Robert Bonnaud
Encyclopedia
Robert BonnaudRobert Bonnaud (born in 1929 in Marseilles, France
) is an anti-colonialist historian
and professor of history at the Paris VII Jussieu University.
In 1957, following the advice of his friend Pierre Vidal-Naquet
, he published in Esprit
an article entitled La Paix des Nementchas (Nementchas’ Peace), where he denounced massacres he witnessed made by the French army
in Algeria
, on the 25th and 26th of October 1956. In June 1961, he was arrested and jailed in Marseilles' Baumettes prison
as a supporter of the Algerian nationalists of the FLN
; Hargreaves calls him "the leader of the Jeanson network
in the Marseilles region". He was released in June 1962, two months after the Evian agreements and the proclamation of Algeria's independence.
He dedicated his life to the study of universal history
, and has been presented as a "meta-historian", a "philosopher of history", a theorist of the evolution of the noosphere
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) is an anti-colonialist historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and professor of history at the Paris VII Jussieu University.
In 1957, following the advice of his friend Pierre Vidal-Naquet
Pierre Vidal-Naquet
Pierre Emmanuel Vidal-Naquet was a French historian who began teaching at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales in 1969....
, he published in Esprit
Esprit (magazine)
Esprit is a French literary magazine. Founded in October 1932 by Emmanuel Mounier, it was the principal review of personalist intellectuals of the time. From 1957 to 1976, it was directed by Jean-Marie Domenach. Paul Thibaud directed it from 1977 to 1989. The philosopher Paul Ricoeur often...
an article entitled La Paix des Nementchas (Nementchas’ Peace), where he denounced massacres he witnessed made by the French army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, on the 25th and 26th of October 1956. In June 1961, he was arrested and jailed in Marseilles' Baumettes prison
Baumettes Prison
Baumettes prison is a prison in the 9th arrondissement of Marseille. The prison is named after the district of Les Baumettes where it was constructed between 1933 and 1939...
as a supporter of the Algerian nationalists of the FLN
National Liberation Front (Algeria)
The National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Algeria. It was set up on November 1, 1954 as a merger of other smaller groups, to obtain independence for Algeria from France.- Anticolonial struggle :...
; Hargreaves calls him "the leader of the Jeanson network
Jeanson network
The Jeanson network was a group of French communist militants led by Francis Jeanson who helped Algerian National Liberation Front agents operating in the French metropolitan territory during the Algerian War. They were mainly involved in carrying money and papers for the Algerians and were...
in the Marseilles region". He was released in June 1962, two months after the Evian agreements and the proclamation of Algeria's independence.
He dedicated his life to the study of universal history
Universal history
Universal history is basic to the Western tradition of historiography, especially the Abrahamic wellspring of that tradition. Simply stated, universal history is the presentation of the history of humankind as a whole, as a coherent unit.-Ancient authors:...
, and has been presented as a "meta-historian", a "philosopher of history", a theorist of the evolution of the noosphere
Noosphere
Noosphere , according to the thought of Vladimir Vernadsky and Teilhard de Chardin, denotes the "sphere of human thought". The word is derived from the Greek νοῦς + σφαῖρα , in lexical analogy to "atmosphere" and "biosphere". Introduced by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin 1922 in his Cosmogenesis"...
.
Additional reading
- An interview in Vacarme (2001) http://www.vacarme.eu.org/article79.html
- Pierre Vidal-Naquet, Mémoires, Paris : Seuil, 1995
- General Paul Aussaresses, The Battle of the Casbah: Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Algeria, 1955-1957. (New York: Enigma Books, 2010) ISBN 978-1-929631-30-8.