Conflicts & Resolutions · Campaign

Stairs Expedition to Katanga

1891–1892 · 19th century · Also known as Stairs Expedition

The Stairs Expedition was a Congo Free State expedition of 1891–1892 to Katanga led by the Canadian-born British officer William Stairs. Its aim was to secure the copper-rich region before Cecil Rhodes's British South Africa Company. At Bunkeya, the capital of the Yeke kingdom, its officer Omer Bodson shot dead King Msiri in December 1891. Stairs died of malaria on the return journey.

Stairs Expedition to Katanga
Image: Joseph Maloney, died 1896. · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Yeke Kingdom

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Stairs Expedition to Katanga. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/stairs-expedition-to-katanga
MLA
“Stairs Expedition to Katanga.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/stairs-expedition-to-katanga. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Stairs Expedition to Katanga.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/stairs-expedition-to-katanga.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Stairs Expedition to Katanga’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/stairs-expedition-to-katanga (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻