31 – Malamine Camara and Pierre de Brazza

In loving memory of Adrian Adams (1945-2000)

When Pierre de Brazza started to explore the coast of Gabon and the Ogooué River in 1874, he relied on soldiers and sailors recruited by the French Navy – laptots – to act as his interpreters.  These were the latest iteration of a system that relied on Senegalese intermediaries from the late seventeenth century, which is how France’s imperial ambitions in Central Africa came to rely in part on a Soninke man from the Senegal River valley, Malamine Camara.

Malamine, for his part, stood out initially because he was a crack shot.  Early references to him in Brazza’s notebooks covering June 22 to August 16, 1880 – the period when he was negotiating with King Makoko, refer initially to Malamine’s hunting prowess: he is reported to have killed an elephant, ¹ and then an antelope ². He was also respected by his men, fluent in French and several African languages. Malamine was a marine-turned-interpreter-turned-spokesman who played a key part in an expedition that was charged with establishing two French settlements in this part of Africa.

Notre escorte consistait en treize laptots marins mahométans noirs du Sénégal, dressés à l’exercice du chassepot et quatre Gabonais interprètes parmi lesquels un certain Gico, chrétien converti de la mission catholique, interprète et cuisinier de l’expédition; ce dernier talent ne devant pas lui donner grand’chose à faire. ³

Malamine avait été recruté à Dakar vers le 10 janvier 1880, lorsque Brazza en était à sa deuxième Mission. Au physique, c’était un homme de couleur d’une trentaine d’années de taille plutôt grande (1m 75 environ) ; le mélange de sang maure au sang berbère lui valait un épiderme de bronze clair … ⁴

Pierre de Brazza

Pietro Savorgnan de Brazza (1852-1905) was born in Rome.  He was sent to France at the age of 14 to study at a Jesuit school for young men who wanted to attend French military academies.  He then attended the naval academy in Brest and graduated in 1870.  He first sailed to Africa in 1871, when there was an insurrection in Algeria.  His next assignment had him patrolling the Gabonese coast for slave ships as part of France’s efforts against slavery, which it had abolished in 1848. 

That introduction to Central Africa determined the rest of Brazza’s life. In 1874, his plan to explore the Ogooué and Gabon rivers was approved by the Minister of the Navy.  That was the first of three expeditions to this part of Africa, He was naturalised French that same year, and found himself active in Africa at a time when exploration was moving from individual-led, largely geographical endeavours to national efforts to establish a presence on the continent.  This makes him a paradoxical figure, a naturalised Frenchmen with an abhorrence for slavery and a commitment to peaceful dealings with people, who came to embody France’s participation in the Scramble for Africa.

Laptots

Brazza’s first expedition lasted from 1875 to 1878.  He was able to benefit from long-term French presence on the coast of Africa, initially linked to the slave trade.  There had been French traders on the Senegalese coast from the seventeenth century; they began moving inland on the Senegal River after 1850.  From its inception this river commerce called into being a labor force of African sailors, interpreters and laborers.  The African crews of the river fleets were referred to as laptots …” ⁵

The word laptot is derived from a Wolof term lappato bi for intermediary, interpreter, or broker. These men not only worked on French traders’ ships, but they were also involved in their protracted negotiations with their suppliers.  While they were free workers in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century, from 1738, the laptots were slaves who – it was thought – would not side with fellow Africans when fighting broke out between them and the French.  After the abolition of slavery, they served two-year contracts with the French navy when they were needed in Africa.

The system that had evolved in West Africa came to be used by travellers to other parts of the continent.  Before he set off on his first expedition, Brazza knew that he would have 12 laptots assigned to him when he docked in St Louis-du-Senegal, the hub of French trade in West Africa.  He was involved in their recruitment and training before setting sail for Gabon in late September 1875.  Once he arrived there, he hired four Gabonese interpreters.  One interpreter he mentions frequently in correspondence is Denis Dolimnie, whom he had met while patrolling the coast of Gabon. ⁶  He clearly relied on Denis early on in the expedition, until there was a change of dialect and he needed another interpreter. 

Communicating

Brazza paid close attention to these issues, and was aware of problems that could arise, probably because he was himself an Italian speaker whose French was accented, and he was intent on communicating with the people with whom he met.   

Les difficultés que nous trouverons seront encore augmentées par celle qui résulteront de la différence des dialectes qu’on parle dans les pays que nous allons traverser, espérons que Ghico [sic], cuisinier-interprète, qui connaît les langues parlées au Congo, pourra nous être utile. ⁷

Brazza’s dealings with local people included anti-slavery initiatives. He spent some months in the first half on 1876 the village of Lope, because the Ogooué River was too high for his rowers. The Okanda and Inenga people in the region were involved in the slave trade.  He did not lecture his hosts on French policy on the matter but did not hesitate to free a runaway slave who begged him for help.  When word got out that Brazza had bought the man, set him free and offered him paid work as a rower, he found that many more slaves wanted him to free them too.  He devised a ceremony to mark their freedom. ⁸

Searching through his baggage he produced a French flag, planted it in the ground and announced, ‘This flag is the symbol of France.  In our country, no man has the right to hold another man as his slave.  Any slave who touches this flagpole will be free’. Brazza invited the slaves to come forward, one by one, to touch the staff.  As each did so, the Senegalese marines broke the chains around his ankles. Lastly, Brazza had both the newly freed slaves and the marines lined up to salute the flag.⁹

Malamine Camara

Brazza’s second voyage to the region was to explore the Congo River basin.  Having been through the routine once, he was able to get his expedition moving fairly quickly. On arrival in Dakar, he recruited his laptots, including Corporal Malamine Camara. He hired Gabonese interpreters – including one Ossiah – on arrival in Libreville.

This expedition was to establish two French settlements.  The first French scientific and medical station in the region was founded on June 13th, 1880, at the confluence of the Ogooué and Mpassa Rivers.  Brazza named in Francheville and had the French flag raised.  It soon became known as Franceville, evocative of European power rather than freedmen (affranchisés) but the French foothold in the region was established and Brazza, with Ossiah, Malamine, the other laptots and the porters set off to explore the country to the southeast of their new station.

Ossiah and Malamine come up regularly in Brazza’s account of this second expedition.

Il me sera permis de dire ici quelques mots d’un homme précieux qui m’a accompagné dans tous mes voyages. Le Batéké Ossiah parlant presque tous les idiomes de l’Ogôoué et du Congo inférieur était plus qu’un simple interprète ; c’était aussi un précieux conseiller. Absolument dévoué à ma personne et à nos projets dont il comprenait l’avantage pour son pays, il a été la cheville ouvrière de mon entreprise, et c’est à lui qu’es dû en grande partie mon succès. ¹⁰

Ossiah’s name comes up when Brazza relates his negotiations with Makoko Ilo, king of the Bakéké people: he is described as “repeating” or “speaking” in a way that makes his intermediary role clear. His contribution is even highlighted in the British Royal Geographical Society’s account of Brazza’s presentation to the Paris Geographical Society: “… his faithful interpreter and counsellor Ossia[h], a Batéké, proved of great use to him, as everywhere throughout the expedition.” ¹¹

The treaty with King Makoko Ilo

The treaty which Makoko agreed to on September 10th, 1880 “declared that the king ceded to Brazza all hereditary rights to his lands and placed himself under the protection of the French.” ¹². There is disagreement as to Makoko’s intentions. Some scholars claim that we should bear in mind that in his tradition there was a strong distinction between owning land and exploiting it, and that Makoko was granting the French the use of his lands.  The European context for Brazza’s understanding of the king’s concession is significant: Henry Morton Stanley was busy exploring the region on behalf of King Leopold II of Belgium, who had strong colonial ambitions.  It could be that Makoko preferred Brazza’s careful approach to Stanley’s assertiveness, but whatever his position, Brazza was quick to set up his second station.  He built a fort on the right bank of Stanley Pool, the wide lower reaches of the Congo River (now known as Malebo Pool).  He located it in the last village before the rapids, a place called Ncuna – which came to be known as Brazzaville in 1884.  On October 3rd, 1880, the French flag was raised over the new station.

Brazzaville

Malamine Camara’s name is associated with Brazzaville.  His role in Brazza’s life confirms that way that people enlisted in endeavours like his can end up with a number of responsibilities that never would have figured in any job description.  His hunting skills impressed the expedition early on, but he soon proved to be a useful member of the expedition in many other ways .

Sa discipline, son zèle intelligent, son autorité sur les Sénégalais, attirent sur lui l’attention.  Quelles que soient les missions de deuxième plan dont on le charge, il s’en acquitte toujours à la pleine satisfaction de son chef.  Avec la plus grande facilité, il apprend les idiomes indigènes, et, une fois à Franceville, possède en peu de temps le langage Batéké qui lui sera si utile par la suite. ¹³

Malamine is described as being of mixed Moorish and Berber blood by both Brazza and de Chavannes¹⁴ This may be an indication that he was Soninke – a member of an ethnic group that lived in the Senegal River valley that often provided labour for outsiders.  It was common practice for European explorers to count on their African employees for communication with local people, even if those workers were outsiders themselves. When the black personnel of the colonizing forces began to acquire something of the indigenous languages, they could engage directly in trade; they could also get other things that the whites needed – such as firewood, porters, or canoers. ¹⁵

Malamine Camara served Brazza well because he met the requirements of a European trekking through Central Africa in the days before any lingua franca had developed.  An African intermediary could be anyone, but anyone (1) who shared a language with the white, (2) who enjoyed a certain amount of trust, and (3) who could be presented to others as representing the white.¹⁶

Brazza needed a representative in Ncuna as he intended to return to France to get his treaty with Makoko ratified by the French government,  Malamine was promoted to sergeant, with a staff of two, and given firm instructions about keeping the flag flying and discouraging outside interest, which he did with his known diplomatic skills. He earned a mention from Henry Morton Stanley who came across him in July 1881.

We had scarcely been three hours at [chief] Bwabwa Njali’s village before we saw, borne high up, a French tricoloured flag approaching, preceded by a dashing looking Europeanised negro (as I supposed him to be, though he had a superior type of face), in sailor costume, with the stripes of a non-commissioned officer on his arm. This was Malameen, the Senegalese sergeant left by M. de Brazza. Two Gaboon negro sailors, in blue navy shirt and pants, followed him, one of whom carried the flag.¹⁷

Stanley might have been tempted to respond vigorously to this minor French presence, but he decided that the situation called for a temperate approach and ended up negotiating the right to build a Belgian settlement on the south side of the Pool.  The die was cast for the two Congo states.

A colony

When Brazza boarded his ship for his delayed return home in April 1882 he could not have known that he would soon be back at the head of a third mission, having become a national hero.  The explorer admired as a “peaceful conqueror” was the man of the hour when the Makoko treaty was ratified at the end of November 1882. He was appointed General Commissioner for Western Africa, charged with establishing the French Congo colony.

Malamine was along for the ride, once again.  Charles de Chavannes was Brazza’s private secretary, and his account of his time in the region is full of praise for the man who helped guide the party to their meeting with Makoko in April 1884: Malamine y fut notre interprète, écouté joyeusement par l’assemblée des notables où il ne comptait que des amis. Les présents apportés reçurent leur destination et procès-verbal fut dressé de la cérémonie dans ses principaux détails. Malamine rayonnait de satisfaction à voir couronner avec tant d’éclat le résultat de son travail à N’Couna.¹⁸

Endings

This was to be Malamine’s final triumph, however.  He had to be repatriated to Senegal in July 1884 because he was unwell.  Brazza and De Chavannes learned two years later that he had died.  The early death of the thirty-six-year-old marked a turning point in Brazza’s African adventures.  While there is something tragi-comical about a Senegalese laptot with a staff of two, a flag and a treaty being left to defend France’s honour, later developments were so deplorable that Malamine Camara’s role seems helpful at first and  harmless in the long term. Exploitative business practices, racism and violence became the hallmarks of French presence in the colony after it adopted the Belgian Congo’s system of long concessions to private investors. Brazza’s last visit to the region was in 1905, when he was sent by the government to investigate reported atrocities against workers and their families. He fell seriously ill while there and died in Dakar on the way home, on September 14, 1905.  His report was never published.

1. Brunschwig, H.1966 Les Cahiers de Brazza (1880-1882) Cahiers d’Études Africaines, EHESS, Vol. 6, Cahier 22 pp. 157-227, p. 171.
2. Ibid p. 175.
3. We had an escort of thirteen black muslim sailors from Senegal who were trained riflemen, and four Gabonese interpreters, including one Gico, a Christian convert from the Catholic mission, the expedition’s interpreter and cook; the latter skill should not keep him very busy.de Brazza Savorgnan, P., 1887, Conférences et Lettres, Paris, Marcel Dreyfous, p.15. (my translation)
4. Malamine had been recruited in Dakar around 10 January 1880, when Brazza was on his second Mission. Physically, he was a man of colour who was some thirty years old and rather tall (around 1m75); his mixed Moorish and Berber blood gave him a light bronze skin. de Chavannes, C., 1929, Le Sergent Sénégalais Malamine in Académie des sciences coloniales, tome 3, Paris, Société d’éditions géographiques, maritimes et coloniales. (my translation)
5. Searing, J.F. 1993. West African slavery and Atlantic commerce: the Senegal River Valley,1700-1860 CUP p. 77.
6. Petringa, M. 2006. Brazza, A Life for Africa. AuthorHouse, Bloomington, IN and Milton Keynes, UK, p. 52, p. 82.
7. We will have more problems because of the different dialects spoken in the lands we are to cross; let’s hope that Ghico [sic], our cook-interpreter, who knows the languages spoken in the Congo, will be useful to us.de Brazza, Op. Cit. p. 133. (my translation)
8. Petringa,Op.Cit. p. 52.
9. Ibid, p. 53.
10. Let me say a few words about an invaluable travelling companion. Ossiah, the Batéké who spoke almost all of the languages of the Ogooué and the lower Congo, was more than just an interpreter: he was also an excellent advisor. He was utterly devoted to me and to our projects and understood what they would mean for his country; he was essential to my mission and played a significant role it its success. (my translation) de Brazza. Op. Cit. pp. 155-156.
11. Proceedings of Foreign Societies in Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography, Aug., 1882, Vol. 4, No. 8 , pp. 508-513, p. 510. Wiley on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers).
12. Berenson, E. 2011. Heroes of Empire, Five Charismatic Men and the Conquest of Africa, University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London, p. 63.
13. His discipline, his informed commitment, his authority over the Senegalese, draw attention to him. He always meets his leader’s expectations, however minor the task he is assigned. He picks up indigenous languages very easily, and once in Franceville quckly learned Batéké, which was to serve him well later. de Chavannes, C. 1929. Le Sergent Sénégalais Malamine, Académie des Sciences Coloniales, Annales, Paris, Société des Editions Géographiques, Maritimes et Coloniales, Paris. Pp. 159-187, p. 162. (my translation)
14. de Brazza. Op.Cit., p. 212. See footnote 2
15. Samarin, W.J. Samarin. The Colonial Heritage of the Central African Republic: A Linguistic Perspective. The International Journal of African Historical Studies, 1989, Vol. 22, No. 4 (1989), pp. 697-711 Boston University African Studies Center p. 697.
16. Samarin, W.J. Language in the Colonization of Central Africa, 1880-1900 Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne des Études Africaines, Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 1989, Vol. 23, No. 2 (1989), pp. 232-249, p. 233.
17. Stanley, H.M., 1885. The Congo and the Founding of Its Free State. Vol. 1. Harper and Brothers, Franklin Square, New York, p. 292.
18. Malamine was our interpreter and he was listened to with joy by the distinguished gathering, where he was among friends. Our gifts were handed to their recipients and a record of the ceremony was drawn up. Malamine was beaming with satisfaction at seeing his work in Ncuna crowned with such success.de Chavannes. Op. Cit. p. 176. (my translation)