Joannès Barbier

In 1891, Joannès Barbier accompanied French officers during the Tukulor War conflict, when the French attacked the Toucouleur empire. He arrived in Bakel at the time when the executions of Toucouleurs were taking place. He took several views of piled-up or decapitated corpses of "supposed fugitives from the enemy army", probably for the private albums of the soldiers. However, some prints were sent to the photographer's brother (Louis Barbier) in France, and the latter sold them to the newspaper L'Illustration. While this newspaper was usually "not very critical of colonial policy", its editors published his photos in controversial article entitled The Work of Civilization in Africa on April 11, 1891. Among those images were pictures from Bakel and from Nioro (where Emporer Amadhu had set his capital during a war for succession with his brothers. • Illustration — alt=Photographie présentant une dizaine de corps amoncelés sur la berge d'un cours d'eau, six spectateurs se tiennent à l'arrière-plan autour d'une large barque. Joannès Barbier, "Bodies dragged to the river bank to be thrown into the water", January 1891, aristotype print glued to cardboard. Army Museum, Paris. Inv. 2015.10.4. • Illustration — alt=Photographie présentant un homme assis devant quatre têtes humaines coupées, au sol, et une cinquième sur un billot de bois dressé. Joannès Barbier, "Native having just brought to Bakel the heads of prisoners captured among the fugitives of Ahmadou’s bands," 1891, aristotype print glued to cardboard. Army Museum, Paris. • Illustration — Émile Tilly, "Corpses of prisoners executed after the battle of Nioro", engraving from a Joannès Barbier photograph, in “The work of civilization in Africa”, L'Illustration, no. 2511, April 11, 1891. • Illustration — "Native having just brought to Bakel the heads of prisoners captured among the fugitives of Ahmadou’s bands" (L’Illustration, no. 2511, Saturday April 11, 1891).