BONIN Charles-Eudes (EN)
Biographical article
Charles-Eudes Bonin studied at the École des Chartes and the École des Hautes Études. At the time, he published poems. Before becoming an explorer, he was the director of the office of the Préfet of Ille-et-Vilaine and Calvados. In 1889, he travelled to French Indo-China to carry out various administrative functions. He was, in particular, Assistant Commissioner to the Hmong veterans in Vietnam in 1891. In 1894, he embarked on his first real expedition. He went to Sumatra, where he took an interest in the role of Islam in Asia. He then carried out two missions. The first, between 1895 and 1896, took him to the western borders of China, to North Vietnam, and Siberia, by crossing Tibet, the Gobi Desert, Peking, and Hanoi. The second began in 1898 with an exploration of the Yangzi Valley. He then went to Peking and travelled to the frontier of the Xinjiang (Russian Turkestan), where he arrived in 1900. In 1901, he began a diplomatic career at the Quai d’Orsay. He was initially appointed Consul in Peking and left the Far East in 1904. He was Chargé d’Affaires in Cairo in 1905. He was then appointed secretary at the French Embassy in Constantinople. In 1912, he was Consul General of France in Montréal. Between 1918 and 1921, he was given the post of Plenipotentiary Minister in Portugal between 1921 and 1924. The last post in his career was Director of the Quai d’Orsay’s archives.
The collection
Charles-Eudes Bonin wrote a great deal and left behind many notes about his mission. Some of these articles were published in colonial or scientific French papers and periodicals. He published only one book (in 1911) entitled Les Royaumes des Neiges. He returned from his travels with many photographs and books, as well as objects.
Related articles
Personne / personne
