Marius Gabriel Cazemajou

Marius Gabriel Cazemajou ( born December 10, 1864 in Marseille, † May 5, 1898 in Zinder ) was a French officer.

Life

Marius Gabriel Cazemajou occurred in 1866 in the French army and was promoted to captain in 1889. He served first in Tunisia and French Indochina until he was transferred in 1896 to French West Africa. The slave traders Rabih az- Zubayr had conquered the kingdom of Bornu and France feared a threat to its borders in West and Equatorial Africa. Cazemajou was commissioned in 1897, to enter into negotiations with Rabih az- Zubayr. On his way to Bornu he graduated in 1898 protection treaties with the Sultan of Kebbi and the Sultan of Tessaoua. He finally reached the sultanate of Zinder, which historically the kingdom of Bornu was subject, however, was not yet subdued by Rabih az- Zubayr. Sultan Amadou dan Ténimoun of Zinder Zinder feared an anti- alliance between France and Rabih az- Zubayr and let Cazemajou and his translator murder.

Aftereffect

France was forced to respond militarily to the murder Cazemajous, and defeated the sultanate of Zinder in 1899 at the Battle of Tirmini. This was an important precursor to the establishment of the French colony of Niger. The main military camp in Zinder was initially named after Cazemajou, but renamed after the independence of Niger in 1960 by Sultan Ténimoun dan Sélimane of Zinder.