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Where did Arthur Rimbaud travel after leaving literary life?
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Arthur Rimbaud
Rimbaud, detail from āUn Coin de table,ā oil painting by Henri Fantin-Latour, 1872; in the Louvre, Paris
After abandoning his literary career, Arthur Rimbaud embarked on an extensive period of travel and work abroad. Beginning in 1875, he crossed the Alps on foot, joined and deserted the Dutch colonial army in the East Indies, visited Egypt, and labored in Cyprus.1
In 1880, he settled in Aden (modern-day Yemen) to work for a coffee trader, who subsequently sent him to HÄrer in Ethiopia. During his time in Africa, he became the first European to journey into the Ogaden region and established himself as an explorer and trader, even selling arms to Menilek II of Shewa.12
Rimbaud remained in Ethiopia until 1891, when a tumor on his knee forced him to return to France for medical treatment in Marseille.1