The Fort de Shinkakasa was a fortification built in the Congo Free State

Congo Free State

The Congo Free State was a large area in Central Africa which was privately controlled by Leopold II, King of the Belgians. Its origins lay in Leopold's attracting scientific, and humanitarian backing for a non-governmental organization, the Association internationale africaine...

 to defend access to the Congo river in 1891. It is located about 1.5 kilometre (0.93205910497471 mi) west of Boma.

The fort was designed by the Belgian engineer, General Henri Alexis Brialmont

Henri Alexis Brialmont

Henri Alexis Brialmont was a Dutch-born Belgian military engineer. He was one of the leading fortifications engineers in the 19th century....

. The fort was built by the Congo Free State to prevent an advance on the Congo, particularly by Portugal, who occupied neighboring Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

. The confrontation between the two nations were in fact limited to exchanges of fire between light batteries and Portuguese ships. About two hundred soldiers of the Congolese Force Publique occupied the fort, and at least as many auxiliary troops. They were principally from distant regions to counter any rebellion, such as the Batatela revolt of 1887-88. This, however, did not prevent the revolt of the Batatela of Shinkakasa on 17 April 1900.

Source

• This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding French Wikipedia article as of October 25, 2010.