Durham E-Theses Marking Territory: demarcation of the DRC-Zambia boundary from 1894 to the present day DONALDSON, JOHN,WADE How to cite: DONALDSON, JOHN,WADE (2010) Marking Territory: demarcation of the DRC-Zambia boundary from 1894 to the present day, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/328/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Marking Territory: demarcation of the DRC-Zambia boundary from 1894 to the present day John W. Donaldson Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Department of Geography Durham University Supervisors: Professor Stuart Elden Dr Cheryl McEwan June 2010 International Boundaries Research Unit Geography Department Durham University South Road Durham, DH1 3LE Abstract From 1911 to 1914 an Anglo-Belgian boundary commission demarcated some 800 km of the boundary between the Congo Free State and Northern Rhodesia with 46 boundary markers. As was common practice across most British colonial boundaries in Africa prior to 1914, the process of demarcation was an exercise focused more on mapping and exploration than on clearly defining boundaries at the local scale. The division of territorial sovereignty through boundaries was known only at a small geographic scale. However, in 1927 a second Anglo-Belgian boundary commission was sent to demarcate what was by that time the Belgian Congo-Northern Rhodesia boundary. Working for six years at a cost that exceeded preceding boundary commissions throughout colonial Africa, the 1927-33 boundary commission erected boundary marks every 500 metres and literally carved the boundary line onto the local landscape. This research is framed by a ‘traditional’ understanding of a boundary as a fixed, bilateral and linear entity, taking an approach from international law. It is shown how boundaries developed as an essential component of the modern state territorial sovereignty that was imposed on the African continent through European imperialism. In making a boundary ‘known,’ demarcation is then isolated as a distinct process and recovered as a narrative in the study of the DRC-Zambia boundary from the colonial through the post-independence periods. Examining the disparity in demarcation methodology within in this narrative provides a unique lens through which to examine the relationship between state and territory throughout this narrative. It will be shown how economic aspects of land continue to affect demarcation methodology, reflecting some of the very foundational tenets of territorial sovereignty. Acknowledgements: First and foremost, special thanks are owed to Stuart Elden and Cheryl McEwan for their patience and perseverance. For their comments, critiques, sympathetic ears and motivational chats, thanks are owed to: the International Boundaries Research Unit especially Martin Pratt, Alison Williams, Wafula Okumu, Anthony Asiwaju, Tim Daniel, Diana Martin, Alistair MacDonald, Philip Knowles and Jo Patterson. For their assistance in UK-based archive research, thanks are owed to the staff of The National Archives (Kew), especially Geraldine Beech and Rose Hilton; and the staff of the archives of the Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers (RGS-IBG). For their invaluable assistance conducting archive research in Zambia, thanks are owed to: Giacomo Macola, Marja Hinfelaar and the staff of the National Archives of Zambia (Lusaka). For their valuable insights and essential support, thanks are owed to the Zambian Survey Department, Ministry of Lands, especially: Ed Kateka, Danny Mubanga, John Mwanakasale and members of the Ndola Office of the Survey Department. For supporting fieldwork in Zambia, special thanks are owed to: Karen and Sandy Donaldson, Historical Geography Research Group, Royal Geographical Society (Dudley Stamp Award), Jill Stewart, Anne and Kevin Nichol and University of Zambia. Finally, for not kicking me out of the house over the course of this research and providing me with persistent motivation, very special thanks to Selena, Stella and Isla. Abbreviations: AU – African Union AUBP – African Union Border Programme BSAC – British South Africa Company CO – Colonial Office CFS – Congo Free State DO – Dominions Office DRC – Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) FO – Foreign Office NAZ – National Archives of Zambia NRA – Northern Rhodesia Administration T – Treasury WO – War Office Table of Contents 1. Introduction: you are approaching a ‘boundary’ ................................................... 2 Prologue ..................................................................................................................... 3 What happened to boundary studies? ........................................................................ 6 Approach to boundaries through international law .................................................. 14 The territorial state model exposed by imperial practice in Africa ..................... 19 Exposing boundary empiricism to contemporary critique ....................................... 23 2. Boundary as theoretical construct: its characteristics and practices .................... 28 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 29 Boundaries as static: state territory and sovereignty................................................ 30 Boundaries as bilateral: exclusive to neighbouring sovereigns ............................... 40 Boundaries as linear: from frontiers to boundaries .................................................. 47 Anglo-American tradition .................................................................................... 49 French tradition ................................................................................................... 53 Boundary-making processes or practices? ............................................................... 57 Delimitation and demarcation ............................................................................. 62 3. Recovering narratives of boundary demarcation ................................................. 68 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 69 Previous use of government archives for boundary research .................................. 69 Approaching archive research from a post-colonial perspective ........................ 69 International law .................................................................................................. 73 Political geography .............................................................................................. 76 Archive research for boundary research as narrative ............................................... 79 Archives consulted and access ............................................................................. 79 Organisation of archive material......................................................................... 82 Archive research questions .................................................................................. 84 Archive material related to boundary commissions ............................................ 87 Research collection and organisation ................................................................. 89 Zambia fieldwork ..................................................................................................... 90 Interviews ............................................................................................................. 90 Site visit to boundary pillars ................................................................................ 93 Overview .................................................................................................................. 94 4. Mapping over Marking: the Belgian Congo-Northern Rhodesia boundary 1894- 1914.............................................................................................................................. 95 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 96 Allocation of imperial territory and delimitation ..................................................... 99 Prelude to demarcation .......................................................................................... 104 Making the case ................................................................................................. 104 Continued administrative problems ................................................................... 109 A boundary commission at last .......................................................................... 112 1911-14 Anglo-Belgian boundary commission ..................................................... 114 Getting instructions ...........................................................................................