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into the interior. When they reached the Congo River, they found local populations overjoyed at Camara's return; his personal efforts may have prevented these populations from succumbing to
Stanley's influence. Throughout this mission Camara was indispensable to his commanders, supplying ample meat from his hunts and maintaining the trust of the local people. His importance to the French mission was so great that, as Brazza's deputy
174:, among France's highest honors given to non-citizens in its armed forces. But his health was ailing from what appears to have been a bladder infection. By early 1885 the camp physician believed that Camara was dying, and the sergeant went home to Senegal later that year. He died in January 1886 in the military hospital in
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on the right bank of the Congo River. Camara and his men stayed there for more than 18 months until they received orders to return to Gabon. During this period at Mfoa, in which Camara received neither reinforcements nor significant supplies from the French, he established excellent relations with
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Brazza, who had since returned to France, mounted another expedition to the Congo basin in 1883, and put Camara in charge of recruiting the mission's
African personnel in Dakar. Once on the Gabonese coast, Camara was responsible for purchasing dugout canoes with which the expedition would travel
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mercenaries. French historians have speculated that
Stanley hoped this show of force would cause Camara and his men to abandon their post at Mfoa, thus letting Belgium usurp France's claim to the territory. In any case, Camara's squad held its ground, and Stanley and his men promptly returned to
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While Camara's singular contributions to the establishment of France's Congo colony were generally unappreciated during his lifetime (indeed, he was never even able to collect the pay from his last mission), in the years following his death the French dedicated a bronze plaque in
Brazzaville and
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later claimed, the
Belgians in Kinshasa put a bounty on his head. Before departing for the coast in 1884, Brazza left Chavannes in charge of the new permanent Brazzaville outpost; Malamine served as Chavannes' aide-de-camp and was instrumental in provisioning the post with food.
156:, Gabon. Camara was dubious of this order, and suspected that Belgium had pressured the French to withdraw. Prior to leaving, Camara visited all the local chiefs and told them that his absence would be only temporary, and urged them to remain loyal to France while he was away.
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on the left bank of the river. To dissuade the
American from trying to expand Belgian territorial claims across the river, Camara showed him a copy of the treaty a local king, Makoko Iloo I, had signed with Brazza granting his territory to
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neighborhood of
Brazzaville was also named after him. In his native Senegal, a secondary school was renamed in his honor. During an official visit to Brazzaville in April 2018, Senegalese President
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including Brazza. Camara quickly proved his worth on the expedition, learning local languages and winning the support of local populations, as well as the respect of his French commanders.
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their camp across the river. Stanley wrote in his memoirs that he was impressed by the
Senegalese sergeant, who appeared very devoted to his mission and very much in charge of his men.
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explorer who was leading
Belgian efforts to claim and colonize the Congo region. They first met in July 1881, when Camara and his two men went to visit Stanley's camp at
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In May 1882, a messenger brought a written order from the French military command that Camara and his men were to leave Mfoa and return to the French post in
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120:, meaning "meat father." Camara carried out his mission to show the French flag and defend France's newly acquired territory from rival claims by
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144:. The two men met again in January 1882, when Stanley sailed across the river in a newly arrived steamboat accompanied by a large number of
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Camara was born in the
Senegalese interior, though his exact date and place of birth are not known. His ethnicity has been described as
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http://www.lesoleil.sn/2016-03-22-23-17-43/item/77919-macky-sall-au-congo-un-vibrant-hommage-rendu-au-sergent-malamine-camara.html
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local communities. Through his hunting skills, he not only kept his men fed but even made regular contributions of meat (
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In October 1880, Brazza assigned Camara to lead a 3-man detachment tasked with founding an outpost in
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Avec Brazza : Souvenirs de la Mission de l’Ouest Africaine (mars 1883 – janvier 1886)
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On February 1, 1885, during a ceremony in Brazzaville, Camara was awarded the
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The Congo and the Founding of Its Free State: A Story of Work and Exploration
274:"Macky Sall au Congo: Un vibrant hommage rendu au sergent Malamine Camara."
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paid tribute to Camara and his role in Congo's colonial history.
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Chavannes, Charles de. (1929) "Le Sergent Sénégalais Malamine."
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christened a steamboat in his honor. A side street in the
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or colonial soldier, probably in the early 1870s. In
294:Bonneau, Bernard. (February 1952) "Malamine."
303:Annales de l’Académie des Sciences Coloniales
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112:) to chiefs in the area, who nicknamed him
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58:language. Camara was recruited as a
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116:(meaning a resourceful person) and
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343:People of French Equatorial Africa
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80:. The mission included 11 other
315:Stanley, Henry Morton. (1885)
308:Chavannes, Charles de. (1935)
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358:Senegalese military personnel
338:People of French West Africa
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70:Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza
127:Camara twice encountered
256:Chavannes, 1935, p. 198
220:Chavannes, 1929, p. 160
319:. London: Sampson Low.
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30:(died in 1886) was a
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162:Charles de Chavannes
129:Henry Morton Stanley
88:interpreters, and 4
36:French colonial army
353:Explorers of Africa
16:Senegalese sergeant
171:MĂ©daille militaire
72:from the coast of
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333:1886 deaths
154:Franceville
101:Brazzaville
78:Congo River
40:Congo Basin
327:Categories
199:References
193:Macky Sall
118:tata nyama
56:Toucouleur
32:Senegalese
296:Tropiques
276:Le Soleil
189:Poto-Poto
146:Zanzibari
90:Frenchmen
137:Kinshasa
133:American
86:Gabonese
298::22-27.
122:Belgium
110:buffalo
76:to the
52:Soninke
182:Legacy
142:France
131:, the
114:mayele
61:laptot
46:Career
74:Gabon
66:Dakar
108:and
97:Mfoa
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