Emilio Bonelli
Spanish military officer
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Don Emilio Bonelli y Hernando (7 November 1854 in Zaragoza, Aragon – 28 November 1926 in Madrid[1]) was a Spanish military officer, author, explorer, colonial administrator and Africanist.
Emilio Bonelli y Hernando | |
|---|---|
Bonelli depicted in La Ilustración Española y Americana, 8 April 1885. | |
| Born | November 7, 1854 |
| Died | November 28, 1926 (aged 72) |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Spain |
| Branch | Spanish Army |
| Service years | 1875–1882 |
Biography
Bonelli entered the Spanish Army in 1875 and attended the Toledo Infantry Academy, achieving the rank of ensign in 1878.[2] He left the Army in 1882, and undertook an expedition through the interior of Morocco, crossing the territory between Fez, Meknes and Tangier.[3]
In 1884, Bonelli commanded an expedition to take the territory of Río de Oro (Oued Edhahab),[4] occupying the Atlantic coast between Cape Bojador (Ras Bujadur) and Cape Blanco (Ras Nouadhibou)[5] and founding Villa Cisneros (Dakhla).[4] On 26 December 1884, the Kingdom of Spain declared 'a protectorate of the African coast', and on 14 January 1885 officially informed the other great powers in writing,[6] thereby establishing Spanish Sahara. In July 1885, Bonelli was appointed by King Alfonso XII to the newly created position of Royal Commissioner on the West Coast of Africa[7] (which would later be renamed as Political and Military Subgovernor of Río de Oro),[8] managing to establish peace with tribes in the area.[9]
In 1913, Bonelli was a founding member of the Liga Africanista Española, of which he was vice president.[10]
Works
Bonelli was the author of:[2]
- El imperio de Marruecos y su constitución (1882)
- El Sahara (1887)
- Nuevos territorios españoles en África (1887)
- El problema de Marruecos (1910)