Antoine Marie Frézouls

Antoine-Marie-Auguste Frézouls
Lieutenant Governor of Guinea
In office 28 September 1904 (Acting to 15 October 1904) – 27 March 1906
Preceded by	Paul Jean Francois Cousturier
Succeeded by	Jules Louis Richard (acting)
Personal details
Born	7 July 1860 Albi, Tarn department, France

Antoine-Marie-Auguste Frézouls (born 7 July 1860) was a French colonial administrator who was Lieutenant Governor of French Guinea from September 1904 to March 1906.

Early years

Antoine-Marie–Auguste Frézouls was born on 7 July 1860 in Albi, in the Tarn department of southern France.^[1] He was commissioned in the Navy on 1 November 1881.^[2] Later he was made an inspector of colonies. In 1896 he donated a copper lamp, three statuettes and a drum from Dahomey to the museum of Albi.^[3] He was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor on 11 July 1896, and was promoted to an officer of the Legion of Honor on 29 July 1901.^[1]

Governor of Guinea

Frézouls took office as acting Lieutenant Governor of Guinea on 28 September 1904 and was confirmed on 15 October 1904.^[4] He was a Radical Republican.^[5] He declared that he intended to introduce reforms, and immediately aroused hostility from the French residents. One group said he was "filling the colony with terrible terror." An official said he "undertook hasty reforms without knowing the country."^[6] Alfa Yaya had been made chief of Labé, Kade and Gabu after the Bokar Biro, the last independent almami of the Imamate of Futa Jallon, had been defeated. Alfa Yaya's rule was harsh, he demanded a share of tax receipts, and he was thought to be plotting with the Portuguese. He was arrested in October 1905 and sentenced to five years in prison in Abomey on charges of plotting against France.^[5]

In 1905 Frézouls heard allegations of extortion and abuse of power by Ernest Noirot, the Director of Native Affairs. Two of his Noirot's protegés were implicated: Hubert, the administrator of Fouta Djallon, and Boubou Penda, Noirot's interpreter.^[7] Frézouls launched an investigation.^[8] He suspended Noirot and Hubert, and arrested Boubou Penda.^[9] Press reports in 1906 were generally hostile to the governor, embarrassing his superiors.^[8]

Later career

Frézouls was removed from office on 27 March 1906.^[4] A libel suit was brought against him. Eventually the case against Hubert and Noirot was abandoned in 1909.^[9] On 17 June 1922 Frézouls was sentenced to fifteen months in prison and a fine of 5,000 francs for breach of trust. He was expelled from the Legion of Honor.^[10]

References

Citations

1. Legion D'Honneur: Frezouls.
2. France. Ministère de la marine 1887, p. 435.
3. Jolibois 1896, p. 303.
4. O'Toole & Baker 2005, p. 30.
5. Harrison 2003, p. 70.
6. Osborn 2006, p. 66.
7. Osborn 2006, p. 57.
8. Osborn 2006, p. 71.
9. Klein 1998, p. 150.
10. Millerand 1923.

Sources

• France. Ministère de la marine (1887). Annuaire de la marine. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
• Harrison, Christopher (2003-09-18). France and Islam in West Africa, 1860–1960. Cambridge University Press. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-521-54112-1. Retrieved 2013-05-01.
• Jolibois, Jules (1896). Revue historique, scientifique & littéraire du département du Tarn (ancien pays d'Albigeois). Bureau de la Revue. Retrieved 2013-05-01.
• Klein, Martin A. (1998-07-28). Slavery and Colonial Rule in French West Africa. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-59678-7. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
• "Legion D'Honneur: Frezouls". Ministre des Colonies. 29 July 1901. Retrieved 2013-05-01.
• Millerand, A. (17 March 1923). "Decrete". Ministry of Culture. Retrieved 2013-05-01.
• Osborn, Emily Lynn (2006). "Interpreting Colonial Power in French Guinea: The Boubou Penda – Ernest Noirot Affair of 1905". Intermediaries, Interpreters, And Clerks: African Employees in the Making of Colonial Africa. Univ of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-21950-5. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
• O'Toole, Thomas; Baker, Janice E. (16 March 2005). Historical Dictionary of Guinea. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6545-7. Retrieved 1 May 2013.