Paul Reichard

Paul Reichard (2 December 1854 – 19 September 1938) was a German explorer who traveled extensively in Africa. His discoveries led to the establishment of the German East Africa Protectorate.

Paul Reichard was born on 2 December 1854 in Neuwied on the Rhine. He studied in Munich and in 1873 joined the Corps Rheno-Palatia, a student organization. After graduation he was employed for some time as an engineer in Kaiserslautern. In 1880 he volunteered as a member of an expedition of the German African society to establish a scientific station in East Africa. He prepared and equipped himself, taking Swahili lessons, and contributed 50,000 marks of his own money to the cost of the expedition.

At first the leader of the expedition was Captain von Schoeler, and other members were the zoologist Richard Boehm and the topographer Edward Kaiser. In July 1880 they marched into the interior of what is now Tanzania from the port of Bagamoyo. In November, they founded the Kakoma station in Unjamwesi, and stayed there for nine months. Captain von Scholer returned to Europe via Zanzibar after founding the station at Kakama. In 1881 Boehm and Reichard explored the Wala River, to the west of Gondo, as far as its mouth. Boehm and Kaiser made a three-month expedition to Lake Tanganyika, returning to the Gondo station at the end of 1881.

Later a station was established at Igonda. Reichard said of the Ufipa of the Rukwa region to the east of Lake Tanganyika that "calm, peace and order" reigned within the Fipa state. He described the rule of King Kapuufi as "generally energetic, but nevertheless mild". In October 1882 Eduard Kaiser died on an expedition to Lake Rukwa. In December 1882, Reichard and Böhm left Igonda and traveled to Lake Tanganyika, exploring Karema in Tanzania and Mpala to the west of the lake in the Congo Free State.

Boehm and Reichard left the Belgian station of Mpala on the Tanganyika on 1 September 1883. They managed to cross the Luapala into a country then called "Urua". Reichard crossed the Luapula twice, finding it was only 200 yards (180 m) wide, with many waterfalls and rapids as it drops down through the Konde Irunde and Mitumba mountains. Boehm died on 27 March 1884. Reichard observed that the Lualaba River was between 1,200 yards (1,100 m) and 600 yards (550 m) wide and appeared to be the true source of the Congo based on volume of water. He found that the Lualaba flows through Lake Upemba and then through Kikonja Lake further to the north. Reichard travelled up the Lufira River to the copper mines of Katanga, of which the Europeans were already aware. He reported that the Katanga region was subject to the powerful chief Msiri. The discoveries forced a number of revisions of the map of central Africa. He struggled back to the east, reaching Zanzibar on the Indian Ocean coast in November 1884.

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