Henri Duveyrier | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1840-02-28)28 February 1840 Paris, France |
| Died | 25 April 1892(1892-04-25) (aged 52) Sèvres, France |
| Occupation(s) | Explorer and geographer |
Henri Duveyrier (28 February 1840 – 25 April 1892)[1] was a French explorer andgeographer, known for his exploration of theSahara. Duveyrier was a son of the French playwrightCharles Duveyrier, while his mother was English. During his late teens in 1857, he decided to take a five-week trip from Kandouri toLaghouat and back. He took an interest in theTuaregs which he met in this trip, and later presented an account of Tuareg customs to the Berlin Oriental Society.[2] In December 1861, he returned from a failed expedition toTuat while beingdelirious with fever.[3] In 1864, he published amemoir about the exploration of Sahara with an emphasis on the Tuaregs.[1]
Following his experiences as aprisoner of war in theFranco-Prussian War, Duveyrier resumed his journeys in the Sahara. He covered regions immediately south of theAtlas Mountains, from the eastern confines of Morocco to Tunisia. He published further books on these areas. Duveyrier was later blamed for the failure of theFlatters Expedition, and for giving false hope to those wishing to transform the Tuaregs into linemen for camelrailway crossings. Following the premature death of hisfiancée, Duveyrier committed suicide in 1892.[4]
Duveyrier was born in Paris, the eldest child ofCharles Duveyrier (1803–1866), a well-known dramatist, and his English wife Ellen Claire née Denie. Charles Duveyrier was a follower of the utopian philosophical movement started byHenri de Saint-Simon.[5]In 1857 and 1858, Duveyrier spent some months in London, where he metHeinrich Barth, then preparing an account of his travels in the western Sudan.[1]
Duveyrier wasAuguste Warnier's guest in 1857 at his home in Kandouri, a suburb of Algiers, where he metOscar MacCarthy.On 8 March 1857 Duveyrier and MacCarthy left on a five-week trip toLaghouat and back.Duveyrier was fascinated by theTuaregs he met on this trip and the next year gave an account of Tuareg customs to the Berlin Oriental Society.[2]Later Duveyrier made an unsuccessful attempt to reachTuat, which was stopped by the Tuaregs atEl Goléa.[6]Duveyrier left in May 1859 and after an exhausting journey returned to Warnier's house on 5 December 1861, emaciated and delirious with fever.[3]In 1864, two years after returning to France, he publishedExploration du Sahara: les Touareg du nord (Exploration of the Sahara: Tuaregs of the North), for which he received the gold medal of theParis Geographical Society.[1]
In theFranco-Prussian War of 1870 he was taken prisoner by the Germans. After his release he made several further journeys in the Sahara, adding considerably to the knowledge of the regions immediately south of theAtlas Mountains, from the eastern confines of Morocco to Tunisia. He also examined the Algerian and Tunisianchotts and explored the interior of western Tripoli. Duveyrier devoted special attention to the customs and speech of theTuareg people, with whom he lived for months at a time, and to the organization of theSenussi.[1]
In 1881 he publishedLa Tunisie, and in 1884La confrérie musulmane de Sîdî Mohammed ben Alî-Senoûsi et son domaine géographique en l'année 1300 de l'Hégire.[1]
Duveyrier was adversely affected by the tragedy that befell theFlatters Expedition of 1880–81 which put an end to the proposed Trans Sahara railway and military expansion in the region. Those who had dreamed of transforming the Tuareg into linemen for camel railway crossings blamed Duveyrier for their disappointment. Duveyrier's errored in having described the Tuareg as veiled, turbaned medieval paladins as well as insistence on a smaller less defendable convoy; but the explorer was already shaken by the premature death of his fiancée, and embittered by the controversy, he committed suicide in 1892.[4]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Duveyrier, Henri".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 738.