Xavier Coppolani (1866–1905) was a French

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

and colonial leader, who was instrumental in the colonial occupation and creation of modern-day

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

Early life

Born to

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

n parents in

French Algeria French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of History of Algeria, Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until ...

, his father was considered to be a member of the colon class of French immigrants to the country. While Coppolani was in Algeria, he grew up among local

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and learnt

Algerian Arabic Algerian Arabic (, romanized: ), natively known as , or , is a variety of Arabic spoken in Algeria. It belongs to the Maghrebi Arabic dialect continuum and is mostly intelligible with the Tunisian and Moroccan dialects. Darja () means "eve ...

. He was intrigued by

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

practices and studied

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

Military and colonial career

He was transferred to

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

in 1899 to lead the expansion of colonial rule north of the

Senegal river The Senegal River ( or "Senegal" - compound of the Serer term "Seen" or "Sene" or "Sen" (from Roog Seen, Supreme Deity in Serer religion) and "O Gal" (meaning "body of water")); , , , ) is a river in West Africa; much of its length mark ...

, where

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

s held firm against French rule. This was disguised as an inquiry, whereas the goal of the mission was to lead to the subjugation of the local people. Local tribal rivalries provided Coppolani with an opportunity, and in 1901, he drew up a plan for moving into the territory with a combination of military and political strategies. Alliances were drawn up with two of the main

marabout In the Muslim world, the marabout () is a Sayyid, descendant of Muhammad (Arabic: سـيّد, Romanization of Arabic, romanized: ''sayyid'' and ''sidi'' in the Maghreb) and a Islam, Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the f ...

s of the territory, Shaykh Sidya Baba and

Shaykh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

Saad Bouh Saad or Sa'ad may also refer to: * Saad (letter), a letter in the Arabic script *Saad (name), people carrying the name or surname *Sa'ad, a kibbutz in the Negev desert in Israel *Saad Esporte Clube, a Brazilian football club * Saad SC, an Iraqi ...

, local leaders of

Qadiriyya The Qadiriyya () or the Qadiri order () is a Sunni Sufi order (''Tariqa'') founded by Abdul Qadir Gilani (1077–1166, also transliterated ''Jilani''), who was a Hanbali scholar from Gilan, Iran. The order, with its many sub-orders, is widesp ...

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

brotherhoods. They were promised a dominant role in the colonial administration and protection for their Zawiya tribes against the attacks of

Hassane The Hassane is a name for the traditionally dominant warrior tribes of the Sahrawi-Moorish areas of present-day Mauritania, southern Morocco and Western Sahara. Although lines were blurred by intermarriage and tribal re-affiliation, the Hassane w ...

warriors. In return they would use their religious influence to persuade the local

emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

s to accept French rule. With military pressure applied, the strategy worked, and the

emirate An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalent ...

s of Tagant,

Trarza Trarza () is a region in southwest Mauritania. Its capital is Rosso. Other major cities and towns include Mederdra and Boutilimit. Trarza borders the regions of Inchiri and Adrar to the north, Brakna to the east, and the country of Senegal t ...

and Brakna all accepted French rule in 1903-04. The last emirate, in the northern zone of Adrar, proved combative. It was also backed by a third influential Qadiriyya marabout,

shaykh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

Ma al-'Aynayn Mohamed Mustafa Ma al-'Aynayn (; c. 1830–31 in Oualata, present-day Mauritania – 1910 in Tiznit, Morocco; complete name Mohamad Mustafa ben Mohamad Fadel Maa al-'Aynayn ash-Shanguiti ) was a Saharan Moorish religious and political leade ...

, himself in turn supported by the

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. Coppolani was preparing to march on Adrar when he was killed in 1905, by a member of the shaykh's

Gudfiyya The Gudfiyya (or Goudfiyya, and other spellings) brotherhood was a small, militant religious organization created by the Sufi Qadiriyya shaykh Ma al-'Aynayn, in his battle against French and Spanish colonizers in the western Maghreb (in North-wes ...

brotherhood. The emirate was eventually defeated and forcibly incorporated into Mauritania in 1912, by

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Gouraud, but tribal revolts and raids persisted until 1934.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coppolani, Xavier Political history of Mauritania French colonial empire French soldiers People of French West Africa French colonial governors and administrators 1905 deaths 1866 births People of French Algeria