Alfred Sharpe

Sir Alfred Sharpe (1853—1935) was a professional hunter who became a British colonial administrator and Commissioner (a de facto Governor) of the British Central Africa Protectorate from 1896 until 1910 (it changed its name to Nyasaland in 1907). He had a hand in some dramatic events which shaped south-Central Africa at the onset of colonialism.

The scramble for Katanga

Background

Sharpe started his administrative career in Fiji but went to Nyasaland as a hunter. In 1890 he was employed jointly by imperialist Cecil Rhodes and British Consul in Nyasaland Sir Harry Johnston on a mission to Msiri, King of Garanganza (mineral- and game-rich Katanga) which was, to Europeans, very remote. Rhodes wanted a mineral rights concession for his British South Africa Company (BSAC) and Johnston wanted a treaty accepting British protectorate status over his kingdom. The BSAC was already in North-Western Rhodesia and this would extend their territory further north. Katanga was known to have copper and was thought to have gold. [http://www.nrzam.org.uk/NRJ/V3N3/V3N3.htm NRZAM website: Alfred Sharpe's Travels in the Northern Province and Katanga.] "The Northern Rhodesia Journal". Vol III, No.3 (1957) pp210-219. This article reproduces Sharpe's letter to Johnston reporting on the Msiri, Kazembe and Nsama expedition.]

Only a handful of Europeans had been to Katanga and the Luapula/Lake Mweru region. The first to live there, Frederick Arnot, took up residence at Msiri's capital only three years previously. There had been no change to the methods and equipment for mounting an expedition since the explorer David Livingstone's travels twenty years before.

harpe reaches Kazembe's

Rhodes and Johnston also wanted the same agreements with Mwata Kazembe and Chief Nsama, the other strong chiefs in the area, to the east of Msiri. Sharpe was in competition with Belgian King Leopold II’s Congo Free State (CFS) which had already tried sending expeditions to Msiri. Sharpe was successful with Nsama and Mwata Kazembe but the latter was opposed to him going on to do a deal with his enemy, Msiri, and he delayed Sharpe by trickery and encouraged his porters to abscond. Mwata Kazembe's kingdom bordered what had been Msiri's on the other side of the Luapula River; originally that had been Mwata Kazembe's territory as well, but Msiri had usurped it.David Gordon: “Decentralized Despots or Contingent Chiefs: Comparing Colonial Chiefs in Northern Rhodesia and the Belgian Congo.” KwaZulu-Natal History and African Studies Seminar, University of Natal, Durban, 2000.]

On to Msiri's

Without his retinue, and low on cash and supplies such as cloth and gunpowder traditionally used to open negotiations, Sharpe, with a just couple of servants, eventually arrived at Msiri's court at Bunkeya with the draft treaty, and would not have cut an imposing figure. The explorer Joseph Thomson, also working for BSAC, was supposed to come up from the south and meet him at Msiri's with supplies and goods, but he did not arrive because of a smallpox epidemic in the country in between; Sharpe had to do his best on his own. Msiri and his court could not read English and Sharpe described the treaty favourably; when its real content was revealed to Msiri at the urging of Charles Swan, a British missionary at the court, Msiri, enraged, sent Sharpe away empty-handed. He was not aware he was in a race with the CFS, and left in disgust, blaming Swan.

Returns to Lake Tanganyika

On the other hand he felt satisfied with the Kazembe and Nsama agreements in his pocket. He wrote to Johnston from Bunkeya on 15 November 1890 saying there was no fear of Msiri giving concessions or treaties to anyone else, and in any case if they sent a well-armed column of perhaps 150 men to Katanga they could take over Msiri's copper and mineral trade without hindrance. On 26 December 1890 he wrote to Johnston again from Lake Tanganyika saying that Msiri would not last long and they could then acquire 'all his country'. Furthermore he noted that as Kazembe was the rightful owner of Msiri's country, the Kazembe treaty effectively gave them all the 'Lunda country' (by which he included Msiri's territory comprising the south-east of present-day Katanga).

As it turned out, although Sharpe was right on the first point — a small force could take over Msiri's mineral wealth — he was wrong on the next two points. On 18 April 1891 a Belgian expedition arrived led by Paul Le Marinel. He obtained a letter signed by Msiri and witnessed by Swan, that Msiri would accept CFS personnel in his territory.

Later that year a large, well-equipped and well-armed Congo Free State 'pacification' force arrived led by a Canadian mercenary, Captain W. E. Stairs, with orders to take Katanga under its control. On 20 December 1891 the CFS expedition shot Msiri, massacred his people and took possession of the country, which became part of the Congo. [http://www.dacb.org/stories/demrepcongo/crawford_daniel.html Dr. J. Keir Howard: "Crawford, Daniel", in Dictionary of African Christian Biography, website accessed 7 February 2007]

Becomes British Commissioner in Nyasaland

In 1896 Sharpe succeeded Johnston as the British Commissioner in Nyasaland. This was the senior British official post in Central Africa, and had responsibility for enforcing security in the neighbouring BSAC charter territory, North-Eastern Rhodesia, which he had helped establish with the Kazembe and Nsama treaties, among others. Ignoring the terms of the agreement he had signed with Sharpe, in 1897 Mwata Kazembe X refused to cooperate with the newly-arrived BSAC tax collector Blair Watson, refused to let him fly the British flag, and when Watson marched on Mwata Kazembe's capital, defeated his troops.

Punitive expedition against Mwata Kazembe

Mwata Kazembe was 1000 km from Sharpe's base at Blantyre over some difficult terrain and it was not until 1899 that Sharpe could mount a military expedition with Sikh and Nyasaland troops operating in conjunction with Robert Codrington, acting BSAC Administrator of North-Eastern Rhodesia. Mwata Kazembe escaped across the Luapula and after missionaries interceded on his behalf, he was allowed to return to a chieftainship recognised by the BSAC which became reasonably successful. See article on Kazembe for more details.

Later years

Sharpe served another 11 years in Nyasaland and retired to Britain where in retirement he wrote and lectured on Central Africa.

Descendents left in Zambia

Alfred Sharpe had a son Edmund born in Fiji in his early years and moved with him to Nyasaland. Edmund then had a son named Thomas Sandford Sharpe who was born in Petauke on 3rd December 1921 under British Subject passport number 16994.He then fathered two son's with Peggy McMillan. These son's were named Ronald Cedric Sharpe born 28th July, 1945 in Ndola and Jimmy Gerard Sharpe.Ronald then went on to father a son and two daughters named Nigel Leander Cedric Sharpe on 7th August, 1966, Renee Sharpe and Colleen Sharpe. Nigel currently has two daughters Lisa Rochelle Sharpe and Amelia Grace Lafayette Sharpe aged 13 and 9, Colleen has two daughters and is currently living in the United Kingdom. Renee is currently a doctor in London.

Jimmy fathered two son's and four daughters named Fiona Adamina Barnett (nee Sharpe),Quillon Sandford Sharpe (deceased) and Alistair Stanley Sharpe, Pamela Sharpe, Peggy Sharpe and April Sharpe. Fiona is married with two daughter's named Mikayla Alexandra Barnett and Bethany Si-anne Barnett and are currently living in the U.S.A. Alistair is married and currently living in Swaziland. Jimmy is currently living in the United Kingdom with his wife Dorothy and their three daughters. Pamela has a son Aidan Harrison(deceased) and currently expecting a boy in February 2009.

ee also

*British Central Africa
*Msiri
*Mwata Kazembe
*Congo Pedicle
*Lake Mweru

References

External links

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