442:
255:
434:
480:"William Grant Stairs, Captain the Welsh Regiment. Born at Halifax Nova Scotia 1 July 1863. Lieutenant Royal Engineers 1885–91. Served on the staff of the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition 1887 under the leadership of H.M. Stanley and exhibited great courage and devotion to duty. Died of fever on 9 June 1892 at Chinde on the Zambesi whilst in command of the Katanga Expedition sent out by the King of the Belgians."
596:'African Exploits: The Diaries of William Stairs, 1887-1' by McGill Queens Univ Press 1997. This collection of William Stair's diaries, includes his official account of Sir Henry M. Stanley's trans-African expedition to rescue Emin Pasha in the Sudan. The diaries convey the nature and course of imperialist expeditions in 19th-century Africa and the psychological and moral corruption caused by absolute power.
416:
Only 189 of the 400 men on the expedition made it back to
Zanzibar, a year after they had left, most of the rest died and few deserted. Katanga became part of the Congo Free State, which was annexed by Belgium in 1908 after an international outcry over the killings, brutality and slavery by Leopold's
404:
throughout
January 1892. After being relieved by another expedition, the Stairs Expedition set out on the long return journey to Zanzibar. Stairs was frequently sick but by May 1892 had recovered. On a steamer down the lower Zambezi he had another attack of malaria which killed him on 9 June 1892. He
384:
to arrest Msiri, who stood his ground. Bodson shot him dead, and a fight broke out. The expedition took their wounded and Msiri's body back to their camp where Stairs was waiting, and there they cut off Msiri's head and hoisted it on a pole in plain view as a 'barbaric lesson' to his people. Some of
392:
Stairs handed over Msiri's body to his two brothers and an adopted son, Makanda Bantu, whom Stairs installed as chief to replace Msiri, and who signed the treaty acknowledging
Leopold as sovereign. The two brothers refused to do so until Stairs sent Moloney to threaten them with the same fate as
44:
870:
Proceedings of the Royal
Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography, New Monthly Series, Vol. 14, No. 7 (Jul., 1892), pp. 475–476 Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British
379:
The Stairs
Expedition became notorious for the fate of Msiri. After three days of negotiations without progress, Stairs gave Msiri an ultimatum to sign the treaty the next day, 20 December 1891. When Msiri did not appear, he sent his second-in-command,
376:, the expedition's British medical officer, were aware that they could potentially come into armed conflict with a British expedition, and agreed they would nevertheless discharge their duties to their employer, Leopold.
702:
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,
353:. Leopold had used Stanley's services before and agreed with his use of force and understood Stairs to be in the same mould, and he had a reputation for carrying out orders completely and without hesitation.
305:, reaching 10,677 ft before having to turn around. He was seriously wounded in the chest by a poisonous arrow during an attack by natives. Stairs recovered from his wound to continue the journey. In
545:. Sampson Low, Marston & Co, London (1893). Stairs served in British regiments, he referred to himself as an Englishman (p149, top.) and was described as upholding the prestige of Britain p205.
1106:
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1041:
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flag, armed with 200 modern rifles. (Msiri's men had muzzle-loading muskets). Stairs ran a well-organised expedition and won the loyalty of his officers and chiefs (
465:
1051:
1056:
441:
1101:
316:
The expedition was lauded in Europe and North
America for exploits seen as heroic. On his return to England Captain Stairs was named a Fellow of the
236:
1071:
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364:
supervisors). It was smaller and lighter than his previous expedition, with only two other military officers. They were in a race against
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321:
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941:
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806:
791:
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David Gordon: "Owners of the Land and Lunda Lords: Colonial Chiefs in the
Borderlands of Northern Rhodesia and the Belgian Congo."
254:
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1016:
484:
461:
446:
174:
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518:
847:
633:
841:
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231:, at the time the most celebrated living explorer of Africa. Stairs sailed from London on 20 January 1887 and met Stanley in
281:
During the 5000 km journey across Africa through some of its most difficult country consisting of almost impenetrable
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161:, the sixth child and third son of John Stairs and Mary Morrow, he attended school at Fort Massey Academy in Halifax,
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317:
327:
He described the population as "unfortunate blacks who, very often, are incapable of managing their own affairs."
763:
492:
396:
Oral histories of the
Garanganze people say that the expedition kept Msiri's head – by some accounts in a can of
309:, Ireland there is a bronze plaque depicting this 13 August 1887 event on the statue of expedition Surgeon Major
248:
751:
The memorial in St. George's
Cathedral, Kingston, was destroyed in the fire in 1899, and has not been replaced.
460:
Captain Stairs is commemorated with three identical tablets (c. 1902) in the vestibule of Mackenzie Building at
162:
964:
454:
421:, representing the losers in the scramble for Katanga, thought of Stairs as a mercenary and traitor to the
680:"The history of Zaire as told and painted by Tshibumba Kanda Matulu in conversation with Johannes Fabian."
450:
848:
René de Pont-Jest: L'Expédition du Katanga, d'après les notes de voyage du marquis Christian de Bonchamps
400:– but it cursed and killed everyone who carried it and eventually, this included Stairs. He was ill with
342:
115:
905:
817:
Daniel Liebowitz; Charles Pearson: The Last Expedition: Stanley's Mad Journey Through the Congo, 2005,
554:
Daniel Liebowitz; Charles Pearson: The Last Expedition: Stanley's Mad Journey Through the Congo, 2005,
925:
1006:
1001:
900:
886:
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275:
228:
194:
141:, soldier, and adventurer who had a leading role in two of the most controversial expeditions in the
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Memorial Arch erected in 1932 "The Emin Pasha Relief Expedition 1887–1890 52 Captain W.G. Stairs"
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978:
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Henry M Stanley with the officers of the Advance Column, Cairo, 1890. From the left : Dr.
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at NRZAM.org. Vol II, No. 6, pp67−77 (1954). See p67: "…Stairs, the renegade Englishman... ."
629:
magazine, also published bound in two volumes by Hachette, Paris (1893). Available online at
372:
expanding from the south, which had already sent two failed expeditions to Msiri. Stairs and
417:
regime. In the early 20th century as Katanga's mining industries developed, some British in
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267:
43:
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894:
637:
523:
198:
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L'Expédition du Katanga, d'après les notes de voyage du marquis Christian de Bonchamps
995:
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912:
473:
410:
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293:. Stairs had endurance, toughness and perseverance. He discovered one source of the
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After graduating as a trained engineer, Stairs spent three years working for the
17:
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850:, published in: Edouard Charton (editor): Le Tour du Monde magazine (1892–3).
721:
509:
Both Stairs Street and Stairs Place in Halifax, Nova Scotia, bear his name.
290:
247:, Tanzania on 5 December 1889. Stairs was appointed second-in-command after
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also known as Garanganze with or without the consent of its powerful king,
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361:
244:
170:
855:
The following book provides background on the Stairs family of Halifax.
401:
286:
744:. Robarts - University of Toronto. Toronto Ontario Historical Society.
722:
Mr Justice J B Thomson: "Memories of Abandoned Bomas No. 8: Chiengi".
406:
386:
306:
860:
Merchant Princes, Halifax's First Family of Finance, Ships and Steel
440:
432:
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The Stairs Expedition was a military mission of 400 men under the
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341:
In 1891 on Stanley's recommendation, Stairs was appointed by King
768:
African Exploits : The Diaries of William Stairs, 1887–1892
294:
232:
491:
A collection of artefacts from his African expeditions are at
193:
in northern New Zealand. In 1885, he accepted the offer of a
934:
The Last Expedition: Stanley's Mad Journey Through the Congo
313:
who removed the arrow and sucked the poison from the wound.
285:
and swamps, Stairs and colleagues suffered frequently from
573:"William Grant Stairs of Halifax helped conquer the Congo"
301:, and became the first non-African to ever climb in the
659:
The International Journal of African Historical Studies
836:, (1893) Sampson. Low, Marston & Company, London (
829:
Based on other Stairs Expedition member's journals:
137:(1 July 1863 – 9 June 1892) was a Canadian-British
122:
111:
97:
89:
81:
67:
50:
34:
1107:Perpetrators of atrocities in the Congo Free State
385:the Garanganze were massacred by the expedition's
27:Canadian-British explorer, soldier, and adventurer
631:www.collin.francois.free.fr/Le_tour_du_monde/
235:on 6 February. Their expedition started from
8:
1047:Military personnel from Halifax, Nova Scotia
975:In Limbo: The Story of Stanley's Rear Column
1042:People educated at Merchiston Castle School
389:, and most of the rest fled into the bush.
961:The Emin Pasha Relief Expedition 1886–1890
495:and some his diaries are preserved in the
466:St. George's Cathedral (Kingston, Ontario)
42:
31:
205:, England. In 1891 he transferred to the
648:Joseph Moloney (1893), p. 11; p225; p14.
253:
1077:Infectious disease deaths in Mozambique
1067:Royal Military College of Canada alumni
685:, Volume 2, Issue 2 (11 November 1998)
534:
868:Obituary: Captain William Grant Stairs
405:is buried in the European Cemetery in
760:Based on Stairs' expedition diaries:
661:, Vol. 34, No. 2 (2001), pp. 315–338.
617:
615:
613:
611:
445:pre WWI memorial plaque dedicated to
7:
223:Captain Stairs was appointed to the
1052:Canadian people of American descent
738:Ontario Historical Society (1899).
322:Royal Scottish Geographical Society
1057:Canadian people of British descent
862:, 2003, James Lorimer and Company.
191:New Zealand Trigonometrical Survey
25:
915:, Royal Museum for Central Africa
409:, Mozambique at the mouth of the
1102:Immigrants to the United Kingdom
625:, in: Edouard Charton (editor):
485:Royal Military College of Canada
462:Royal Military College of Canada
449:ex-cadets William Grant Stairs,
447:Royal Military College of Canada
331:The Stairs Expedition to Katanga
175:Royal Military College of Canada
893:, Edited by Dorothy Middleton,
772:McGill-Queen's University Press
519:Military history of Nova Scotia
437:Royal Military College memorial
834:With Captain Stairs to Katanga
543:With Captain Stairs to Katanga
497:Public Archives of Nova Scotia
1:
1072:19th-century British diarists
814:Emin Pasha Relief Expedition
801:, (1997), Nimbus Publishing (
571:Engler, Yves (28 June 2017).
345:to command a mission to take
1082:Colony of New Zealand people
913:Archive William Grant Stairs
370:British South Africa Company
225:Emin Pasha Relief Expedition
219:Emin Pasha Relief Expedition
213:Emin Pasha Relief Expedition
106:Emin Pasha Relief Expedition
102:Stairs Expedition to Katanga
683:Archives of Popular Swahili
670:Moloney (1893), pp197, 201.
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1027:Canadian mountain climbers
784:Liverpool University Press
334:
318:Royal Geographical Society
251:was shot on 19 July 1888.
216:
832:Joseph Augustus Moloney,
724:Northern Rhodesia Journal
506:was named in his honour.
493:Fort Frederick (Kingston)
243:on 19 March and ended in
41:
1012:Royal Engineers officers
887:Jephson, A. J. Mounteney
163:Merchiston Castle School
1092:Canadian mass murderers
1017:Welch Regiment officers
965:Oxford University Press
636:5 February 2010 at the
1097:Canadian war criminals
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455:William Henry Robinson
438:
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901:Stanley, Henry Morton
712:Moloney (1893), p276.
444:
436:
343:Leopold II of Belgium
257:
116:William Machin Stairs
953:, London, 1960, 1971
605:Moloney (1893), p14.
504:Parry Sound, Ontario
451:Huntly Brodie Mackay
276:Arthur J. M. Jephson
239:at the mouth of the
229:Henry Morton Stanley
135:William Grant Stairs
63:Halifax, Nova Scotia
36:William Grant Stairs
1037:Deaths from malaria
1032:Explorers of Africa
979:David & Charles
797:Jane M. Konczacki,
621:René de Pont-Jest:
499:; others are lost.
470:Rochester Cathedral
311:Thomas Heazle Parke
260:Thomas Heazle Parke
143:Scramble for Africa
1087:Canadian emigrants
1022:Canadian explorers
799:Victorian Explorer
458:
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279:
181:, as Student #52.
1062:Canadian diarists
926:Liebowitz, Daniel
906:In Darkest Africa
764:Hon. Roy MacLaren
419:Northern Rhodesia
337:Stairs Expedition
272:William G. Stairs
249:Captain Barttelot
179:Kingston, Ontario
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18:William G. Stairs
16:(Redirected from
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358:Congo Free State
268:Henry M. Stanley
264:Robert H. Nelson
85:Canadian-British
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73:(1892-06-09)
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1007:1892 deaths
1002:1863 births
971:Gould, Tony
476:, England.
241:Congo River
159:Nova Scotia
71:9 June 1892
61:1 July 1863
996:Categories
876:References
842:0955393655
530:References
303:Ruwenzoris
283:rainforest
195:commission
173:, and the
82:Allegiance
77:Mozambique
57:1863-07-01
770:, (1998)
691:1570-0178
577:rabble.ca
362:Zanzibari
324:in 1890.
291:dysentery
167:Edinburgh
149:Education
112:Relations
973: :
959: :
949: :
936:, 2005,
932: :
903: :
889: :
782:) &
634:Archived
582:29 April
513:See also
398:kerosene
320:and the
245:Bagamoyo
171:Scotland
153:Born in
139:explorer
127:explorer
98:Commands
474:Chatham
468:and in
402:malaria
393:Msiri.
387:askaris
347:Katanga
287:malaria
227:led by
203:Chatham
155:Halifax
93:Captain
985:
967:, 1972
940:
909:, 1890
897:, 1969
840:
821:
805:
790:
778:
726:online
689:
558:
453:, and
407:Chinde
307:Dublin
297:, the
274:, and
237:Banana
185:Career
981:1980
891:Diary
703:2000.
472:near
351:Msiri
983:ISBN
938:ISBN
838:ISBN
819:ISBN
803:ISBN
788:ISBN
776:ISBN
687:ISSN
584:2024
556:ISBN
295:Nile
289:and
233:Suez
90:Rank
68:Died
51:Born
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