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==Belgian rule==
Under the stipulations of the 1894 British-Congolese Treaty, signed on 12 May, the British leased the area to [[Leopold II of Belgium|King Leopold II of the Belgians]] for the period of his lifetime.<ref>Taylor, p. 53.</ref> In exchange, Leopold agreed to cede a narrow strip of territory in eastern Congo between Lakes [[Lake Albert (Africa)|Albert]] and [[Lake Tanganyika|Tanganyika]] to be used as part of the [[Cape to Cairo railway]]. The enclave had an area of about {{convert|15000|sqmi|km2}}, a population of about 250,000 and had its capital at the town of [[Lado, South Sudan|Lado]].
Similarly, the 1894 Franco-Congolese Treaty, signed on 14 August, ensured that the French accepted Leopold's ownership of Lado,<ref name=collins>Collins, p. 193.</ref> but it was not until 1897 that Leopold II had the resources to marshall troops of the [[Congo Free State]] under [[Louis Napoléon Chaltin]] to physically take control of the enclave. Chaltin's forces reached the Nile at the town of Bedden in the enclave in February 1897 and defeated the [[History of Mahdist Sudan|Mahdist]]s there in the Battle of Rejaf.<ref>Hill p. 99.</ref> This consolidated Léopold's claim to the [[Greater Upper Nile (region)|Upper Nile]], but Chaltin did not have the forces to do more, although he had been instructed to continue on towards [[Khartoum]].<ref>Degefu, p. 39.</ref>
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