NEW HEBRIDES. Augustin-Paul-Eugène RENAULT (1880-1941). Capt - Lot 385

NEW HEBRIDES. Augustin-Paul-Eugène RENAULT (1880-1941). Captain Renault's report on Esperitu-Santo Island and its appendices. Paris, July 4, 1913. Tapuscript in-4, 235 leaves (versos blank). Augustin-Paul-Eugène Renault, a former student at the Ecole Polytechnique, took part in 1910-1911 in the last part of the delimitation mission sent by the Société française des Nouvelles-Hébrides, and was responsible for most of the surveys carried out in the interior of Espiritu-Santo. He felt it was his duty to present a report on the island as a whole, independently of any that might be made by a mission leader. Renault, for example, considered that one hectare of land per native was sufficient, which, in mountainous terrain and with shifting cultivation as practiced by the Canaques, was clearly insufficient. It seems that the intention was rather to expel the natives from land whose topography would make it impossible for Europeans to farm. Here we touch on the utopian and naive side of all those who were enthusiastic about establishing European colonization in these parts. And also the cruel naivety of those who doomed the Melanesians to rapid extinction. The report ends with a proposal in favor of the soldiers who operated in Espiritu-Santo, in which Renault lists the colonists killed by the Canaques and asks for a Colonial Medal for the soldiers who protected them. Concerning Captain Renault, see J. Guiart's note in: O'Reilly "Hébridais", pages 195-196. Provenance: H. M. collection.