Nearly native, barely civilized : : Henri Gaden's journey through colonial French West Africa (1894-1939) / / by Roy Dilley.

• Superior document: African History,
• Author: Dilley, Roy, 1954-
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, Netherlands : : Brill,, 2014.; ©2014
• Year of Publication: 2014
• Language: English
• Series: African history (Brill Academic Publishers)
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (460 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Nearly Native, Barely Civilized by Roy Dilley offers the first full-length biography of Henri Gaden, an exceptional French colonial character who lived through some of the most radical transformations in West African history. It provides an in-depth, intimate and rounded portrayal of the man, his place in history, and the contradictions, tensions and ambiguities not only in his personal and professional life but also at the heart of the colonial enterprise. Soldier, ethnographer and linguist, lover, father, administrator and Governor, Henri Gaden (1867-1939) lived for 45 years in West Africa. Faced with the chaos, insecurity and insanity of colonial existence, Gaden experienced a rich mosaic of human pain and passion, of curiosity and intellectual endeavour, of folly and failure.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- A Funeral: Thursday, 14th December 1939 -- Gironde, Paris and Beyond -- Agent of Commerce, African Novice: From Bordeaux to Bandiagara, 1894–1896 -- Interlude: Furlough in France I -- On the Trail of the Black Napoleon, 1897–1899 -- Interlude: Furlough in France II -- The Mallam and the Qadis: A Posting to Zinder, 1900–1903 -- Interlude: Furlough in France III -- Cherchez la Femme: Tchekna, Chad, 1904–1907 -- Interlude: Furlough in France IV -- Confidential Relations: Boutilimit, Mauritania, 1908–1911 -- Interlude: Furlough in France V -- Paperwork and Bullets: The Years of Scholarship and War, 1912–18 -- Governor, Savant, Adopted Son: St Louis, 1919–1927 -- The Monk of St Louis, 1927–1939 -- General Bibliography -- Bibliography of Henri Gaden’s Published Works -- Index.