AfricaBib 
bibliographic database
| Previous page | New search |
The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here
 Periodical article |
 Leiden University catalogue |
 WorldCat |
| Title: | A failure of early French expansionism in Africa: the French-Jesuit effort in Ethiopia at the turn of the 18th century |
| Author: | Natsoulas, Theodore |
| Year: | 2003 |
| Periodical: | Journal of Ethiopian Studies |
| Volume: | 36 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Period: | June |
| Pages: | 5-18 |
| Language: | English |
| Notes: | biblio. refs., maps |
| Geographic terms: | Ethiopia France Northeast Africa |
| Subjects: | missions colonization Imperialism, Colonialism imperialism Jesuits Missionaries history |
| About person: | Charles-Jacques Poncet (1655-1706) |
| External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/41966141 |
| Abstract: | From 1698 to 1706, the French made an effort to establish political and religious ties with Ethiopia. The opportunity for the French to gain entry into Ethiopia presented itself in 1698, when the ruler of Ethiopia, Emperor Iyasu I (1682-1706), recruited a physician from the French community in Cairo, Charles Jacques Poncet. Poncet's journey started a series of misadventures on the part of both France and the Catholic Church to establish a presence in Ethiopia. He went as a physician to treat an ailment from which the emperor and his son were suffering. He also went as a reluctant diplomat sent by the French consul in Cairo. The latter not only acted on behalf of his country but also as an agent for the Catholic Church. The French consul instructed Poncet to determine if the conditions were ripe for the return of the Catholic Church to Ethiopia, and to ascertain the possibilities of extending French influence into East Africa. Poncet accomplished his medical mission, but was not successful in his diplomatic role. The present paper examines Poncet's venture and the causes of its failure. Notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract] |
