Emilio Bonelli

Don Emilio Bonelli y Hernando (7 November 1854 in Zaragoza, Aragon – 28 November 1926 in Madrid[1]) was a Spanish military officer, author, explorer, colonial administrator and Africanist.

Don Emilio Bonelli y Hernando
Bonelli depicted in La Ilustración Española y Americana, 8 April 1885.
Born	November 7, 1854 Zaragoza, Aragon
Died	November 28, 1926 (aged 72) Madrid
Allegiance	Kingdom of Spain
Service/branch	Spanish Army
Years of service	1875–1882

Biography

Bonelli entered the Spanish Army in 1875 and attended the Toledo Infantry Academy, achieving the rank of ensign in 1878.[2] He left the Army in 1882, and undertook an expedition through the interior of Morocco, crossing the territory between Fez, Meknes and Tangier.[3]

In 1884, Bonelli commanded an expedition to take the territory of Río de Oro (Oued Edhahab),[4] occupying the Atlantic coast between Cape Bojador (Ras Bujadur) and Cape Blanco (Ras Nouadhibou)[5] and founding Villa Cisneros (Dakhla).[4] On 26 December 1884, the Kingdom of Spain declared 'a protectorate of the African coast', and on 14 January 1885 officially informed the other great powers in writing,[6] thereby establishing Spanish Sahara. In July 1885, Bonelli was appointed by King Alfonso XII to the newly created position of Royal Commissioner on the West Coast of Africa[7] (which would later be renamed as Political and Military Subgovernor of Río de Oro),[8] managing to establish peace with tribes in the area.[9]

In 1913, Bonelli was a founding member of the Liga Africanista Española, of which he was vice president.[10]

Works

Bonelli was the author of:[2]

• El imperio de Marruecos y su constitución (1882)
• El Sahara (1887)
• Nuevos territorios españoles en África (1887)
• El problema de Marruecos (1910)

References

1. "Don Emilio Bonelli Hernando". La Nación : Diario de la Noche (in Spanish). Madrid: La Nación: 4. ISSN 1132-046X.
2. Ramírez Verdún 2005, p. 109.
3. Fernández Rodríguez 1985, p. 171.
4. Blanco Vázquez 2012.
5. Salom 2003, p. 269.
6. Robert Rézette, The Western Sahara and the Frontiers of Morocco (Paris: Nouvelles Éditions Latines, 1975), p. 60.
7. Real decreto nombrando Comisario regio en la costa occidental de Africa á D. Emilio Bonelli (PDF) (in Spanish). Gaceta de Madrid núm. 196 de 15 de julio de 1885. p. 141.
8. Fernández Rodríguez 1985, p. 173.
9. Salom 2003, p. 271.
10. "Don Emilio Bonelli Hernando". Revista Hispano Africana (in Spanish). Madrid: Revista hispano-africana (23–24): 9. 1926. ISSN 2172-6191.

Bibliography

• Blanco Vázquez, Luis (2012). Vestigios del pasado colonial español en Río de Oro (Sáhara Occidental). La línea de Fortines de Villa Cisneros (PDF). Hispania Nova: Revista de historia contemporánea (in Spanish). Getafe: Charles III University of Madrid. ISSN 1138-7319.
• Fernández Rodríguez, Manuel (1985). España y Marruecos en los primeros años de la Restauración (1875–1894) (in Spanish). Madrid: CSIC; Centro de Estudios Históricos. ISBN 84-00-06113-6.
• Ramírez Verdún, Pedro (2005). Emilio Bonelli Hernando. Teniente Coronel de Infantería. Ejército: de tierra español (in Spanish). p. 109. ISSN 1696-7178.
• Salom, Julio (2003). Los orígenes coloniales del Sahara occidental en el marco de la política española. Cuadernos de historia contemporánea (in Spanish). Madrid: Servicio de Publicaciones (Universidad Complutense de Madrid). pp. 247–272. ISSN 0214-400X.