Émile Gentil (; 4 April 1866 – 30 March 1914) was a French

colonial administrator Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

, naval officer, and military leader. Born at

Volmunster Volmunster (; ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Wolminschter'') is a commune in the Moselle department of the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France. The village belongs to the Pays de Bitche and to the Northern Vosges Regional Nature P ...

in the department of

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...

, he later attended the

École Navale École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

, the school that formed French naval officers. As an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

, he was assigned to conduct hydrographic soundings along the

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

ese coast from 1890 to 1892. That year, 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

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

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 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 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 Semi-active radar homing (SARH) is a common type of missile guidance system, perhaps the most common type for longer-range air-to-air and surface-to-air missile systems. The name refers to the fact that the missile itself is only a passive de ...

near one of Sultan

Rabih az-Zubayr Rabih az-Zubayr ibn Fadl Allah or Rabih Fadlallah ( ar, رابح فضل الله ,رابح الزبير ابن فضل الله), usually known as Rabah in French (c. 1842 – April 22, 1900), was a Sudanese warlord and slave trader who establish ...

's major towns, Kouno (now in the

Chari-Baguirmi Region Chari-Baguirmi ( ar, شاري باقرمي) is one of the 23 regions of Chad. Its capital is Massenya. It is composed of part of the former Chari-Baguirmi Prefecture ( sub-prefectures of Massenya and Bousso) and parts of the sub-prefecture of N' ...

). The mission then transported the steamboat overland again to the

Chari Chari may refer to: Places * Chari River, in Central Africa * Chari-Baguirmi (disambiguation), in Chad * Chari Department, in Chad, one of three departments making up the region of Chari-Baguirmi * Moyen-Chari (disambiguation), in Chad * Chari, ...

, which stretches to Lake Chad in the north. In October 1897 he convinced the Sultan

Abd ar Rahman Gwaranga Abd ar-Rahman Gaourang II (also Gaorang or Gwaranga – 1918) was Mbang of Bagirmi from 1885 to 1918. He came to power at a time when the sultanate was in terminal decline, subject to both Wadai and Bornu. The Sudanese warlord Rabih az-Zubayr m ...

to sign a treaty of alliance which gave France a protectorate over the

Kingdom of Baguirmi The Sultanate or Kingdom of Bagirmi or Baghermi (french: Royaume du Baguirmi) was a kingdom and Islamic sultanate southeast of Lake Chad in central Africa. It was founded in either 1480 or 1522 and lasted until 1897, when it became a French prote ...

, which was then threatened by

, the most powerful ruler in the

Chad basin The Chad Basin is the largest endorheic basin in Africa, centered on Lake Chad. It has no outlet to the sea and contains large areas of semi-arid desert and savanna. The drainage basin is roughly coterminous with the sedimentary basin of the sam ...

. 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 Mission east from Niger and the Foureau-Lamy Mission 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

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 On October 10, 1898 a France, 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. With the missi ...

on 17 July after attacking Rabih at Kouno. On 16 August, one of the three Senegalese

tirailleurs A tirailleur (), in the Napoleonic era, was a type of light infantry trained to skirmish ahead of the main columns. Later, the term "''tirailleur''" was used by the French Army as a designation for indigenous infantry recruited in the French c ...

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 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 August 16, 1899 the leader of t ...

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 21 April 1900, in what today is northern Cameroon. The next day the three columns commanded by Major

Amédée-François Lamy Amédée-François Lamy was a French military officer. He was born at Mougins, in the French ''département'' of Alpes-Maritimes on 7 February 1858 and died in the battle of Kousséri on 22 April 1900. Early years Lamy's ambition to become an ...

confronted Rabih az-Zubayr, who still controlled most of Chad. The French won the ensuing

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. The objecti ...

, 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 Boundary delimitation (or simply delimitation) is the drawing of boundaries, particularly of electoral precincts, states, counties or other municipalities.

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 N'Djamena ( ) is the capital and largest city of Chad. It is also a special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements''. The city serves as the centre of economic activity in Chad. Meat, fish and cotton processing are th ...

. In 1973 the Republic of Chad renamed it

N'Djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital and largest city of Chad. It is also a special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements''. The city serves as the centre of economic activity in Chad. Meat, fish and cotton processing are the ...

Governorship of French Congo

On 5 February 1902 Gentil was named commissioner-general of the

French Congo The French Congo (french: Congo français) or Middle Congo (french: Moyen-Congo) was a French colony which at one time comprised the present-day area of the Republic of the Congo and parts of Gabon, and the Central African Republic. In 1910, i ...

, residing at

Brazzaville Brazzaville (, kg, Kintamo, Nkuna, Kintambo, Ntamo, Mavula, Tandala, Mfwa, Mfua; Teke: ''M'fa'', ''Mfaa'', ''Mfa'', ''Mfoa''Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CLI ...

. Gabon's second-largest city was named

Port-Gentil Port-Gentil () or Mandji is the second-largest city of Gabon, and it is a leading seaport. It is the center of Gabon's petroleum and timber industries. The city is located on a delta island in the Ogooue delta with no bridges to the mainland. Nea ...

for him.

Bibliography

* Ayakanmi Ayandele, Emmanuel (1979). Nigerian Historical Studies. Routledge, 130–131. . * Gentil, Émile (1971). La chute de l'empire de Rabah. Hachette, 567–577. * Pakenham, Thomas (1992). ''The Scramble for Africa''. Abacus, 515–516. . * Petringa, Maria. ''Brazza, A Life for Africa''. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2006. . * Souzy, Marcel : Les coloniaux français illustres B. Arnaud Lyon vers 1940

External links