Melchior Joseph Eugène Daumas (4 October 1803 in
Delémont
Delémont (; fc, D'lémont; german: Delsberg, ) is the capital of the Swiss canton of Jura. The city has approximately 12,000 inhabitants .
History
The area of the municipality was already settled in the middle Bronze Age. Fifteen urn buria ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
– May 1871 in
Camblanes), was a French general and writer.
Biography
Eugène Daumas entered the army in 1822. He became an officer in 1827 and went on to the cavalry school in Saumur. In 1835 he was posted to
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
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, capital = Algiers
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, relig ...
, which
Charles X
Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...
had invaded in 1830. But the new colony proved difficult to subdue. Under the orders of Marshal
Bertrand Clausel
Bertrand, comte Clauzel (12 December 177221 April 1842) was a Marshal of France. When asked on Saint Helena which of his Generals was the most skillful Napoleon named Clauzel along with Louis-Gabriel Suchet and Étienne Maurice GérardOjala, Jean ...
, Daumas took part in the campaigns in of Mascara and Tlemcen. While in Algeria, Daumas learned the Arab language and became one of the French army's best experts on the Arab culture in North Africa. Tribesmen came to respect him for his skills on horseback.
Between 1837 and 1839, Daumas resided in Mascara as consul and personally got to know
Abd El-Kader
Abd al-Qadir or Abdulkadir ( ar, عبد القادر) is a male Muslim given name. It is formed from the Arabic words '' Abd'', '' al-'' and '' Qadir''. The name means "servant of the powerful", ''Al-Qādir'' being one of the names of God in th ...
, the Emir of Mascara, who once called Daumas his "friend" in a letter. General
Christophe Juchault de Lamoricière, upon becoming commander-in-chief of the restive colony for a short period, created the ''affaires arabes'', the Arab affairs department, and put Daumas in charge of the province of
Oran
Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...
. When
Thomas Robert Bugeaud
Thomas Robert Bugeaud, marquis de la Piconnerie, duc d'Isly (15 October 178410 June 1849) was a Marshal of France and Governor-General of Algeria.
Early life
He was born at Limoges, a member of a noble family of Périgord (Occitania), the yo ...
became governor general of Algeria in 1840, he reinstated the ''
bureaux arabes
The Arab Bureaux (french: bureaux arabes) was a special section of colonial France's military in Algeria that was created in 1833 and effectively authorized by a ministerial order on 1 February 1844. It was staffed by French Orientalists, ethnogra ...
'', the main instrument to administer cooperative tribes during the insurgency, on 17 August 1841. The same day Daumas was named the head of the colony's entire Arab affairs program. One of his explicit tasks was to gather intelligence about potential unrest.
In April 1850 he became director of Algerian affairs in the Ministry of War in Paris. On 14 January 1853 he was promoted to divisional general. On 12 August 1857 he was named a Senator.
Several of Daumas' works were translated into English in the 19th century. His book on horses was particularly appreciated among contemporaries.
[R.L. Playfair (1878) ''Handbook for Travellers in Algeria and Tunis'', London:John Murray, p.72.]
Major works
* ''Le Sahara algérien études géographiques et historiques sur la région au sud des établissements français en Algérie'', Paris, Langlois et Leclercq, 1845
* ''La Grande Kabylie'', Paris, Hachette, 1847
* ''Le Grand désert ou itinéraire d'une caravane du Sahara au pays des nègres'', Paris, Chaix et Cie, 1848
* ''Moeurs et coutumes de l'Algérie'', Paris, Hachette, 1853
* ''Les Chevaux du Sahara et les mœurs du désert'', Paris, Lévy, 1858
* ''La Vie arabe et la société musulmane '', Paris, Lévy, 1869
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daumas, Eugene
1803 births
1871 deaths
People from Delémont
French Army officers
French male writers