René Caillié facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
René Caillié
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Portrait by Amélie Legrand de Saint-Aubin
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| Born | 19 November 1799 Mauzé-sur-le-Mignon, Deux-Sèvres, France
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| Died | 17 May 1838 (aged 38) La Gripperie-Saint-Symphorien, Charente-Maritime, France
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| Nationality | French |
| Known for | Visit to Timbuktu in 1828 |
| Spouse(s) | Caroline Têtu (m. 1830) |
| Children | 4 |
René Caillié (born November 19, 1799 – died May 17, 1838) was a French explorer. He became famous as the first European to return alive from the historic city of Timbuktu. Before him, a British officer named Major Gordon Laing had reached Timbuktu but was sadly killed when he left the city in 1826. Caillié was the first to make it back safely.
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Who Was René Caillié?
René Caillié was born in a small village in western France called Mauzé-sur-le-Mignon. His family was not rich, and both his parents died when he was young. His father passed away in 1808, and his mother died in 1811. After this, René and his older sister were looked after by their grandmother.
Even as a teenager, René loved reading about travel and adventures. He especially enjoyed Robinson Crusoe, which made him dream of exploring new places. He wanted to make an important discovery himself.
First Journeys to Africa
When he was 16, Caillié left home with a small amount of money he inherited. He went to the port of Rochefort and joined the crew of a French navy ship. This ship was sailing to Saint-Louis in West Africa. France was taking back control of this colony from the British.
During this trip, Caillié spent some months in Dakar, which was just a village back then. He then sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to Guadeloupe, an island in the Caribbean. He worked there for six months. While in Guadeloupe, he read books by Mungo Park, another explorer who had traveled along the Niger River in Africa. Park's stories made Caillié even more eager to explore.
Caillié returned to Africa a second time in 1818. He went on a trip into the African interior to deliver supplies for a British expedition. However, he became very sick with a fever and had to go back to France.
Planning the Timbuktu Trip
In 1824, Caillié returned to Senegal for the third time. He was determined to reach Timbuktu. At that time, the Société de Géographie (a geography society) in Paris was offering a large reward of 9,000 francs. This prize was for the first European to visit Timbuktu and return with a detailed description of the city. Many people believed Timbuktu was a very rich and amazing place.
Caillié had a clever plan to avoid the dangers that other explorers faced. He decided to travel alone and pretend to be a Muslim. To prepare, he spent eight months living with nomadic people called the Brakna Moors in southern Mauritania. There, he learned to speak Arabic and understand the customs and laws of Islam.
He tried to get money from the French and British governments for his trip, but they did not help him. So, he decided to fund the journey himself. He worked for several months in the British colony of Sierra Leone to save money. Then, he traveled by ship to Boké in modern Guinea.
Journey to Timbuktu
On April 19, 1827, Caillié began his journey from Kakondy, near Boké. He traveled east through the Fouta Djallon hills and crossed the Upper Niger River at Kurussa.
He reached Kankan in Guinea on June 17, 1827. Kankan was an important trading center. Caillié stayed there for a month. He was advised not to travel north because of local conflicts. Instead, he headed east towards Minignan in Ivory Coast. He wanted to visit Djenné but avoided Ségou on the Niger River, as Ségou was at war with Djenné. He also worried that people in Ségou might recognize him as a Christian because Mungo Park had visited that town.
Continuing his journey, he reached the Kong highlands. At a village called Tiémé in Ivory Coast, he became very ill and had to stay there for five months, from August 1827 to January 1828.
Reaching Djenné and Timbuktu
After recovering, Caillié continued his journey in January 1828. He traveled northeast and arrived at the city of Djenné on March 11. He stayed there for about two weeks. Djenné is connected to the Bani River by a small channel that can only be used by boats during the wet season.
From Djenné, Caillié continued his journey to Timbuktu by boat. The boat carried goods and 20 enslaved people. After two days, they reached a village called Kouna, where they switched to a larger boat. The boat crossed Lac Débo and then followed a smaller branch of the river. At the busy port of Sa, many other boats joined them. They traveled together in a large group for safety against bandits. Caillié finally arrived in Timbuktu on April 20, 1828.
First Impressions of Timbuktu
For a long time, Europeans had imagined Timbuktu as a very rich and grand city. This idea came from old stories, like one from 1550 by Leo Africanus, who said the people of Timbuktu were very wealthy.
However, Caillié's first impression of Timbuktu was quite different. He wrote: "I had formed a totally different idea of the grandeur and wealth of Timbuctoo. The city presented, at first view, nothing but a mass of ill looking houses, built of earth." He thought it was not as impressive as Djenné. He noted that Timbuktu was not as big or as busy as he expected. He saw mostly camels carrying goods and people sitting around, but not the crowds of traders he had imagined. He felt that "everything had a dull appearance."
After staying in Timbuktu for two weeks, Caillié left on May 4, 1828. He joined a large group of 600 camels heading north across the Sahara Desert. This group grew to 1,400 camels and 400 men. They were transporting many valuable items like gold, ivory, and ostrich feathers. Caillié reached Fez, Morocco, on August 12. From Tangier, he took a ship back to Toulon, France.
Life After Exploration
When René Caillié returned to France, he was celebrated. He received the 9,000-franc prize from the Société de Géographie. In 1830, he was also given the society's Gold Medal. He received the Legion of Honour, a special award from France, and a pension. With the help of a scholar named Edme-François Jomard, he published a book about his journey called Journal d'un voyage à Temboctou et à Jenné dans l'Afrique Centrale.
Caillié married and settled down near where he grew up. However, his health was poor after his difficult travels. He died from tuberculosis on May 17, 1838, at the age of 38.
Caillié's way of exploring was quite special for his time. While many explorers used large groups of soldiers and porters, Caillié spent years learning Arabic and understanding local customs and the Islamic religion. He traveled alone, living like the local people. His description of Timbuktu was very different from what others had imagined. He said it was a small, not very important, and poor town, not the fabled rich city people believed it to be.
The next European to visit Timbuktu was the German explorer Heinrich Barth in 1853. Barth confirmed that Caillié's descriptions were accurate, especially considering how difficult Caillié's journey had been.
See also
In Spanish: René Caillié para niños
