author
Louis Gustave Binger
1856–1936
A French army officer, explorer, and colonial administrator, he is best known for a major journey across West Africa in the late 1880s and for the book that grew out of it. His name is closely tied to the French conquest of Côte d'Ivoire, making him a notable—and often debated—figure in colonial history.
2 Audiobooks
Du Niger au golfe de Guinée par le pays de Kong et le Mossi, tome 1 (de 2)
by Louis Gustave Binger
Du Niger au golfe de Guinée par le pays de Kong et le Mossi, tome 2 (de 2)
by Louis Gustave Binger
About the author
Born in Strasbourg on October 14, 1856, Louis-Gustave Binger served in the French army before gaining attention as an explorer in West Africa. Between 1887 and 1889, he traveled from Senegal toward the Niger and on to Grand-Bassam, gathering geographical information and strengthening French territorial ambitions in the region.
He later published an account of that expedition, Du Niger au golfe de Guinée par le pays de Kong et le Mossi, which helped build his reputation. Binger is also remembered for challenging the old European belief in the so-called Kong Mountains, reporting that they did not exist as they had been mapped.
After his travels, he moved into colonial administration and became closely associated with the establishment of French rule in Côte d'Ivoire. He died on November 10, 1936, at L'Isle-Adam, leaving behind a legacy tied both to exploration writing and to the history of French colonial expansion in West Africa.