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Aged fourteen, Italian born Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza was sent to Paris' Naval College to further his education. A few years later, he graduated as Captain and in 1875, aged 22, was commissioned by the French Admiralty to lead a mission of exploration in Central Africa. A second expedition, soon after, allowed him to reach the Congo River, to broker a deal with a local King, ahead of Britain's Stanley, and to lay claim to part of the Congo for France. De Brazza's legendary ordeal made it into the history book, yet it also became part of family lore, much enjoyed by Brazza's children who, like his daughter Marthe who wrote this short biography, were never tired of listening to "The long story" of their father.
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