Monsieur Amon
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Amon Fasileau-Duplantier, known as Monsieur Amon (22 December 1849 – 24 February 1915), was a French
coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
and urban real estate entrepreneur established in
Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
. Monsieur Amon commercial activities had a deep impact on the Costa Rican society of the latest 19th century due to the foundation of San José's
Belle Époque The Belle Époque () or La Belle Époque () was a period of French and European history that began after the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and continued until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era of the Fr ...
neighborhood which carries his name today as the Barrio Amón. The image of Monsieur Amon is associated to Costa Rican coffee golden age.


Life

Monsieur Amon was born in
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
. He arrived to Costa Rica in his mid-twenties to work at The Tournon Company, owned by his brother-in-law, Mr. Hippolyte Tournon. The company already produced and exported coffee; Monsieur Amon was entrusted to manage the firm and became a respected local figure with a key influence in the social and economic spheres. He started the diversification into urban real estate and electricity production, coinciding with
Minor Keith Minor Cooper Keith (19 January 1848 – 14 June 1929) was an American businessman whose railroad, commercial agriculture, and cargo liner enterprises had a major impact on the national economies of the Central American countries, as well as on the ...
's development of similar activities, leveraging the Atlantic railroad construction and growing banana trade. Amon returned to France in 1899 after being replaced by his nephew, Elois Tournon, son of Mr. Hippolyte Tournon, as the head of the Tournon Company.


References

Lemistre, Annie. “Amon El Incognito". First Edition. San José, Costa Rica. May 2015. 1849 births 1915 deaths French emigrants Immigrants to Costa Rica Costa Rican businesspeople Belle Époque