French West Africa 58

     The presence of French colonies on the African continent is a complicated one, but one thing is fairly clear, Marcel Treich-Laplène was instrumental in establishing agreements with Africans in western Africa. Treich-Laplène was Arthur Verdier's agent in the 1880s. He negotiated 5 agreements that extended French influence from the headwaters of teh Niger River through  the Côte d'Ivoire. In 1889 he was named tituler governor of Côte d'Ivoire. He died in 1890.

     The map on the stamp shows a route presumably connected with Treich-Laplène. The portrait of Treich-Laplène is based on an engraving for Louis Gustave Binger's book, Du Niger au Golfe de Guinée published in 1892. Binger was a French officer who also worked to expand French influence in the area.