Rene Caillié

Rene Caillié was born the November 19th 1799 with Mauzé-sur-le-Mignon in the Two-Sevres. French traveller, it knew the celebrity to have been the first Westerner to return from the town of Tombouctou to the Mali.

He is the son of a baker and orphan as of childhood. He embarked in 1814 for the Senegal, without fortune, friends, help. After 10 years of obstacles and cross-pieces of any kind, it succeeds in penetrating in the interior of the Africa. In spite of amazing tirednesses, he arrived to Djenné. It is within the framework of a voyage more inside the grounds that it joint with a caravan which goes towards Tombouctou, last aim of its research. Being made pass for a Moslem well-read man, it there penetrates the April 20th 1828 and is besides extremely disappointed this city which had so much made it dream. Its return in France in 1830 after 16 years of absence, through the desert of the the Sahara then the Morocco is a true martyrdom. It accepted Société of Geography a price of 10.000 francs.

It will publish in 1830 an account of its voyage Voyage in Temboctou and Jenné in the interior of Africa , with the assistance of Mr. Jomard, which will ensure a great fame to him. Its recognitions on Tombouctou were confirmed by the German traveller Heinrich Barth in 1858 (volume 4 of its account)

He died the May 17th 1838 of the continuations of a disease contracted in Africa with the field of Abadaire with Gripperie-Saint-Symphorien (then Saint-Symphorien-of-Wood), commune of Charente-Maritime where he had bought a field.

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