Hermann Wissmann
| Hermann von Wissmann | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Nickname(s) | Deutschlands größter Afrikaner |
| Born | 4 September 1853 Frankfurt (Oder), German Empire |
| Died |
15 June 1905 (aged 51) Weißenbach, Austria-Hungary |
| Allegiance |
 German Empire
|
| Service/branch |
 German Army
|
| Years of service | 1873–1896 |
| Rank | Major |
Hermann Wilhelm Leopold Ludwig Wissmann, after 1890 Hermann von Wissmann (4 September 1853 – 15 June 1905), was a German explorer and administrator in Africa.
Born in Frankfurt an der Oder, Wissmann was enlisted in the Army in 1870 and was commissioned a Lieutenant four years later. Wissmann served Mecklenburg in Füsilierregiment No. 90 posted at . During this time he had to serve a four-month prison sentence for wounding an opponent in a duel. An 1879 chance meeting with the explorer Dr. Paul Pogge changed his life.
Granted a leave of absence from the army, in 1880, Wissmann accompanied explorer Paul Pogge on a journey through the Congo Basin. In the eastern Congo, Pogge and Wissmann parted company. Pogge stayed to build an agricultural research station for a Congolese chief, while Wissmann trekked to the Indian Ocean via present-day Tanzania. He was awarded the 1888 Founder's Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society for his explorations. Afterwards Wissmann was in the employ of King Leopold II of Belgium, who was in the process of creating his personal African empire, known as the Congo Free State.
In March 1883 Wissmann gave the name "Zappo Zap" to a Songye leader known as Nsapu Nsapu who ruled over the town of Mpengie, part of the Ben'Eki kingdom in the eastern Kasai region. This was a settlement with more than a thousand people, many of them slave warriors, to the east of the Sankuru River between Kabinda and Lusambo. Zappo Zap's people became allies and auxiliaries of the Congo Free State authorities. In 1899 they were sent out by the colonial administration to collect taxes. They massacred many villagers, causing an international outcry.
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