Marcel Treich-Laplène
Marcel Treich-Laplène | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 June 1860 |
| Died | 9 March 1890 (aged 29) |
| Occupation | Geographical exploration, Colonial administrator |
Distinction | Chevalier of the Legion of Honour |
Marcel Treich-Laplène (24 June 1860 – 9 March 1890), was the first colonial administrator of Côte d'Ivoire.
Life
Marcel Treich-Laplène was the son of Gustave Treich-Lapèlne, a notary of Meymac, who became the mayor of Ussel, after being the magistrate of Tizi Ouzou, then Kabylie, and finally Comores.
After the death of his father in 1882, Treich-Laplene returned from his military service in Algeria, and suspended his legal studies. With the help of a friend of his father's, he was hired as a tutor in La Rochelle, France. It was here that he met Arthur Verdier, with whom Treich-Laplene and Louis-Gustave Binger later travelled to West Africa to establish the colony of Côte d'Ivoire.[1]
Treich-Laplene died in Grand-Bassam, the old capital of Côte d'Ivoire on 9 March 1890. He died onboard the ship SS Ville de Maceio,[2] a steamboat that plied the route between France and West Africa on which Joseph Conrad sailed in May 1890.[3]
Treich-Laplene is memorialised with monuments in Ussel, Corrèze, in France,[4] and with an obelisk in Grand-Bassam. The neighbourhood of Abidjan, Ivory Coast is named Treichville. Treich-Laplene's archives are held int he French national archives. [5]
References
- ↑ Meledje, Jean-Claude (2018). "Côte D'Ivoire: From Pre-Colonisation to Colonial Legacy". Social Evolution & History. 17.
- ↑ "L'explorateur ussellois Marcel Treich-Laplène est le fondateur de la Côte d'Ivoire (in French)". La Montagne. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
- ↑ Stape, J. H. (2013). "Conrad's Voyage to Africa: Footnotes to a Journey". The Conradian. 38: 108–12. Retrieved 13 August 2026 – via JSTOR.
- ↑ "Buste de Treich-Laplène". Retrieved 13 August 2026 – via Haute-Corrèze Tourism.
- ↑ "Archives privées. Marcel Treich-Laplène". Retrieved 13 August 2026 – via Archives nationales d’outre-mer.