Lindi and had blockaded the city’s bay, leaving almost the entire Flotte in the bay (3 ships had escaped, initially intended as supply ships they quickly became the Free Flotte). British Admiral Arvel H. Tyson politely asked that Le Toulonnais pack-up and leave back to France. Tyson would allow them all to go with no fight, telling them that the land they were trying to claim were already claimed by other nations. Le Toulonnais responded by saying that all territory in East Africa claimed after the 1879 Treaty of Bandar Abbas was unrecognized by the French, so according to France the territory they stood in was unclaimed. Tyson tried to remain neutral and tried to Le Toulonnais to sign a treaty for France to recognize the new claims, but Le Toulonnais refused.

  The Anglo-sphere and Portugal especially was suddenly on high alert. They considered this a true, proper invasion of their sphere, rather than an invasion of a second-rate or potential ally. Britain, Portugal, Sardinia-Sicily, and all those other Anglo-sphere countries started to mobilize, believing that an invasion of their homelands was coming. While it is known now that invasion of English and Portuguese homelands would never happen, that mentality sure struck hard at the homeland, and Brits had to prove to the French that they can’t attack their direct ally, or else the homeland may actually be next.

  And so Tyson was ordered to capture Le Toulonnais and bring him back to Britain. Tyson gave an attack on Lindi, and had successfully defeated the Flotte des Alliés with a minimal fight. The Armée, on the other hand, had disappeared. Admiral Tyson looked up in down the coast for a hundred kilometers in either direction from Lindi, from old Kilwa to Mikindani, but Le Toulonnais and the Armée had yet to be found.

  As it turned out, Le Toulonnais had disappeared deeper into Swahililand. Not even he knew where they were exactly in the Swahililand, but in the Swahililand he founded a city that he called a various number of names (although this could also be a sign that he had built multiple towns, it is rather unknown); Saint-Cyprien, Sainte-Jeanne, and Domrémy, with Saint-Cyprien being the most popular name.

  It was at Saint-Cyprien that Le Toulonnais successfully started a communication line from the Swahililand, through the French Congo, and from there onto France, a trip that took 6 months there and back. This caused several problems as the de facto ruler of France, Prime Advisor Le Toulonnais, wasn’t able to effectively run the country. Without Le Toulonnais, France was led only by the advisory council, something that he didn’t want necessarily (Le Toulonnais specifically set up the advisory council so that the Prime Advisor would be the only one that really mattered).

  It was also at Saint-Cyprien that Le Toulonnais started building his “second army,” an army of native Swahilais. As Le Toulonnais wasn’t able to get reinforcements and supplies from back in France (or at least very easily), Le Toulonnais recruited some of the local Swahilis to join. According to the official French History, Le Toulonnais convinced them to join, to fight for glory and the such, but some of the Swhiliais say otherwise, that Le Toulonnais marched into their towns and villages and threatened to kill them if they didn’t help him. Same goes for food and many other supplies, some saying that Le Toulonnais either bought or was given food, while others say that he took them by force. One way or another, this helped Le Toulonnais keep his army supplied, at least to the minimalist extent.

  With these supplies and a base at Saint-Cyprien, Le Toulonnais launched operations once more to attack the Swahili port towns, mostly consisting of raids and the occasional proper siege. These sieges were always cut short with Admiral Tyson approaching from the sea. As such, not much progress was made for the French along the coast. Even with Le Toulonnais getting supplies and reinforcements from the natives, every loss was a loss to much.

  Just beyond the coast (as in, a region ranging about 10-100 or 150 km from the coast) Le Toulonnais was doing better, although not overwhelmingly so. The British once and while reinforced this region, but with what few they sent it were well supplied compared to the French armies, a boon that made sure that when Le Toulonnais did raid the coasts, it was still a costly operation to attack and retreat through this region.

  Le Toulonnais’ true victories came from far beyond this region, beyond the Swahili mountains, as they were called. The Brits rarely ventured there, for they thought that Le Toulonnais had his base closer to the coast than that. No, Saint-Cyprien was beyond these Swahili Mountains, and here, what few Brits did venture beyond there, were destroyed. Along with that, Le Toulonnais also united these land under the flag of France, or rather French Protectorate that was directly ruled by Le Toulonnais. It was beyond the Swahili Mountains that Le Toulonnais explored the Central African region, making some visits west as far as the French Congo.

  But this “Protectorat des Swahilais,” would be short lived, for in 1891, Le Toulonnais would launch another strike to the Swahili Coast. By this point, he realized that conquest of the Coast proper would be futile, but he still hoped that he could force the Brits to concede Transswahilia and the African Great Lakes. But, in 1891, Le Toulonnais launched an attack to Mombasa, but on the way there, the Brits launched an ambush at Voi, about 150 km from Mombasa. Le Toulonnais was surrounded and was forced to the negotiating table.

  He and the army he had brought with him from France were carted off to Mombasa, where Le Toulonnais met with Admiral Tyson and, shockingly, his old rival, the old and retired General Crawford, who was well into his 80’s now. Crawford, when he heard that his rival of Le Toulonnais was losing in East Africa, decided to head there for a vacation, and to join the negotiation table to see Le Toulonnais go through the same embarrassment that he went through at Fort Durant almost 30 years prior.

  Admiral Tyson was fairly lenient on Le Toulonnais, but he came to the conclusion that the Explorers’ Wars had to stop, and what remained of Africa had to be carved up once and for all. And so, Admiral Tyson unfurled a map of Africa, and Le Toulonnais and Tyson argued over what would be French and belong in the Franco-sphere, and what would British and belong in the Anglo-sphere. The negotiations went on for a month, but the two finally came to an agreement. Africa was carved between the two powers once and for all, every nook-and-cranny was agreed upon (at least to some extent). Also part of this agreement was that Admiral Tyson would personally carry Le Toulonnais and what remained of the Armée proper back to France.

  And so, while Tyson gathered the ships to escort Le Toulonnais back to France, Le Toulonnais and old General Crawford had time to chat. In the single week they spent talking in Mombasa, the hate between the two melted away. Crawford himself would write “in this blasted Swahili port, this bastard Frank of whom I’ve hated for the better part of three decades has come to make me respect him. That same cunning tongue that convinced me to enter Fort Durant and be captured is what’s making me befriend my old nemesis. And what’s more, I could tell that he hated me before we conversed at this port, but now he has come to respect me as well. I almost think I’ll miss him when le leaves back to Europe.” In August of 1891, Le Toulonnais did indeed leave back to Europe, and General Crawford would die in the next month.

  While this war was, at the time, seen as a failure for France, and closed the Explorers’ Wars with a whimper rather than a bang, it would later go on as one of the most romanticised tales of France. As the Mythology of Le Toulonnais grew greater and greater, one of his greatest blunders also became more and more mythologized, and to this day, the lost and abandoned city of Saint-Cyprien has become a wonder that more and more search for, the El Dorado of Africa.

Description
Yes, I do realize that's not how Swahili is spelled in French, but I refuse to believe that it's not spelled Swahilais, just like how I refuse to believe that the French words for Ireland and Greenland are Irlande and Groenland. Seriously, Frenchmen, you can call them Iréterre (or simply Ire) and Verteterre, but Irlande and Groenland? For shame
--------------------------------------------------
4th Explorers’ War- Swahili War 1889-1891

  With France building the Great Canal of Suez, Britain feared that this could be detrimental to her grasp on India. One way or another, France would undermine Britain with the Suez Canal, and the best way Britain could think to prevent the inevitable French assault was to prevent any more French expansion on the East African and Arabian Sea coasts, and to do this Britain was going to make allies and puppets of the remaining East African states and conquering and distributing the unclaimed territory. But, it was apparent that this was not made aware to the French (or, more likely, the French simply chose to ignore it), for throughout the construction of the Great Canal of Suez, they plotted on their conquest of the Swahili Coast.

  And so the French Advisory Council waited and planned, and when the Great Canal of Suez opened, Napoleon III officially ushered in a new arm of the French Military, the Flotte des Alliés, with their first mission to transport the Armée (headed once more by Jean-Marie Le Toulonnais Lachance) through the Great Canal and on to Lindi, just south of old Kilwa. Lindi was part conquered and claimed by Portugal as part of the British organization effort of East Africa, and as such was seen by many as, technically, an invasion of Portugal.

  When this invasion was discovered, the British and Portuguese fleets set sail to Lindi and had blockaded the city’s bay, leaving almost the entire Flotte in the bay (3 ships had escaped, initially intended as supply ships they quickly became the Free Flotte). British Admiral Arvel H. Tyson politely asked that Le Toulonnais pack-up and leave back to France. Tyson would allow them all to go with no fight, telling them that the land they were trying to claim were already claimed by other nations. Le Toulonnais responded by saying that all territory in East Africa claimed after the 1879 Treaty of Bandar Abbas was unrecognized by the French, so according to France the territory they stood in was unclaimed. Tyson tried to remain neutral and tried to Le Toulonnais to sign a treaty for France to recognize the new claims, but Le Toulonnais refused.

  The Anglo-sphere and Portugal especially was suddenly on high alert. They considered this a true, proper invasion of their sphere, rather than an invasion of a second-rate or potential ally. Britain, Portugal, Sardinia-Sicily, and all those other Anglo-sphere countries started to mobilize, believing that an invasion of their homelands was coming. While it is known now that invasion of English and Portuguese homelands would never happen, that mentality sure struck hard at the homeland, and Brits had to prove to the French that they can’t attack their direct ally, or else the homeland may actually be next.

  And so Tyson was ordered to capture Le Toulonnais and bring him back to Britain. Tyson gave an attack on Lindi, and had successfully defeated the Flotte des Alliés with a minimal fight. The Armée, on the other hand, had disappeared. Admiral Tyson looked up in down the coast for a hundred kilometers in either direction from Lindi, from old Kilwa to Mikindani, but Le Toulonnais and the Armée had yet to be found.

  As it turned out, Le Toulonnais had disappeared deeper into Swahililand. Not even he knew where they were exactly in the Swahililand, but in the Swahililand he founded a city that he called a various number of names (although this could also be a sign that he had built multiple towns, it is rather unknown); Saint-Cyprien, Sainte-Jeanne, and Domrémy, with Saint-Cyprien being the most popular name.

  It was at Saint-Cyprien that Le Toulonnais successfully started a communication line from the Swahililand, through the French Congo, and from there onto France, a trip that took 6 months there and back. This caused several problems as the de facto ruler of France, Prime Advisor Le Toulonnais, wasn’t able to effectively run the country. Without Le Toulonnais, France was led only by the advisory council, something that he didn’t want necessarily (Le Toulonnais specifically set up the advisory council so that the Prime Advisor would be the only one that really mattered).

  It was also at Saint-Cyprien that Le Toulonnais started building his “second army,” an army of native Swahilais. As Le Toulonnais wasn’t able to get reinforcements and supplies from back in France (or at least very easily), Le Toulonnais recruited some of the local Swahilis to join. According to the official French History, Le Toulonnais convinced them to join, to fight for glory and the such, but some of the Swhiliais say otherwise, that Le Toulonnais marched into their towns and villages and threatened to kill them if they didn’t help him. Same goes for food and many other supplies, some saying that Le Toulonnais either bought or was given food, while others say that he took them by force. One way or another, this helped Le Toulonnais keep his army supplied, at least to the minimalist extent.

  With these supplies and a base at Saint-Cyprien, Le Toulonnais launched operations once more to attack the Swahili port towns, mostly consisting of raids and the occasional proper siege. These sieges were always cut short with Admiral Tyson approaching from the sea. As such, not much progress was made for the French along the coast. Even with Le Toulonnais getting supplies and reinforcements from the natives, every loss was a loss to much.

  Just beyond the coast (as in, a region ranging about 10-100 or 150 km from the coast) Le Toulonnais was doing better, although not overwhelmingly so. The British once and while reinforced this region, but with what few they sent it were well supplied compared to the French armies, a boon that made sure that when Le Toulonnais did raid the coasts, it was still a costly operation to attack and retreat through this region.

  Le Toulonnais’ true victories came from far beyond this region, beyond the Swahili mountains, as they were called. The Brits rarely ventured there, for they thought that Le Toulonnais had his base closer to the coast than that. No, Saint-Cyprien was beyond these Swahili Mountains, and here, what few Brits did venture beyond there, were destroyed. Along with that, Le Toulonnais also united these land under the flag of France, or rather French Protectorate that was directly ruled by Le Toulonnais. It was beyond the Swahili Mountains that Le Toulonnais explored the Central African region, making some visits west as far as the French Congo.

  But this “Protectorat des Swahilais,” would be short lived, for in 1891, Le Toulonnais would launch another strike to the Swahili Coast. By this point, he realized that conquest of the Coast proper would be futile, but he still hoped that he could force the Brits to concede Transswahilia and the African Great Lakes. But, in 1891, Le Toulonnais launched an attack to Mombasa, but on the way there, the Brits launched an ambush at Voi, about 150 km from Mombasa. Le Toulonnais was surrounded and was forced to the negotiating table.

  He and the army he had brought with him from France were carted off to Mombasa, where Le Toulonnais met with Admiral Tyson and, shockingly, his old rival, the old and retired General Crawford, who was well into his 80’s now. Crawford, when he heard that his rival of Le Toulonnais was losing in East Africa, decided to head there for a vacation, and to join the negotiation table to see Le Toulonnais go through the same embarrassment that he went through at Fort Durant almost 30 years prior.

  Admiral Tyson was fairly lenient on Le Toulonnais, but he came to the conclusion that the Explorers’ Wars had to stop, and what remained of Africa had to be carved up once and for all. And so, Admiral Tyson unfurled a map of Africa, and Le Toulonnais and Tyson argued over what would be French and belong in the Franco-sphere, and what would British and belong in the Anglo-sphere. The negotiations went on for a month, but the two finally came to an agreement. Africa was carved between the two powers once and for all, every nook-and-cranny was agreed upon (at least to some extent). Also part of this agreement was that Admiral Tyson would personally carry Le Toulonnais and what remained of the Armée proper back to France.

  And so, while Tyson gathered the ships to escort Le Toulonnais back to France, Le Toulonnais and old General Crawford had time to chat. In the single week they spent talking in Mombasa, the hate between the two melted away. Crawford himself would write “in this blasted Swahili port, this bastard Frank of whom I’ve hated for the better part of three decades has come to make me respect him. That same cunning tongue that convinced me to enter Fort Durant and be captured is what’s making me befriend my old nemesis. And what’s more, I could tell that he hated me before we conversed at this port, but now he has come to respect me as well. I almost think I’ll miss him when le leaves back to Europe.” In August of 1891, Le Toulonnais did indeed leave back to Europe, and General Crawford would die in the next month.

  While this war was, at the time, seen as a failure for France, and closed the Explorers’ Wars with a whimper rather than a bang, it would later go on as one of the most romanticised tales of France. As the Mythology of Le Toulonnais grew greater and greater, one of his greatest blunders also became more and more mythologized, and to this day, the lost and abandoned city of Saint-Cyprien has become a wonder that more and more search for, the El Dorado of Africa.