Émile Gentil
Encyclopedia
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...
colonial administrator
French colonial empires
The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...
, naval officer, and colonial military leader.
Born at Volmunster
Volmunster
Volmunster is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France....
in the department of Moselle
Moselle
Moselle is a department in the east of France named after the river Moselle.- History :Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
, he later attended 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 school that formed French naval officers. As an ensign, he was assigned to conduct hydrographic
Hydrography
Hydrography is the measurement of the depths, the tides and currents of a body of water and establishment of the sea, river or lake bed topography and morphology. Normally and historically for the purpose of charting a body of water for the safe navigation of shipping...
sounding
Sounding
Sounding generally refers to a mechanism of probing the environment by sending out some kind of stimulus. The term derives from the ancient practice of determining the depth of water by feeding out a line with a weight at the end....
s along the Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
ese coast from 1890 to 1892. In 1892 he joined the colonial administration in Gabon.
Missions to the African Interior
Gentil is best known for heading two military missions to conquer and consolidate territories north from modern Gabon to ChadChad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
.
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 Congo RiverCongo River
The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...
on the French steamship Léon-Blot. The ship was then dismantled and hauled by African laborers through the forest to reach navigable portions of the Oubangui, where he founded the French station at Fort-Archambault
Sarh
Sarh is the third largest city in Chad, after N'Djamena and Moundou. It is the capital of Moyen-Chari region and the department of Barh Köh. It lies 350 miles south-east of the capital Ndjamena on the Chari River...
near one of Sultan 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....
's major towns, Kouno (now in the Chari-Baguirmi Region
Chari-Baguirmi Region
Chari-Baguirmi is one of the 22 regions of Chad and its capital is Massenya. It is composed by part of the former Chari-Baguirmi Prefecture .-Subdivisions:...
of Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
). The mission then transported the steamboat overland again to the Chari
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....
, which stretches to Lake Chad in the north.
In October 1897 he convinced the Sultan Abd ar Rahman Gwaranga to sign a treaty of alliance which gave France a protectorate over the Kingdom of 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...
, which was then threatened by 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 most powerful ruler in the Chad basin.
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 Voulet-Chanoine MissionVoulet-Chanoine Mission
The Voulet–Chanoine Mission or Central African Mission was a French military expedition sent out from Senegal in 1898 to conquer the Chad Basin and unify all French territories in West Africa...
east from Niger and the Foureau-Lamy Mission
Amédée-François Lamy
Amédée-François Lamy was born at Mougins, in the French département of Alpes-Maritimes on February 7, 1858 and died in the battle of Kousséri on April 22, 1900....
south from Algeria. The objective was to link all French possessions in Western Africa.
Again supported by the steamboat Léon-Blot, Gentil's force headed to the French station at Fort-Archambault
Sarh
Sarh is the third largest city in Chad, after N'Djamena and Moundou. It is the capital of Moyen-Chari region and the department of Barh Köh. It lies 350 miles south-east of the capital Ndjamena on the Chari River...
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
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...
on 17 July after attacking Rabih at Kouno.
On August 16, one of the three Senegalese tirailleurs who had survived reached Gentil and informed him of the battle.
The Gentil Mission burned the town of Kouno, and confronted Rabih at the Battle of Kouno
Battle of Kouno
The battle of Kouno was an inconclusive battle that took place between French troops and the Muslim army led by Rabih az-Zubayr, in the context of French colonial expansion in Africa, and more precisely in Chad....
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 April 21, 1900, in what today is northern Cameroon. The next day the three columns commanded by Major Amédée-François Lamy
Amédée-François Lamy
Amédée-François Lamy was born at Mougins, in the French département of Alpes-Maritimes on February 7, 1858 and died in the battle of Kousséri on April 22, 1900....
confronted Rabih az-Zubayr, who still controlled most of Chad. The French won the ensuing Battle of Kousséri
Battle of Kousséri
The battle of Kousséri originated in French plans to occupy the Chari-Baguirmi region. In 1899–1900, the French organized three armed columns, one proceeding north from Congo, one east from Niger and another south from Algeria...
, 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 delimitation of the colonial borders), uniting with the Foureau-Lamy mission and destroying Rabih's empire, which permitted the institution in September by the French government of the Military territory of Chad.
In Lamy's honour, Émile Gentil, who was later its first French governor, named the capital of the new French territory of Chad Fort-Lamy. In 1973 the Republic of Chad renamed it N'Djamena
N'Djamena
N'Djamena is the capital and largest city of Chad. A port on the Chari River, near the confluence with the Logone River, it directly faces the Cameroonian town of Kousséri, to which the city is connected by a bridge. It is also a special statute region, divided in 10 arrondissements. It is a...
.
Governorship of French Congo
On 5 February 1902 Gentil was named commissioner-general of the French CongoFrench Congo
The French Congo was a French colony which at one time comprised the present-day area of the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and the Central African Republic...
, residing at Brazzaville
Brazzaville
-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
.
Gabon's second-largest city was named Port-Gentil
Port-Gentil
Port-Gentil or Mandji is the second-largest city of Gabon and a leading seaport. It is the center of Gabon's petroleum and timber industries. Although it lies inshore, the nearby mainland is a remote forest area and it is not connected by road to the rest of the nation...
for him.
See also
- Henri BretonnetHenri BretonnetHenri-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...
Mission - Battle of TogbaoBattle of TogbaoOn 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...
1899 - Voulet-Chanoine MissionVoulet-Chanoine MissionThe Voulet–Chanoine Mission or Central African Mission was a French military expedition sent out from Senegal in 1898 to conquer the Chad Basin and unify all French territories in West Africa...
- Paul JoallandPaul JoallandPaul-Jules Joalland is a French officer, known mainly for completing the Voulet-Chanoine Mission.He was one of the six officers of the latter expedition, and was an artillery expert with the rank of lieutenant...
- Amédée-François LamyAmédée-François LamyAmédée-François Lamy was born at Mougins, in the French département of Alpes-Maritimes on February 7, 1858 and died in the battle of Kousséri on April 22, 1900....
- Rabih az-ZubayrRabih az-ZubayrRabih 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....
- Battle of KoussériBattle of KoussériThe battle of Kousséri originated in French plans to occupy the Chari-Baguirmi region. In 1899–1900, the French organized three armed columns, one proceeding north from Congo, one east from Niger and another south from Algeria...