A Possible Story

The year is 1889, March 31st. Gustave Eiffel has just inaugurated his tower, which will serve as the gateway to the Great Universal Exhibition. Exhausted from all the work, he leaves the crowd and heads home.

On April 1st, Eiffel woke up with one thought in his head: “I'm tired of everything, I need to rest"With this thought simmering through his neurons, he embarks on a secret journey with the goal of resting in peace and quiet, far from all modern civilization. His destination, Madagascar.

A few years earlier, in complete secrecy and without any record to prove it, Eiffel surreptitiously prepared his retirement and, after having designed and planned several pavilions for the Universal Exhibition, he chose a two-story wrought-iron pavilion for himself and made some alterations to it to transform it into a superb villa, where he planned to spend his last days.

Obviously, since the project was secret, he couldn't build this pavilion in France, so he sent the plans for his prefabricated "little palace" to a friend who owned a steel mill in Glasgow, Scotland.

Just a few days ago, a letter from his friend had arrived informing him that his project was ready and packaged, ready to be assembled wherever he chose. So Eiffel didn't hesitate; he secretly headed to Glasgow to begin his journey toward retirement.

Having arrived at his destination, he immediately went to his friend to discuss the final project, his trip to distant Madagascar, an African kingdom that had recently joined the French Colonial Empire.¹In 1890, the United Kingdom recognized the French protectorate of Madagascar, establishing colonial rule in 1895, the year in which France successfully defeated the army defending the Merina kingdom.

After World War II, the island of Madagascar was elevated to the status of an overseas territory of France. It gained autonomy within the French Community in 1958 and two years later, on June 26, 1960, declared independence under the name of the Malagasy Republic.There, on the small island of Nosy Komba, he acquired a plot of land facing the ocean, behind it the forest, and in the surrounding area, no one to bother him.

It was already 1890 when Eiffel and his villa, packed in prefabricated boxes, finally set sail aboard a freighter bound for Madagascar. Eiffel sat calmly in a lounge chair and contemplated the sea and the seagulls, dreaming of the wonderful moments he would spend on his land, where he planned to build his little palace.

But fate had other plans for him. Upon reaching the African coast, they encountered intense winds and strong currents. They were being met by the African storm known as the Benguela Nino, an atmospheric phenomenon that occurs only once a decade in that region.²The Benguela Niño occurs when a warm water current enters the northern part of the cold Benguela Current system, off the coast of Namibia, occurring once a decade. During this atmospheric phenomenon, the cold Benguela Current moves southward, causing intense rainfall approaching the magnitude of a Pacific El Niño storm..

Unable to withstand the heavy rains and the strong currents, the freighter is thrown hard against the Skeleton Coast, where it eventually runs aground. Amidst the dense fog, Eiffel looks around and sees a ghostly landscape consisting of a large number of whale and seal bones scattered across the beach, contrasting with the wreckage of several sunken vessels. Around him, as far as the eye can see, is the immense aridity of the Namib Desert.

Saddened, Eiffel laments his fate and thinks that his destiny will be to perish on that beach far from everything and everyone... but, from the midst of the mist, a shrill horn is heard coming from a vessel flying the Portuguese flag.

It was a salvage boat that happened to be in the area, searching the wreckage for anything that would earn them some money. Rescued by the vessel, the cargo ship's crew and its passenger are taken to Luanda for their next destination.

After a few days of rest in the Angolan capital, Eiffel heads to the harbor master's office with the intention of rescuing his prefabricated villa, but, to his surprise, he receives information that the freighter and all its contents had been claimed by the Portuguese colonial government, represented by the salvage ship that had rescued it, and that all its contents were at that very moment being auctioned at public auction.

Eiffel asked for directions and, as if his youth had returned, ran like a madman to the auction site, only to discover in horror that his villa had just been purchased by the Angolan Commercial Company, the largest and most powerful company in Africa.

Powerless in the face of what had happened and clearly convinced that there was nothing he could do, given the power of such an imposing company, Eiffel saw no other solution than to do what he had never done before: give up.

Depressed and unwilling to fight again, he returned to France, as anonymously as he had left, thus putting an end to his African odyssey and a brief visit to the city of Luanda.

The Iron Palace

After the Angolan Commercial Company acquired the Iron Palace at public auction, they decided to leave it in Luanda, completing its construction in 1896.

The Angolan Commercial Company (CCA) was the largest trading company in Africa in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, owned by three major capitalists of the time: Bensaude, António de Sousa Lara, and João Ferreira Gonçalves (Ferreira Marques & Fonseca). As expected, these businessmen envisioned a great future for the Iron Palace.

The two-story building, with its original metallic filigree decoration and superb wraparound veranda, is contemporary with the Eiffel Tower and the Crystal Palace in Porto. It is unique and, without a doubt, the best example of iron architecture in Angola, which is why it has easily become an urban landmark in the city of Luanda.

During the colonial period, it even gained great prestige and was used over the years for various functions, having stood out as an art center.³Aida Freudenthal, José Manuel Fernandes, Maria de Lurdes Janeiro. AAngola in the 2006th Century: Cities, Territories and Architectures (illustrated with postcards from the João Loureiro collection). [ed.] Author's Edition. Casais de Mem Martins: Printer Portuguesa, XNUMX..

Over the years, its origins were forgotten, but after Angola's independence in 1975, it was classified as a cultural heritage site.⁴Silva, Neusa. The mysteries of Luanda’s Iron Palace. euronews. [Online] December 15, 2020. [Citation: January 30, 2021.] https://pt.euronews.com/2020/12/15/os-misterios-do-palacio-de-ferro-de-luanda. which did not prevent the beautiful building, located on the old Rua Direita in Luanda, like unfortunately most buildings during that period, from being abandoned and falling into disrepair due to 27 years of constant civil war that spared nothing and no one.

Fortunately for its history and glory, in 2009, the project for its restoration began, carried out by the Brazilian company Odebrecht and with financing from the Angolan company Endiama, bringing to light the beauty of the Palace that, today, proudly displays its yellow walls and steel balustrades, as a symbol of the rebirth of the city of Luanda.

Finally, in 2017, its corollary arrived, when the French ambassador, Mr. Sylvain Itté, certified, on behalf of his government, that the Iron Palace was part of Angolan heritage and belonged to the aesthetic universe of Gustave Eiffel, having been built as part of the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1889.

Between Mystery, Myth and Reality

If anything is known about the Iron Palace, it is that it actually exists; as for the rest, it is lost in the mists of time.

The first part of this story, and so there's no doubt, was entirely created by me, using known or supposedly known data about its origin and new information that "came to light" during its restoration. It's a story that's as true as all the others about its origin, since it's shrouded in mystery.

In the second part, I tell the “official version” of its origin, as well as the subsequent development that led to the Iron Palace becoming today the historical landmark that it is, associated and confirmed by the French government as a building or designed by Gustave Eiffel or someone from his school.

But in reality, the entire story that is told about the Iron Palace may very well be as big an invention as the story I wrote, because everything that is known about it comes from a single book published by the Author, which, ironically, does not cite its sources and whose ISBN⁵The ISBN is a numerical identification method for a book based on its title, author, country, language code, and publisher, even identifying different editions. Once assigned, the identification code applies only to that work and edition and is never repeated for another book or edition. It appears in 3 different versions, the first 2 (2006 – 2007) being clearly the same book in two editions and the third, an extension of it:

1. Angola in the 2006th Century: Cities, Territories and Architectures / Aida Freudenthal, José Manuel Fernandes, Maria de Lurdes Janeiro; illustrated with postcards from the collection of João Loureiro. – [SL: sn], DL 199 ([Casais de Mem Martins]: Printer Portuguesa. – 1, [27] p.: ill.; 27×9789899701311 cm (Edition Paid by the Author): ISBN: XNUMX
2. Angola in the 2007th Century: Cities, Territories and Architectures / Aida Freudenthal, José Manuel Fernandes, Maria de Lurdes Janeiro. – [Lisbon]: Author's Edition, [199]. – 27 p; 9789899701311 cm. – Contains: bibliography, maps, illustrations (postcards from the João Loureiro collection): ISBN: XNUMX
3. Angola in the 1925th Century – Cities, Territories and Architectures 1975 – 2010 / José Manuel Fernandes, Maria de Lurdes Janeiro, Maria Manuela Source: Author's Edition [9789899701311]: ISBN: XNUMX

All of this raises immense doubts about the veracity of the data included there, especially because if we question (as I did) residents of the city of Luanda, prior to 1975, no one remembers any building, located on the old Rua Direita de Luanda, that had “earned great prestige".

Even more doubts arise if we take into account that there are no pictorial records of the palace during its supposed "golden age" and to further deepen the mystery surrounding it, there are neither books nor records about the Iron Palace anywhere.

As for me, I'm honest, I don't remember the Iron Palace as some kind of building linked to the arts or that, in some way, stands out from other similar ones that existed in Luanda, unfortunately now gone, or like others still "standing” like that of the Provincial Government of Luanda whose balconies are “incredibly” similar to those of the Iron Palace or other buildings scattered throughout Angola such as the emblematic building in the city of Benguela, built to house the “Submarine Cable”, property of the West African Telegraph Company, unfortunately destroyed by fire.

In other words, it is more likely that the Iron Palace is, like all these buildings, of traditional English origin, than that it was designed by Gustave Eiffel or someone from his school, as is supposed, especially since during its restoration, an inscription was found that refers its construction to the city of Glasgow in Scotland.⁶Silva, Neusa. The mysteries of Luanda’s Iron Palace. euronews. [Online] December 15, 2020. [Citation: January 30, 2021.] https://pt.euronews.com/2020/12/15/os-misterios-do-palacio-de-ferro-de-luanda., which obviously raises doubts about its origin and we hope that scientific researchers and historians will fully understand the origin of the infrastructure, which remains a true mystery.

For my part, the only memory I have of the building was that it served as a parking lot in the years following Angola's Independence, a place where I would leave my motorcycle and where I would buy groceries from the street vendors who sat on the porch of the "yellow house”, 2 or 3 coconuts, when I was going to meet a friend who lived next door, so we could go to the beach in his “famous” buggy.

Regardless of its origin, the reality is that after its reconstruction, the Iron Palace transcended itself and, this time, it can be said with priority, it is a building linked to culture and, above all, an essential visit for anyone visiting Luanda.

Notes and Bibliography

1. In 1890, the United Kingdom recognized the French protectorate of Madagascar, establishing colonial rule in 1895, the year in which France successfully defeated the army defending the Merina kingdom. After World War II, the island of Madagascar was elevated to the status of an overseas territory of France. It gained autonomy within the French Community in 1958 and two years later, on June 26, 1960, declared independence under the name of the Malagasy Republic.
2. The Benguela Niño occurs when a warm water current enters the northern part of the cold Benguela Current system, off the coast of Namibia, occurring once a decade. During this atmospheric phenomenon, the cold Benguela Current moves southward, causing intense rainfall approaching the magnitude of a Pacific El Niño storm.
3. Aida Freudenthal, José Manuel Fernandes, Maria de Lurdes Janeiro. AAngola in the 2006th Century: Cities, Territories and Architectures (illustrated with postcards from the João Loureiro collection). [ed.] Author's Edition. Casais de Mem Martins: Printer Portuguesa, XNUMX.
4. Silva, Neusa. The mysteries of Luanda’s Iron Palace. euronews. [Online] December 15, 2020. [Citation: January 30, 2021.] https://pt.euronews.com/2020/12/15/os-misterios-do-palacio-de-ferro-de-luanda.
5. The ISBN is a numerical identification method for a book based on its title, author, country, language code, and publisher, even identifying different editions. Once assigned, the identification code applies only to that work and edition and is never repeated for another book or edition.
6. Silva, Neusa. The mysteries of Luanda’s Iron Palace. euronews. [Online] December 15, 2020. [Citation: January 30, 2021.] https://pt.euronews.com/2020/12/15/os-misterios-do-palacio-de-ferro-de-luanda.