Marcel Treich-Laplène
French colonial governor (1860–1890)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marcel Treich-Laplène (24 June 1860 – 9 March 1890), was the first colonial administrator of Côte d'Ivoire.
Marcel Treich-Laplène | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 June 1860 |
| Died | 9 March 1890 (aged 29) |
| Occupation | Geographical exploration, Colonial administrator |
Distinction | Chevalier of the Legion of Honour |
Life
Marcel Treich-Laplène was the son of Gustave Treich-Lapèlne, a notary of Meymac, who became the mayor of Ussel, after being the magistrate of Tizi Ouzou, then Kabylie, and finally Comores.
After the death of his father in 1882, Treich-Laplene returned from his military service in Algeria, and suspended his legal studies. With the help of a friend of his father's, he was hired as a tutor in La Rochelle, France. It was here that he met Arthur Verdier, with whom Treich-Laplene and Louis-Gustave Binger later travelled to West Africa to establish the colony of Côte d'Ivoire.[1]
Treich-Laplene died in Grand-Bassam, the old capital of Côte d'Ivoire on 9 March 1890. He died onboard the ship SS Ville de Maceio,[2] a steamboat that plied the route between France and West Africa on which Joseph Conrad sailed in May 1890.[3]
Treich-Laplene is memorialised with monuments in Ussel, Corrèze, in France,[4] and with an obelisk in Grand-Bassam. The neighbourhood of Abidjan, Ivory Coast is named Treichville. Treich-Laplene's archives are held int he French national archives. [5]
