Martial Henri Merlin (20 January 1860 â 8 May 1935; also Martial Merlin) was a French colonial administrator of the 19th and 20th centuries. He served as the governor-general of Guadeloupe (1901âÂÂ1903), French West Africa (1907âÂÂ1908 and 1919âÂÂ1923), French Equatorial Africa (1908âÂÂ1917), French Madagascar (1917âÂÂ1918), and French Indochina (1923âÂÂ1925).