Émile Gentil
Émile Gentil (French pronunciation: .
Early life and military career
Born at
Missions to the African Interior
First Mission 1895–1897
In 1895, Gentil was ordered to find a practical route to Chad, claiming the area between for France, and hence thwarting German and British expansion. On 27 July 1895, Gentil headed up the
In October 1897 he convinced the Sultan
On 20 October Gentil's mission passed through Rabih az-Zubayr, reaching Lake Chad on the 28th.
Second Mission, 1899 (the Gentil Mission)
After returning from France, where he had successfully lobbied the government to support further expansion, Gentil made preparations for a second Mission to seize the Chari-Baguirmi region and the area around Lake Chad from Rabih az-Zubayr. In 1899–1900, the French organized three armed columns: the Gentil Mission proceeding north from French Congo, the infamous
Again supported by the steamboat Léon-Blot, Gentil's force headed to the French station at Fort-Archambault Unbeknownst to them, a previous military expedition commanded by the Lieutenant de vaisseau Henri Bretonnet and the Lt. Solomon Braun, along with Sultan Gaourang's Baguirmi forces had been annihilated by Rabih's forces in the Battle of Togbao on 17 July after attacking Rabih at Kouno.
On 16 August, one of the three Senegalese
The Gentil Mission burned the town of Kouno, and confronted Rabih at the Battle of Kouno on 28 October 1899. The French were pushed back, suffering losses, but this did not prevent them from linking up with the other missions at Kousséri on 21 April 1900, in what today is northern Cameroon. The next day the three columns commanded by Major Amédée-François Lamy confronted Rabih az-Zubayr, who still controlled most of Chad. The French won the ensuing Battle of Kousséri, ensuring them control of most of Chad, but the battle cost both commanders their lives. Rabih's son succeeded him, but his empire soon disintegrated under sustained French expansion.
This meant that the original expedition had now accomplished all its main aims: surveying the lands of Northern Nigeria and Niger (contributing to a clearer Franco-British
In Lamy's honour, Émile Gentil, who was later its first French governor, named the capital of the new French territory of Chad
Governorship of French Congo
On 5 February 1902 Gentil was named
Gabon's second-largest city was named Port-Gentil for him.
Bibliography
- Ayakanmi Ayandele, Emmanuel (1979). Nigerian Historical Studies. Routledge, 130–131. ISBN 0-7146-3113-2.
- Gentil, Émile (1971). La chute de l'empire de Rabah. Hachette, 567–577.
- Pakenham, Thomas (1992). The Scramble for Africa. Abacus, 515–516. ISBN 0-349-10449-2.
- Petringa, Maria. Brazza, A Life for Africa. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2006. ISBN 978-1-4259-1198-0.
- Souzy, Marcel : Les coloniaux français illustres B. Arnaud Lyon vers 1940
See also
- Henri Bretonnet Mission
- Battle of Togbao 1899
- Voulet-Chanoine Mission
- Paul Joalland
- Amédée-François Lamy
- Rabih az-Zubayr
- Battle of Kousséri
- Dar al Kuti