Henri Bretonnet
Encyclopedia
Henri-Etienne Bretonnet was a French
naval officer, killed with most of his men in the battle of Togbao
.
Bretonnet entered in the navy by attending the École Navale
, the Navy Academy in charge of the education of the officers of the French Navy
. Among his first important mission was the participation in the second Mizon Mission in 1892; the expedition was commanded by lieutenant de vaisseau Louis Mizon
, who under him Albert Nebout and Bretonnet as enseigne de vaisseau.
The expedition, that was to cover the territories between the Niger River
and the Adamawa
, was primarily designed to carve a French enclave on the Benue River
in Northern Nigeria
, a territory that the British claimed being theirs following the Berlin Conference
. Ignoring the protests of the Royal Niger Company
that Adamawa had been given to the British by the Berlin Conference
, he hoisted the French flag in the region after a treaty with the Emir of Muri; unsupported by France, he was forced to leave the area with his men in 1893.
In 1896, Bretonnet, by now promoted lieutenant, was given command of an expedition meant to establish French control on the navigable portions of the Niger River
below Bussa
, in modern Nigeria
. These plans were opposed by the Royal Niger Company, claiming the English had already treaty rights on the region.
Bretonnet left the French post of Carnotville, in Dahomey
, on December 28, 1896 and headed north, penetrating in the region of Borgu
. Bretonnet passed by Kandi
and entered in Illo, where he placed a Resident
; then, pointing south, he arrived at Bussa, whose emir
Kisan Dogo was involved in a bitter feud with Kibari, ruler of Wawa, that supported a rival claimant to the throne of Bussa. In exchange for the promise of helping Kisan Dogo in removing Kibari and replacing him with a relative of his, Bretonnet held Bussa "in the name of the French Republic" claiming to "occupy effectively the territory of Bussa".
The latter claim was far from true: Kwara, a son of the king of Wawa that Bretonnet had helped to overthrow, guided a rebellion that extended to vast areas of Borgu. Bretonnet was forced to move from one place to another: first at Kandi, then at Illo to help his Resident, then to Bussa to support the emir. A big battle was fought at More, where 1,500 rebels gathered: Bretonnet and Kisan Dogo were victorious, but the Lieutenant lost one of his Europeans in the battle, the Resident of Illo Carrerot. It was only by 1898 that the French had completely subdued the rebellion.
News of Bretonnet's occupation of Bussa created uproar in London
, when the British learned of the situation in April. The French and English governments, after long discussions, reached a compromise that was sanctioned on June 14, 1898 by the Anglo-French Convention; Bretonnet evacuated Bussa, Illo and Gomba, but for purely commercial purposes Great Britain agreed to lease to France two small plots of land on the river - the one on the right bank between Leaba and the mouth of the Moshi River, the other at one of the mouths of the Niger. By accepting this line Great Britain abandoned Nikki
and a great part of Borgu
as well as some part of Gando
to France.
In the same year Bretonnet's former roommate
at the naval academy, Captain Émile Gentil
, who had just returned from his mission to Lake Chad
, persuaded the government to give him command of an expedition that would provide to solve the issues that Gentil's departure had left open, and prepare the ground for Gentil's future mission. On October 10 Bretonnet left France, with his second Lt. Solomon Braun
; news arrived shortly after that Rabih az-Zubayr
, the greatest ruler in the Chad Basin, had attacked Baguirmi
, whose king was a French protégé. In France, the government reacted by ordering reinforcements to be sent to Bretonnet, and the preparations for the Gentil Mission were accelerated. Bretonnet was advised to reach the Chari River
and unite his forces with those of the Baguirmians.
On June 15 Bretonnet reached the French post of Kouno on the Chari, having with him only half a hundred Senegal
riflemen and two officers, but also three cannons, and was shortly after met by Gaourang, the king of Baguirmi, with 400 men. Bretonnet wrote a letter, on July 8, to Gentil, whose expedition had arrived in Middle Congo and was not very distant, in which he wrote that he did not trust the rumours that Rabih in person was marching on Kouno, but all the same asked Gentil to send him Captain Julien with his 130-strong company.
The letter arrived in Gentil's hands when it was already too late; Rabih was effectively marching on Kouno at the head of 2,700 men with firearms and 10,000 auxiliaries. With the enemy approaching, Bretonnet evacuated Kouno and entrenched himself in the nearby hills of Togbao; here on July 17 took place the battle with Rabih's forces
, in which Bretonnet, Braun and all his men were massacred, except for three wounded Senegalese that were taken prisoners. One of these escaped, and informed on August 16 Gentil of Bretonnet's death.
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...
naval officer, killed with most of his men in the battle of Togbao
Battle of Togbao
On October 10, 1898 a French military expedition commanded by the Lieutenant de vaisseau Henri Bretonnet and the Lt. Solomon Braun left France directed to Chad, at the time dominated by the Muslim warlord Rabih az-Zubayr...
.
Bretonnet entered in the navy by attending the École Navale
École Navale
The École Navale is the French Naval Academy in charge of the education of the officers of the French Navy.The academy was founded in 1830 by the order of King Louis-Philippe...
, the Navy Academy in charge of the education of the officers of the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
. Among his first important mission was the participation in the second Mizon Mission in 1892; the expedition was commanded by lieutenant de vaisseau Louis Mizon
Louis Mizon
Louis Alexandre Antoine Mizon was a French explorer and colonial administrator.Born in Paris in 1853, Mizon entered in the French Navy in 1869. Between 1880 and 1883 he was at Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza's orders, with whom he had difficulties working...
, who under him Albert Nebout and Bretonnet as enseigne de vaisseau.
The expedition, that was to cover the territories between the Niger River
Niger River
The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...
and the Adamawa
Adamawa Plateau
The Adamawa Plateau is a plateau region in west-central Africa stretching from south-eastern Nigeria through north-central Cameroon to the Central African Republic. The plateau was named after Fulani Muslim leader Modibo Adama. The part of the plateau that lies in Nigeria is more popularly known...
, was primarily designed to carve a French enclave on the Benue River
Benue River
The Benue River is the major tributary of the Niger River. The river is approximately 1,400 km long and is almost entirely navigable during the summer months...
in Northern Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, a territory that the British claimed being theirs following the Berlin Conference
Berlin Conference
The Berlin Conference of 1884–85 regulated European colonization and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period, and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence as an imperial power...
. Ignoring the protests of the Royal Niger Company
Royal Niger Company
The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It formed the basis of the modern state of Nigeria....
that Adamawa had been given to the British by the Berlin Conference
Berlin Conference
The Berlin Conference of 1884–85 regulated European colonization and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period, and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence as an imperial power...
, he hoisted the French flag in the region after a treaty with the Emir of Muri; unsupported by France, he was forced to leave the area with his men in 1893.
In 1896, Bretonnet, by now promoted lieutenant, was given command of an expedition meant to establish French control on the navigable portions of the Niger River
Niger River
The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...
below Bussa
Bussa (town)
Bussa was the capital of northern Borgu, in northern Nigeria. It was the farthest navigable point on the Niger River, just above the rapids. The town site is now covered by Lake Kainji, which was created in 1968 with the construction of the Lake Kainji dam...
, in modern Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. These plans were opposed by the Royal Niger Company, claiming the English had already treaty rights on the region.
Bretonnet left the French post of Carnotville, in Dahomey
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
, on December 28, 1896 and headed north, penetrating in the region of Borgu
Borgu
Borgu was a 15th-16th century state in West Africa, partitioned between the Great Britain and France by the Anglo-French Convention of 1898. It lies in what is now Nigeria and the Republic of Benin.People of Borgu were known as Bariba and Borgawa....
. Bretonnet passed by Kandi
Kandi
Kandi is a town, arrondissement and commune in the Alibori Department of eastern Benin. Originally a market town, Kandi is now primarily a farming centre. It lies on the nation's main north-south highway, 650 km from Cotonou and 325 miles north of Porto-Novo. The town is the capital of...
and entered in Illo, where he placed a Resident
Resident (title)
A Resident, or in full Resident Minister, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indirect rule....
; then, pointing south, he arrived at Bussa, whose emir
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...
Kisan Dogo was involved in a bitter feud with Kibari, ruler of Wawa, that supported a rival claimant to the throne of Bussa. In exchange for the promise of helping Kisan Dogo in removing Kibari and replacing him with a relative of his, Bretonnet held Bussa "in the name of the French Republic" claiming to "occupy effectively the territory of Bussa".
The latter claim was far from true: Kwara, a son of the king of Wawa that Bretonnet had helped to overthrow, guided a rebellion that extended to vast areas of Borgu. Bretonnet was forced to move from one place to another: first at Kandi, then at Illo to help his Resident, then to Bussa to support the emir. A big battle was fought at More, where 1,500 rebels gathered: Bretonnet and Kisan Dogo were victorious, but the Lieutenant lost one of his Europeans in the battle, the Resident of Illo Carrerot. It was only by 1898 that the French had completely subdued the rebellion.
News of Bretonnet's occupation of Bussa created uproar in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, when the British learned of the situation in April. The French and English governments, after long discussions, reached a compromise that was sanctioned on June 14, 1898 by the Anglo-French Convention; Bretonnet evacuated Bussa, Illo and Gomba, but for purely commercial purposes Great Britain agreed to lease to France two small plots of land on the river - the one on the right bank between Leaba and the mouth of the Moshi River, the other at one of the mouths of the Niger. By accepting this line Great Britain abandoned Nikki
Nikki, Benin
Nikki is a city, arrondissement, and commune located in the Borgou Department of Benin. The commune covers an area of 3171 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 99,251 people.-References:...
and a great part of Borgu
Borgu
Borgu was a 15th-16th century state in West Africa, partitioned between the Great Britain and France by the Anglo-French Convention of 1898. It lies in what is now Nigeria and the Republic of Benin.People of Borgu were known as Bariba and Borgawa....
as well as some part of Gando
Gwandu
Gwandu, also called Gando, is a town and emirate in Kebbi State, Nigeria. The seat of government for the emirate and district of this name is in Birnin Kebbi, which is the capital of Kebbi State and was capital of the historical Kingdom of Kebbi...
to France.
In the same year Bretonnet's former roommate
Roommate
A roommate is a person who shares a living facility such as an apartment or dormitory. Similar terms include suitemate, housemate, flatmate , or sharemate...
at the naval academy, Captain Émile Gentil
Émile Gentil
Émile Gentil was a French colonial administrator, naval officer, and colonial military leader.Born at Volmunster in the department of Moselle, he later attended the École Navale, the school that formed French naval officers. As an ensign, he was assigned to conduct hydrographic soundings along the...
, who had just returned from his mission to Lake Chad
Lake Chad
Lake Chad is a historically large, shallow, endorheic lake in Africa, whose size has varied over the centuries. According to the Global Resource Information Database of the United Nations Environment Programme, it shrank as much as 95% from about 1963 to 1998; yet it also states that "the 2007 ...
, persuaded the government to give him command of an expedition that would provide to solve the issues that Gentil's departure had left open, and prepare the ground for Gentil's future mission. On October 10 Bretonnet left France, with his second Lt. Solomon Braun
Solomon Braun
Solomon Braun was a French lieutenant of artillery, born at Paris in 1868 and died in Togbao, Chad, in 1899. His father, a poor pedler, observing Solomon's capacity for learning, made the greatest sacrifices to give him a good education. Solomon successfully passed the competitive examination for...
; news arrived shortly after that Rabih az-Zubayr
Rabih az-Zubayr
Rabih az-Zubayr ibn Fadl Allah or Rabih Fadlallah , usually known as Rabah in French, was a Sudanese warlord and slave trader who established a powerful empire west of Lake Chad, in today's Chad....
, the greatest ruler in the Chad Basin, had attacked Baguirmi
Kingdom of Baguirmi
The Kingdom of Baguirmi, also known as the Baguirmi Sultanate , was an Islamic kingdom or sultanate that existed as an independent state during the 16th and 17th centuries southeast of Lake Chad in what is now the country of Chad. Baguirmi emerged to the southeast of the Kanem-Bornu Empire. The...
, whose king was a French protégé. In France, the government reacted by ordering reinforcements to be sent to Bretonnet, and the preparations for the Gentil Mission were accelerated. Bretonnet was advised to reach the Chari River
Chari River
The Chari or Shari River is a 949-kilometer-long river of central Africa. It flows from the Central African Republic through Chad into Lake Chad, following the Cameroon border from N'Djamena, where it joins the Logone River waters....
and unite his forces with those of the Baguirmians.
On June 15 Bretonnet reached the French post of Kouno on the Chari, having with him only half a hundred Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
riflemen and two officers, but also three cannons, and was shortly after met by Gaourang, the king of Baguirmi, with 400 men. Bretonnet wrote a letter, on July 8, to Gentil, whose expedition had arrived in Middle Congo and was not very distant, in which he wrote that he did not trust the rumours that Rabih in person was marching on Kouno, but all the same asked Gentil to send him Captain Julien with his 130-strong company.
The letter arrived in Gentil's hands when it was already too late; Rabih was effectively marching on Kouno at the head of 2,700 men with firearms and 10,000 auxiliaries. With the enemy approaching, Bretonnet evacuated Kouno and entrenched himself in the nearby hills of Togbao; here on July 17 took place the battle with Rabih's forces
Battle of Togbao
On October 10, 1898 a French military expedition commanded by the Lieutenant de vaisseau Henri Bretonnet and the Lt. Solomon Braun left France directed to Chad, at the time dominated by the Muslim warlord Rabih az-Zubayr...
, in which Bretonnet, Braun and all his men were massacred, except for three wounded Senegalese that were taken prisoners. One of these escaped, and informed on August 16 Gentil of Bretonnet's death.