Gustave Borgnis-Desbordes (1839-1900). I believe I had never heard the name of this French general who apparently played a major role in the imperial conquest of French Soudan, now Mali, before seeing his statue in the square and playground that bears his name in Saint-Louis neighbourhood.------------------------
Blogger m'apprend des choses ! Je n'avais je crois jamais entendu parler de Gustave Borgnis-Desbordes (1839-1900) avant de voir sa statue dans un square qui porte son nom, à Saint-Louis. Ce général a apparemment joué un rôle majeur dans la conquête coloniale française en Afrique.
17 comments:
Hard for me to believe you'd never heard of this guy! I thought you knew everything and everyone! ;-)
I wonder how many other statues lurk in Versailles and environs honoring some long-forgotten military types?
Re your comment on Cedar Key: I have no idea what's up that Seabreeze tower. I've never seen anyone go up there.
I've not heard of him either, but I guess that's why he's got a statue so people don't forget...hmmm, not sure if it's very effective though. :)
Bonjour !
Quelles jolies photos ici...surtout celles de verdure.
Bon dimanche !
Gustave Borgnis-Desbordes je ne connais pas; mais pour avoir une statut dans cette ville; il à du rendre des service à la France.
I feel almost sorry for him, not even a whole statue: only a bust on a pillar...
Sic transit gloria mundi...
Il devait surement être très celèbre en son temps..Heureusement qu'il nous reste les statues, et la curiosité de certaines pour aller voir qui c'est!
PS: Vulcania: moyen. Une bonne idée de départ, architecture interessante mais demesurée, et peu de choses à voir au final. on a eu la sensation d'un batiment plein de vide.Mais il parait que maintenant ça s'est bien améloiré.
I had not heard of him before coming here.
Pas suffisamment fort en histoire pour me souvenir de lui, meme si je suis passe au Mali...
Perhaps if his name was Louis?
OK, I admit I am really bad because I didn't know Mali was once the French Sudan. I'm way behind! Will I ever catch up?
I'm a little surprised to see a monument to France's imperialist era but then it is harder to recognize in one's own country (like mine with the native populations).
Probably a common event most places - to stumble upon a statue commemorating someone long ago. Great that someone had the forethought to put them up so later generations could remember..
«Louis» did not know about Général Borgnis-Desbordes, either. Merci de la petite historie.
Cou cou,
Merci pour ton petit mot sur mon blog
Thanks a lot for passing by my blog
Amitiés / Best regards
Elisa, Argentina
We should all strive to learn something new each day, thanks for the lesson Ciel!!
That is some interesting history. I look at all statues like this and immediately think "DeGaulle" which just makes me an ignorant America, I think! :-)
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