Some context: I’m working on a documtary (I make everything from researching to the video editing) surrounding a Belgian colonial army officer called Léon Fiévez, who used to be the district commissioner of the Equator district in the Congo Free State between 1893 to 1896.
He was also known as the devil of the Equator, for his gruesome tactics in collecting rubber, and his nickname from 1896 in the international press would become “the man who cut 1308 hands in one day”.
Yesterday I went to the Royal archives in Brussels, I managed to get a lot of primary sources, including letters written by Fiévez himself, but unfortunately his handwriting is too difficult for me to figure out. I’d be very grateful if there was anyone who could manage to read his handwriting and post the text in French.
Thanks in advance!
what i got from the first page :
*depuis la reception de la courageuse lettre du lieutenant léonard je me suis ???? je connais enfin mes accusateurs. Le lieutenant ??? connu l’intrigue, aidé d’un nommé ??? a qui je … de … un fusil a piston et 2 canons pour avoir voulu exercer la piraterie dans le chemin(?) conduisant au lac. J’ai menacé dans le ??? ce ??? coucheur ??? de plus de 50 indigenes de l’envoyer a (Bomal?) si il ??? a apporter le double (?) dans le ??? Il se fit aider d’un nommé Kadja(?) hommes faibles d’esprit, qui est ???? me déclarer avoir été contraint a mentir pour monsieur ???. Vraisemblablement il ne le passera plus beaucoup de ???? que les ??? ne voit completement édifié pour la ??? de l’incroyable accusation portée contre moi. Je prierais donc le gouvernement de m’épauler de ??? encore des ??? faire, il ne le dégageait de celle ???? que je crois devoir faire ??? ici. J’ai dit, il y a longtemps que je considérais un commissaire de .???*
You need to post in higher resolution. The official correspondence you show here is very easy to read, so you should have no problem finding someone to help you. “Satisfaction doit être donnée, un acte de haute justice dois m’indemniser du mal qui m’a été fait.” Really, it shouldn’t be difficult at all for you to learn it on your own, just find some learning tools online. I know of them in other languages, there must be some for French too.
Im studying history and i just got confronted with a program called transkribus which does exaclty that. It dechiphers old written text into readable words.
4 comments
Some context: I’m working on a documtary (I make everything from researching to the video editing) surrounding a Belgian colonial army officer called Léon Fiévez, who used to be the district commissioner of the Equator district in the Congo Free State between 1893 to 1896.
He was also known as the devil of the Equator, for his gruesome tactics in collecting rubber, and his nickname from 1896 in the international press would become “the man who cut 1308 hands in one day”.
Yesterday I went to the Royal archives in Brussels, I managed to get a lot of primary sources, including letters written by Fiévez himself, but unfortunately his handwriting is too difficult for me to figure out. I’d be very grateful if there was anyone who could manage to read his handwriting and post the text in French.
Thanks in advance!
what i got from the first page :
*depuis la reception de la courageuse lettre du lieutenant léonard je me suis ???? je connais enfin mes accusateurs. Le lieutenant ??? connu l’intrigue, aidé d’un nommé ??? a qui je … de … un fusil a piston et 2 canons pour avoir voulu exercer la piraterie dans le chemin(?) conduisant au lac. J’ai menacé dans le ??? ce ??? coucheur ??? de plus de 50 indigenes de l’envoyer a (Bomal?) si il ??? a apporter le double (?) dans le ??? Il se fit aider d’un nommé Kadja(?) hommes faibles d’esprit, qui est ???? me déclarer avoir été contraint a mentir pour monsieur ???. Vraisemblablement il ne le passera plus beaucoup de ???? que les ??? ne voit completement édifié pour la ??? de l’incroyable accusation portée contre moi. Je prierais donc le gouvernement de m’épauler de ??? encore des ??? faire, il ne le dégageait de celle ???? que je crois devoir faire ??? ici. J’ai dit, il y a longtemps que je considérais un commissaire de .???*
You need to post in higher resolution. The official correspondence you show here is very easy to read, so you should have no problem finding someone to help you. “Satisfaction doit être donnée, un acte de haute justice dois m’indemniser du mal qui m’a été fait.” Really, it shouldn’t be difficult at all for you to learn it on your own, just find some learning tools online. I know of them in other languages, there must be some for French too.
Im studying history and i just got confronted with a program called transkribus which does exaclty that. It dechiphers old written text into readable words.