1852-1905

Italian-born French explorer who undertook three great journeys of exploration in the Congo beginning in 1875. His explorations of the Ogowé River, from the coast of Gabon to the interior and to the north of the Lower Congo, laid the foundations of the future colony of French Equatorial Africa, which extended over 1.25 million square miles. From 1886-87 de Brazza served as commissioner-general of French Equatorial Africa.