Gabriel Bonvalot
Encyclopedia
Pierre Gabriel Édouard Bonvalot (July 13, 1853 – December 10, 1933) was a French
explorer of Central Asia
and Tibet
. Bonvalot was born in the commune
of Épagne
in the Aube
department in north-central France
. He was the son of Pierre Bonvalot and Louise-Félicie Congniasse des Jardins. He attended schooling at Troyes
.
n controlled Central Asia and returned to France via Bukhara
, the Caspian sea
, and the Caucasus
. His travels were financed by the Minister of Public Instruction. In 1886 he set out for Russian Central Asia with Guillaume Capus, a botanist
, ethnographer
, and doctor of natural sciences, and designer Albert Pépin.
They departed from Tashkent
in 1886 and traveled up to the border with Afghanistan
. During the winter season, they remained in Samarkand
and sought a way to cross the Pamir Mountains
from north to south and reach China
. In 1887 they crossed through Kyrgyz territory in the Alai Mountains. As a European, Bonvalot felt superior to the locals and used threats or force to obtain equipment, supplies, pack animals and porters. He crossed the Pamirs , Chitral
, where he was detained for more than a month, and the Karakoram
, until he reached Kashmir
. He was rewarded for this expedition by the Société de Géographie
in Paris
.
. The expedition was financed by the Duke of Chartres
and his son, Prince Henri of Orléans.
Bonvalot's original plan was to cross Asia
and reach Tonkin
in French Indochina
. Bonvalot wanted to cross Europe and Russia by train and then continue on foot and horseback to the border with Chinese Turkestan
. Bonvalot then wanted to be the first European to cross the Gobi
and Lop Nor deserts. He thought that he could then cut across the Tibetan plateau and try to visit Lhasa
, which had been closed to foreigners for the last half a century. Finally he intended to cross 1,700 kilometers of land in eastern Tibet that had been unexplored by Europeans until he reached Yunnan
, where he would travel down the Mekong River until to Indochina. In total his planned expedition was 9,500 kilometers and traversed lands that were still unknown to Europeans. Bonvalot was accompanied in his travels by Father Rachmed, who joined the expedition in Russia, and Henri of Orléans, who acted as his photographer.
The expedition began with relative comfort and did not become difficult until they reached the border between Russian and Chinese Turkestan
. The group crossed into Chinese controlled territory and traveled through the Ili Valley, Tian Shan Mountains, the Tarim Basin
, and the Lop Nor. They then had to spend the winter in Tibet
. Bonvalot's expedition again coerced the population into providing horses and guides and even threatened the local commander with imprisonment. Just before they reached Lhasa, they were detained by officials of the Tibetan government. They were not allowed to enter Lhasa and Bonvalot's expedition was only allowed to continue its journey after lengthy negotiations. The group then continued traveling across the Tibetan Plateau to its eastern extremities. In June they finally reached Kangding
in Qing
controlled territory. They finally reached Hanoi in late September 1890.
and French colonists. In 1894 he founded the Comité Dupleix, a pro-colonialist organization. In 1898 Bonvalot launched an expedition to cross Ethiopia
and join the Marchand expedition at Fashoda. But Bonvalot failed to obtain the cooperation of the Ethiopian emperor, Menilek II, and quit the expedition before they reached Sudan
.
In 1898 Bonvalot founded the journal La France de demain and remained the editor until 1904. He served as a deputy from Paris
in the Parliament of France
from 1902 to 1906. From 1912 to 1920 Bonvalot was the mayor of Brienne-le-Château
in his home department of Aube
.. In 2005 an exhibition on the life of Bonvalot was organized in the library at Brienne-le-Château.
Bonvalot died in Paris on Dec. 10, 1933.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
explorer of Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
and Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
. Bonvalot was born in the commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
of Épagne
Épagne
Épagne is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France.-Population:-References:*...
in the Aube
Aube
Aube is a department in the northeastern part of France named after the Aube River. In 1995, its population was 293,100 inhabitants.- History :Aube is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
department in north-central France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He was the son of Pierre Bonvalot and Louise-Félicie Congniasse des Jardins. He attended schooling at Troyes
Troyes
Troyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
.
Expeditions from 1880-1887
In 1880–82 he visited RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n controlled Central Asia and returned to France via Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
, the Caspian sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
, and the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
. His travels were financed by the Minister of Public Instruction. In 1886 he set out for Russian Central Asia with Guillaume Capus, a botanist
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
, ethnographer
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
, and doctor of natural sciences, and designer Albert Pépin.
They departed from Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
in 1886 and traveled up to the border with Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. During the winter season, they remained in Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
and sought a way to cross the Pamir Mountains
Pamir Mountains
The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range in Central Asia formed by the junction or knot of the Himalayas, Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, and Hindu Kush ranges. They are among the world’s highest mountains and since Victorian times they have been known as the "Roof of the World" a probable...
from north to south and reach China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. In 1887 they crossed through Kyrgyz territory in the Alai Mountains. As a European, Bonvalot felt superior to the locals and used threats or force to obtain equipment, supplies, pack animals and porters. He crossed the Pamirs , Chitral
Chitral
Chitral or Chetrar , translated as field in the native language Khowar, is the capital of the Chitral District, situated on the western bank of the Kunar River , in Pakistan. The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, high...
, where he was detained for more than a month, and the Karakoram
Karakoram
The Karakoram, or Karakorum , is a large mountain range spanning the borders between Pakistan, India and China, located in the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan , Ladakh , and Xinjiang region,...
, until he reached Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
. He was rewarded for this expedition by the Société de Géographie
Société de Géographie
The Société de Géographie , is the world's oldest geographical society. It was founded in 1821 . Since 1878, its headquarters has been at 184 Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris. The entrance is marked by two gigantic caryatids representing Land and Sea...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Expedition of 1889
In 1889 Bonvalot was one of the first Europeans to visit the Tibetan plateauTibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai, in addition to smaller portions of western Sichuan, southwestern Gansu, and northern Yunnan in Western China and Ladakh in...
. The expedition was financed by the Duke of Chartres
Duke of Chartres
Originally, the Duchy of Chartres was the comté de Chartres, an Earldom. The title of comte de Chartres thus became duc de Chartres. This duchy–peerage was given by Louis XIV of France to his nephew, Philippe II d'Orléans, at his birth in 1674...
and his son, Prince Henri of Orléans.
Bonvalot's original plan was to cross Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and reach Tonkin
Tonkin
Tonkin , also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is the northernmost part of Vietnam, south of China's Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces, east of northern Laos, and west of the Gulf of Tonkin. Locally, it is known as Bắc Kỳ, meaning "Northern Region"...
in French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
. Bonvalot wanted to cross Europe and Russia by train and then continue on foot and horseback to the border with Chinese Turkestan
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
. Bonvalot then wanted to be the first European to cross the Gobi
Gobi Desert
The Gobi is a large desert region in Asia. It covers parts of northern and northwestern China, and of southern Mongolia. The desert basins of the Gobi are bounded by the Altai Mountains and the grasslands and steppes of Mongolia on the north, by the Hexi Corridor and Tibetan Plateau to the...
and Lop Nor deserts. He thought that he could then cut across the Tibetan plateau and try to visit Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
, which had been closed to foreigners for the last half a century. Finally he intended to cross 1,700 kilometers of land in eastern Tibet that had been unexplored by Europeans until he reached Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
, where he would travel down the Mekong River until to Indochina. In total his planned expedition was 9,500 kilometers and traversed lands that were still unknown to Europeans. Bonvalot was accompanied in his travels by Father Rachmed, who joined the expedition in Russia, and Henri of Orléans, who acted as his photographer.
The expedition began with relative comfort and did not become difficult until they reached the border between Russian and Chinese Turkestan
Turkestan
Turkestan, spelled also as Turkistan, literally means "Land of the Turks".The term Turkestan is of Persian origin and has never been in use to denote a single nation. It was first used by Persian geographers to describe the place of Turkish peoples...
. The group crossed into Chinese controlled territory and traveled through the Ili Valley, Tian Shan Mountains, the Tarim Basin
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is a large endorheic basin occupying an area of about . It is located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China's far west. Its northern boundary is the Tian Shan mountain range and its southern is the Kunlun Mountains on the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The...
, and the Lop Nor. They then had to spend the winter in Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
. Bonvalot's expedition again coerced the population into providing horses and guides and even threatened the local commander with imprisonment. Just before they reached Lhasa, they were detained by officials of the Tibetan government. They were not allowed to enter Lhasa and Bonvalot's expedition was only allowed to continue its journey after lengthy negotiations. The group then continued traveling across the Tibetan Plateau to its eastern extremities. In June they finally reached Kangding
Kangding
Kangding or Dardo is the name of a county in Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in western Sichuan Province, China. It is administrated at the city of Kangding...
in Qing
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
controlled territory. They finally reached Hanoi in late September 1890.
Later career
Gabriel Bonvalot wanted by his expeditions financed by the French government in order to demonstrate French power in the eyes of the world. After a trip to Algeria in 1893 Bonvalot embraced nationalism and became a fervent supporter of the political extreme rightHistory of far right movements in France
The far-right tradition in France finds its origins in the Third Republic with the Boulangism and the Dreyfus Affair.- The Third Republic from 1871 to 1914 :...
and French colonists. In 1894 he founded the Comité Dupleix, a pro-colonialist organization. In 1898 Bonvalot launched an expedition to cross Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
and join the Marchand expedition at Fashoda. But Bonvalot failed to obtain the cooperation of the Ethiopian emperor, Menilek II, and quit the expedition before they reached Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
.
In 1898 Bonvalot founded the journal La France de demain and remained the editor until 1904. He served as a deputy from Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in the Parliament of France
Parliament of France
The French Parliament is the bicameral legislature of the French Republic, consisting of the Senate and the National Assembly . Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at a separate location in Paris: the Palais du Luxembourg for the Senate, the Palais Bourbon for the National Assembly.Each...
from 1902 to 1906. From 1912 to 1920 Bonvalot was the mayor of Brienne-le-Château
Brienne-le-Château
Brienne-le-Château is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France. It is located from the right bank of the Aube River and 26 m. northeast of Troyes....
in his home department of Aube
Aube
Aube is a department in the northeastern part of France named after the Aube River. In 1995, its population was 293,100 inhabitants.- History :Aube is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
.. In 2005 an exhibition on the life of Bonvalot was organized in the library at Brienne-le-Château.
Bonvalot died in Paris on Dec. 10, 1933.
Publications
- En Asie Centrale. De Moscou en Bactriane (1884)
- En Asie Centrale. Du Kohistan à la Caspienne (1885)
- Du Caucase aux Indes, à travers le Pamir (1888)
- Through the Heart of Asia Over the Pamir to India (1889)
- De Paris au Tonkin à travers le Tibet inconnu, ouvrage contenant cent huit illustrations d'après les photographies prises par le prince Henri d'Orléans (1892)
- L'Asie inconnue, à travers le Tibet (1896)
- Sommes-nous en décadence ? (1899)
- Propos d'un Français (1911)
- Une lourde tâche (1913)
- Voyages. Les Chercheurs de routes. Marco-Polo (1924)