Dr. Noël Eugène Ballay (14 July 1847 – 26 January 1902) was a French auxiliary doctor of the French navy, and a poet. He was an explorer and colonial administrator, the second Governor-General of French West Africa.

Early years

Noël Ballay was born at Fontenay-sur-Eure on 14 July 1847, the younger son of a farm worker. He attended church schools at Bonneval and then Chartres, then a lay college, graduating as a bachelor in letters in 1864 and in science in 1865. He then became a student at the Faculty of Medicine in Paris. During the 1870 Franco-Prussian War he enlisted in the National Guard of Eure-et-Loir, where he was promoted to sergeant major, fought at

Fréteval Fréteval () is a commune in the French department of Loir-et-Cher. The village is located on the right bank of the river Loir. Archaeological evidence indicates that the site was occupied by the second century CE. In the Middle Ages, the forti ...

and later fought for the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

. After peace was restored he returned to the Faculty of Medicine, and in 1871 started a course as an extern of the Paris hospitals, serving in the Hôpital de la Charité in 1872, the Hôpital Beaujon in 1873 and in St-Antoine with Dr Duplay in 1874. The French at that time were in a race with

Leopold II of Belgium * german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Leopold I of Belgium , mother = Louise of Orléans , birth_date = , birth_place = Brussels, Belgium , death_date = ...

to establish physical occupation of the Congo region. Ballay saw an advertisement by

Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza Pietro Paolo Savorgnan di Brazzà, later known as Pierre Paul François Camille Savorgnan de Brazza; 26 January 1852 – 14 September 1905), was an Italian-born, naturalized French explorer. With his family's financial help, he explored the Ogoou ...

, who was looking for a young doctor to accompany him on a mission of exploration in Equatorial Africa, still a relatively unknown area. He went to meet Brazza in person, and was accepted as medical assistant since he had not completed his course with a thesis, required to qualify as a doctor. In May 1875 Brazza and Ballay left Bordeaux in an officially sponsored voyage to explore the

Ogooué River The Ogooué (or Ogowe), also known as the Nazareth river, some long, is the principal river of Gabon in west central Africa and the fifth largest river in Africa by volume of discharge, trailing only the Congo, Kasai, Niger and Zambezi. Its wa ...

Explorer

The first expedition in what is now Gabon was challenging, a journey of thousands of kilometers from the mouth of the Ogooué through the forest, up into the Batéké Plateau and down to the Congo Basin, where they found the

Alima The Alima River is a tributary of the Congo River. It is formed by the confluence of two streams, the Lékéti and the Dziélé. Towns Towns on the banks of this river include (from the source): * Okoyo * Boundji * Oyo Location Se ...

river. They descended this river for two days before turning back, exhausted by three years of fever, illness and hostile local people. They were unaware that the Alima was a tributary of the

Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

. On the return journey the explorers were forced to abandon much of their equipment and the specimens they had collected. During the expedition, he treated victims of a smallpox epidemic. He also participated in the second expedition, which started in 1879 and was responsible for transporting the components of a steamboat from France to Gabon. Due to delays and damage, he did not reach Brazza until June 1883 at Diélé, near

Franceville Franceville is one of the four largest cities in Gabon, with a population of 110,568 at the 2013 census. It lies on the Mpassa River and at the end of the Trans-Gabon Railway and the N3 road. It grew from a village named Masuku when Pierre Savor ...

. He represented France at the

Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, also known as the Congo Conference (, ) or West Africa Conference (, ), regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergenc ...

in 1885.

Administrator

In 1886 Ballay was appointed lieutenant governor of Gabon, but due to disagreements over Brazza's management of the colony he resigned in 1889. This break would prove permanent since Chavannes was unable to get the two men to overcome their quarrel. On 2 July 1890, he was a delegate from France at the International Conference of Brussels for the abolition of slavery. In 1891 he became the first Governor of French Guinea, based in Conakry, and began attempts to improve sanitation in the region, particularly in estuaries of the country of the

Baga people Baga may refer to: People * Baga (king) (3rd century BC), a king of ancient Mauretania * Ena Baga (1906–2004), English pianist * Kiri Baga (born 1995), American figure skater * Rita Baga, Canadian drag queen * Baga Chipz, stage name of Leo Lor ...

. Ballay twice was acting governor of French West Africa during the absence of Governor-General

Jean-Baptiste Chaudié Jean-Baptiste Chaudié (1853–1933)C. W. Newbury, « The Formation of the Government General of French West Africa », ''The Journal of African History'', vol. 1, nº 1, 1960, was a French colonial administrator. He was the first governor gener ...

, from 15 July to 2 October 1987 and from 28 July to 13 November 1898. At the turn of the century, Senegal was decimated by an epidemic of

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

, fatal to many Europeans. The Governor General of French West Africa,

, returned to France after catching the disease. Doctor Ballay left Guinea for Senegal to help fight against the scourge. He was appointed Governor General on 1 November 1900. He soon became ill in turn, and he died in St. Louis on 26 January 1902. He "died of a fever which was not diagnosed, since there was no longer a doctor in St. Louis qualified to do so". He was given a state funeral on 4 March 1902, celebrated in

Chartres Cathedral Chartres Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres), is a Roman Catholic church in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the Bishop of Chartres. Mostly con ...

, and was buried in Fontenay-sur-Eure.

Ernest Roume Ernest Nestor Roume (12 July 1858 – 16 April 1941) was a French colonial administrator and a governor of French West Africa from 15 March 1902 to 15 December 1907, and governor of French Indochina from 1915-1916. References Further reading *Pa ...

succeeded Ballay as Governor-General of French West Africa after Victor Lanrezac was acting governor from 19 April until 26 October 1901, followed by Pierre Capest as acting governor from 26 January 1902 to 15 March 1902.

Legacy

In 1906 a special stamp was issued in the Upper Senegal and Niger series. Several highways are named after him in Paris and Chartres.

References

Notes Citations Sources * * * * * * Further reading * Numa Broc, ''Dictionnaire illustré des explorateurs et grands voyageurs français du XIX siècle'', CTHS, Paris, 1988 * Bernard Cartier, « Noël Ballay (1847-1902) : Médecin, explorateur, diplomate et empereur sans sceptre », ''Histoire des sciences médicales'', 2005, vol. 39, 4, p., 421-432 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballay, Noel People from Eure-et-Loir 1847 births 1902 deaths Governors of French West Africa French explorers