Delagoa Bay,
A large bay, the estuary of several rivers, on the southeast coast of
Africa, situated between lat. 25dg; 40′ and 26° 20′ S. It extends 60 miles from north to south, and 20 miles from east to west.
It was discovered by the Portuguese in 1498, and for nearly 400 years was in dispute between
England and
Portugal, the Boers also putting in a claim to it in 1835.
It is the only seaport available for the Transvaal, but it is not in that territory.
The contention between
England and
Portugal was referred to
President Thiers, and settled by
President MacMahon, his successor, in 1875, in favor of
Portugal.
By an agreement
England received the right of pre-emption.
It was understood in the early part of the war between the
British and the Boers (1899-1900) that
Great Britain had either purchased the bay and its immediate surroundings outright or had negotiated an arrangement with
Portugal by which the bay could not be used for any purpose hostile to British interest.
In 1883
Col. Edward McMurdo, a civil engineer of
Kentucky, received from the
King of
Portugal an extremely liberal concession for the construction of a railroad from Lorenzo Marques to the Transvaal frontier, a distance of 57 miles. This concession also included the grant of large tracts of land along the projected route, the territory upon which much of the town of Lorenzo Marques now stands, an island in Delagoa Bay, and certain commercial privileges along the shore.
By the aid of British capital the road was completed in November, 1887, to what the Portuguese engineers certified was the border of the Transvaal.
In 1889 the Portuguese government served notice on
Colonel McMurdo that the real frontier was 6 miles further inland, and that if the road was not built to that point within four months it would be seized by
Portugal.
Before
McMurdo's side of the controversy could be heard,
Portugal confiscated the entire property (June, 1889). The
United States, in behalf of the McMurdo interests, united with
England to compel
Portugal to make proper reparation, and
Portugal consented to have the dispute settled by arbitration.
The tribunal was organized in
Berne, Switzerland, in 1890, but it was not till March 29, 1900, that a conclusion was reached.
The total award to the claimants was $3,202,800, with interest from 1889, and by a compromise the heirs of
Colonel McMurdo were awarded $500,000 towards the close of 1900.
