Émile Mauchamp
Émile Mauchamp or Pierre Benoit Émile Mauchamp was a French doctor assassinated by a mob in Marrakesh, near the pharmacy where he practiced. He was characterized as a "martyr to civilization" in the French press; his death, an "unprovoked and indefensible attack from the barbarous natives of Morocco." His death was taken as a pretext by Hubert Lyautey and his forces in taking Oujda, marking the beginning of the French conquest of Morocco.
Biography
Émile Mauchamp was the son of a politician who was the counselor general of Chalon-sur-Saône. After his studies in collège, he left for Paris to study medicine. He was named a marine medical officer and practiced in a number of countries: Portugal, Brazil, Italy, Greece, Russia, and Turkey.Morocco
After a journey to Jerusalem, he was chosen by decree of the minister of foreign affairs to go to Morocco and run a pharmacy created in Marrakesh in 1905.Assassination
Mauchamp was beaten to death just outside his medical clinic in Marrakesh on March 19, 1907. The event was the culmination of anti-European sentiment that was a reaction to the inaction of the Moroccan sultan to counter European influence.Funeral
Émile Mauchamp was given a national funeral and was awarded the medal of the Legion of Honour posthumously.His funeral on April 11, 1907, was attended by a massive crowd including several political figures such as the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephen Pichon. Mauchamp's casket arrived at the station of Chalon-sur-Saône at 9 am, draped in the French flag. His coffin was displayed on a catafalque placed in front of the town hall. No fewer than 7 speeches were made. The funeral procession then headed to the Cemetery of the East; shopkeepers lowered their curtains. He was interred in the intimacy of his family, but the citizens had an opportunity to pay their last respects.