RABAUD Alfred (EN)

Biographical Article

Alfred Rabaud, the son of David Jacques Rabaud (1785-1849) and Antoinette Betsey-Brock, was a trader, shipowner, and broker. He came from a Protestant family that was influential and well-established in the business community of Marseilles. The Rabauds, originally from Castres in the Tarn, arrived in Marseilles in the middle of the 18th century. Jacques Rabaud, his grandfather, who was "one of the most prominent merchants" of Marseilles (Barré H., 1913, p. 412), was guillotined during the Terror in 1794. Despite everything, his widow, born Philippine Baux, continued the family business, under the corporate name "Veuve Rabaud et C^ie". In 1813, their three sons reorganised the company, founding the house of Rabaud frères. The eldest, David, acquired public recognition by serving as deputy to the mayor of Marseilles, Alexis Rostand (1769-1854), who administered the city from 1830 to 1831 (Caty R., 1999, p. 229). David Rabaud sat in the Chamber of Commerce, where he became president in 1847, a position he held until his death in 1849 (Barré H., 1913, p. 412). On this date, a new company was founded keeping the same name and associating the young Alfred. The company was renewed in 1855 and was in a state of liquidation three years later (Caty R., 1999, p. 230). In 1860, Rabaud frères called upon the Marseilles bank Roux de Fraissinet for development projects on the African coast (Caty R., 1999, p. 230). Alfred Rabaud became well known for his actions in Africa and his contributions to trade with the continent.

Maison Rabaud Frères: a Pioneering Presence in Africa

Gabriel Gravier, honorary president of the Geographical Society of Normandy (la Société normande de géographie), described Rabaud as pleasantly natural, "tall, strong, of remarkable beauty", emphasising an expression "of infinite gentleness", endowed with "an intelligence of the 'elite' and of 'a generous heart' (1886, pp. 183-184). Alfred Rabaud undertook a serious program of studies in Marseilles and Geneva. Upon the death of his father, he became the head of Rabaud frères. He thus became the director of the oldest trading house in the city, as he recalled in the statement of his services (AN, LH//2252/27). He was also an agent of the insurance committee of Lloyd's of London.

Rabaud’s first destination was the Indian Ocean: Zanzibar, Madagascar and Nossi-bé (Gravier G., 1886, p. 182). From 1853 to 1854, he traveled on the eastern coast of Africa and settled in Zanzibar (an archipelago attached to present-day Tanzania), where he remained for four years. He befriended the young prince, later the Sultan of Zanzibar, Barghash ibn Saʿīd (1837-1888; r. 1870-1888), and used his connections to help the Belgian King Leopold II (1835-1909; r. 1865-1909), whose imperialist ambitions were directed towards Central Africa. Rabaud joined the International African Association (l’Association internationale africaine), formed at the end of the geographical conference held in Brussels in 1876 and chaired by Leopold II. At the king's request, he contacted Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904), a journalist involved in colonial affairs, for the conquest of the Congo (Brunschwig H., 1957, p. 105). He opened the first French comptoir, from which followed six further establishments on the eastern coast of Africa (Caty R., 1999, p. 230). The French commercial presence thus extended from Cape Ras Asir, located at the tip of Somalia, to Cape Delgado, at the northern end of Mozambique. As early as 1873 Rabaud conceived the project, which he wished to complete by developing a navigation service that would link the various locations (Masson P., 1906, p. 322). The trader also had a comptoir in Madagascar, trading mainly in sugar, vanilla, and cassava. Despite the efforts to maintain a lasting French presence, Zanzibar fell into the hands of England and Germany (Caty R., 1999, p. 230).

In Madagascar, the business turned out to be more successful. In 1862, he received the title of grand officer of the order of Radama II (Masson P., 1906, p. 322). Rabaud maintained a friendly relationship with Alfred Grandidier (1836-1921) who was a geographer, naturalist, and explorer of Madagascar. He invested in coffee and sugar cane plantations, as well as in the installation of a rice husking factory. However, this situation suffered the consequences of the Franco-Malagasy conflict (1883-1885), which led to the bankruptcy of the Rabaud house in the 1880s (Gravier G., 1886, p. 183). He led many projects with Hilarion Roux. Both supported peaceful action by France and were anxious to conduct a policy of compromise with the indigenous tribes (Américi L., Daumalin X., 2010, p. 61). But, with tensions exacerbated with the court of Tananarive, Rabaud changed strategy and came to endorse military intervention, which resulted in the formation of the French protectorate (City R., 1999, p. 230).

In 1868, Alfred Rabaud joined the Bazin firm Mather & C^ie to invest in the installation of a trading house on the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, which would be able to compete with the port of Aden. The venture failed.

Rabaud was thus a shareholder in many companies. He also rubbed shoulders with the company Zafiropulo and Zarifi.

Also, according to Théophile de Lamathière (18?-19?), the commercial enterprise went beyond mere mercantile concern. The installation of Rabaud in these territories was carried out following a question of honour and patriotism (De Lamathière T., 1875-1911, p. 385). Roland Caty put it another way, referring to "[this] policy of commercial penetration", which "prepared a colonial expansion" (1999, p. 230). This lofty ideal of ​​trade earned him the rank of chevalier of the Légion d’honneur, by decree of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, on January 9, 1877.

Involvement in the French Colonial Enterprise

Alcide Delmont (1874-1959), appointed Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies in 1929, considered Alfred Rabaud "a pioneer of colonial expansion, an early worker in Madagascar" (Delmont A., 1930, p. 82). With his network in place, he held the position of consul general of Zanzibar, then of Madagascar. On November 17, 1869, Alfred Rabaud attended the inauguration of the Suez Canal, which facilitated access to Asian countries.

With his experience in the African colonies, Alfred Rabaud advocated for scientific knowledge in the colonies. The Provincial Congress of Orientalists (Congrès provincial des orientalistes), held in Marseilles in 1876, and chaired by Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805-1894), made him aware of the need to establish a structure allowing the construction and popularisation of this knowledge. Thus, with the support of the president and founder of the Compagnie de l'isthme de Suez, Rabaud founded alongside his first cousin Édouard (?-1918) the Geographical Society of Marseilles (la Société de géographie de Marseille) and became its president. During the inaugural session, Alfred Rabaud presented a "new geographical method" (Revue de Géographie, 1877, p. 421), in which the figure of the merchant played a fundamental role in the construction of knowledge and techniques. The statutes specified the purpose of the Geographical Society of Marseille as being to "contribute to the progress of geography", to "encourage its study" and to "use in the interest of geographical knowledge, the exceptionally favorable position of Marseilles, to gather information and spread it” (Rabaud A., 1877, p. 7). The milestones of utilitarian geography were thus laid down and consistent with the intellectual context of the time. Merchants, industrialists, and personalities from the business world participate in this enterprise.

As a shipowner, Rabaud was also a member of the Commission des Ports-Suds. He personally encouraged explorers and provided them with amenities for their journey, even chartering ships from his own shipping company for them. He was thus nicknamed the "patron of explorers". Georges Révoil (1852-1894), an explorer in the Somali country, paid homage to him in his travelogue (1882, dedication).

In 1880, Rabaud applied for membership of the Marseille Statistical Society (la Société de statistique de Marseille). Adrien Sicard, secretary of the society and as sycg in charge of examining his candidacy, noted the interest represented by his memoir on Abbé Debaize (1845-1879) and his geographical and scientific mission in Central Africa. Unanimously admitted into the Society, he was welcomed by his peers as an "enlightened scholar on everything that can relate to African studies" (Sicard A., 1880, p. 80).

Art Lover and Philanthropist

Alfred Rabaud was recognised as a scholar and an artist. He was vice-president of the Society of Friends of the Arts (la Société des amis des arts), holding office between 1878 and 1879. In the first year he also obtained the gold medal at the Universal Exhibition. He was at the origin of several donations to the musée d’Ethnographie du Trocadéro, at the musée d’Artillerie des Invalides, and other provincial collections.

Rabaud was also a philanthropist. He was elected honorary member of the Society of Clerks (la Société des commis). Administrator of the Mont-de-Piété, he also took care of the department’s Caisse d’épargne et de prévoyance, according to the Indicateur marseillais of 1879.

On Monday April 12, 1886, Alfred Rabaud died of an attack of gout at the age of fifty-eight. His public funeral was followed by a large procession, made up of Marseilles society and representatives of the consulates of Italy, Russia, England, Peru, and Brazil; reaffirming the international stature of a character who meant a lot to his city (Le Sémaphore, 1886, p. 2). His only son, from his marriage with Léontine van der Maësen d'Avionpuits (1835-1906), a singer of Belgian origin and daughter of a former royal prosecutor in Verviers, and Édouard Rabaud, his partner since 1855, then took over the family business.

The Collection

It is difficult to assess the extent of the collection built up by Alfred Rabaud. Because of the regions he visited during his travels and because of the functions exercised in these countries, Rabaud was a great collector of African art, and he left fewer clues regarding his taste for Far Eastern art.

A Motley Collection

His collection attests to a heterogeneous taste. In 1880, the merchant donated to the palais Longchamp a Vue de Venise, executed in 1864, by the orientalist painter Louis-Amable Crapelet (1822-1867), who worked in particular in Marseilles (La Jeune République, May 5 1880, p. 2). Thus, the Far Eastern and Oriental collections must certainly have existed alongside other works of local heritage.

A Mixed Collection of African and Asian art Presented in 1879

Alfred Rabaud was also at the origin of a collection of Asian art whose exact components, while unknown, were nevertheless rich and luxurious, according to the journalists who attended the Retrospective Exhibition of Fine Arts of Marseille, organised in May 1879 in the newly created library of the Palais des Beaux-Arts. At this stage of our research, we have not found any trace of the Asian part of this collection.

Le Sémaphore de Marseille makes reference to the "oriental collection", which "occupies the entire panel n. 2 and the large showcase n. 7". L’Année artistique also retains the "oriental marvels" of Alfred Rabaud (Champier V., 1879, p. 204).

As for the art of the Far East, it manifests itself in "its ceramic products of such curious and artistic ornamentation", "its furniture so capriciously contorted", "its sumptuous fabrics", "its bizarre and magnificent jewels". A large panel further presented "garlands of dishes from China and Japan", in "the most sumptuous tonality" (Brès L., 1879). The journalist Louis Brès emphasised the shimmering colours and the flamboyant luxury of silk. Likewise, the "red, green, purple fabrics, embellished with embroidery and  cannetilles, with heavy rings of silver and gold", "the long-necked flower holders" caught the eye (1879).

The exhibition was an opportunity for Louis Brès to highlight the heterogeneous mix of 18th century Provençal art, the Far East, Antiquity, and the Italian Renaissance, a melange that formed the charm of the Marseilles collections. Alfred Rabaud thus seems to have staked his place among the great collections of Provence.