Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza
Brazza c. 1890 photographed by Nadar
Born	Pietro Paolo Savorgnan di Brazzà (1852-01-26)26 January 1852 Rome, Papal States
Died	14 September 1905(1905-09-14) (aged 53) Dakar, Upper Senegal and Niger, French West Africa
Nationality	Italian French
Occupation	Explorer
Spouse	Thérèse Pineton de Chambrun ​ ​ (m. 1895)​
Children	Jacques Antoine Charles Marthe
Relatives	Adolphe de Chambrun (father-in-law) Pierre de Chambrun (brother-in-law) Charles de Chambrun (brother-in-law)

Pierre Paul François Camille Savorgnan de Brazza (born Pietro Paolo Savorgnan di Brazzà; 26 January 1852 – 14 September 1905)^[1] was an Italian-French explorer. With his family's financial help, he explored the Ogooué region of Central Africa, and later with the backing of the Société de Géographie de Paris, he reached far into the interior along the right bank of the Congo River. He has often been depicted as a man of friendly manner, great charm and peaceful approach towards the Africans he met and worked with on his journeys, but recent research has revealed that he in fact alternated this kind of approach with more calculated deceit and at times relentless armed violence towards local populations.^[2] Under French colonial rule, the capital of the Republic of the Congo was named Brazzaville after him and the name was retained by the post-colonial rulers, one of the few African nations to do so. (Other exceptions are Pretoria, South Africa, Port Louis, Mauritius, Libreville, Gabon, and Victoria, Seychelles.)