35 Facts About Paul Flatters

Paul Flatters was a French soldier who spent a long period as a military administrator in Algeria.

Paul Flatters is known as leader of the Flatters expedition, an ill-fated attempt to explore the route of a proposed Trans-Saharan railway from Algeria to the Sudan.

Paul-Francois-Xavier Flatters was the son of Jean-Jacques Flatters and Emilie-Dircee Lebon.

Paul Flatters's father came from Westphalia to Paris to study sculpture and painting.

Paul Flatters was a student of Jean-Antoine Houdon and Jacques-Louis David, and was second in the Prix de Rome for sculpture in 1813.

Paul Flatters served in the French army from February to July 1814 at the close of the First French Empire.

Paul Flatters married into a leading family of the Naples aristocracy in 1807.

Paul Flatters was born in Paris on 16 September 1832.

Paul Flatters was admitted to the Ecole speciale militaire de Saint-Cyr in 1851.

Paul Flatters graduated from Saint-Cyr in October 1853, ranked 65th out of 230 students.

Paul Flatters was made a second lieutenant and posted to Algeria with the 3rd Zouaves.

Paul Flatters married Sarah Marie Legros in Paris on 1 May 1864.

Paul Flatters learned to read classical Arabic and to speak the local vernacular form, and became interested in local history and culture, although his scholarship was always superficial.

Paul Flatters published Histoire ancienne du Nord de l'Afrique avant le conquete des Arabes in 1863 for an Arab audience.

Paul Flatters served in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, but was taken prisoner almost at once and transferred to Germany.

Paul Flatters was based at Laghouat and worked on administrative tasks.

In 1876 and 1877 Paul Flatters wrote three reports on the caravan trade between the Sudan and the Mediterranean, blaming some of the problems on the Senussi Sufi order and tribe.

The reports show that Paul Flatters was fully aware that any European who ventured into the desert without strong protection would almost inevitably be killed.

Paul Flatters observed that the Turks and the merchants of Tripoli, Ghadames, Ghat and Murzuk would be opposed to a Trans-Saharan railway that would divert trade to Algeria.

Paul Flatters cast doubt on whether France would benefit from such a railway when the British were supplying much cheaper trade goods.

Paul Flatters argued that the French should therefore tolerate and regulate the trade in slaves, which was inevitable, so as to gain access to the interior.

Paul Flatters lobbied in Paris to be chosen as leader of this mission.

Paul Flatters suffered from sciatica and depended on morphine to relieve his pain, and had unpredictable moods.

Paul Flatters originally proposed a major expedition with more than 200 tirailleurs to provide strong protection, and was supported in this by the military members of the commission.

Paul Flatters was opposed by Henri Duveyrier, who had experience of army blundering and was convinced that only small and unobtrusive expeditions whose members adapted to local customs could succeed.

Paul Flatters returned to Algeria in November 1879, charged with reconnoitering the route that he had himself said was the most favorable for the proposed railway.

Paul Flatters left Constantine on 25 January 1880 with 12 Europeans supported by Algerian tirailleurs, cameleers and Chaamba guides.

Paul Flatters left from Ouargla on 5 March 1880 with thirty-nine people.

Paul Flatters quickly returned to Paris to raise support for a second expedition.

Paul Flatters received a less enthusiastic reception than with the first expedition, and some of the officers from the first expedition chose not to accompany him on the second attempt.

The expedition went on from Sebkha, heading towards Asiou, an important point in the central Sahara from which Paul Flatters hoped to reach the Sudan without difficulty.

However Paul Flatters considered that Ahitagel ag Muhammad Biska, the Amenukal of the Kel Ahaggar, completely controlled the area and would ensure that no French were harmed in his land.

Near In-Uhawen, or the wells of Tadjenout, Paul Flatters left his baggage in camp with half his troops while he and his officers and scientific staff went to find the well, followed by the camels.

Paul Flatters told a guide who warned of danger, "we have nothing to fear".

Paul Flatters became increasingly disturbed by guilt and anger, and took his own life on 24 April 1892.