Background

• The Mandinka Empire (currently known as Mali) is

one of the Jihadist states in West Africa which was
composed of a number of independent states which
included Sikasso, Kankan, Odienhe and others.
• These states were ruled by traditionalists.
• During the 18th century a class of Muslims known as
Dyula Mandinka had established themselves within
the empire.
• However, the class was noted for its historical
confrontations with the traditionalists rulers.
• They therefore decided to revolt against these
traditional rulers but the revolts were always
unsuccessful.
• Common people within the Mandinka Empire had a
number of grievances against the ruling class.
• It is not surprising therefore that Mandinka society
became a fertile ground for the new reforming
Islam.
• One of the great leaders of the Mandinka empire is
Samori Toure.
• Samori Touré created the Mandinka empire
(theWassoulou empire) between 1852 and 1882.
• His empire extended to the east as far as Sikasso
(present-day Mali), to the west up to the Fouta
Djallon empire (middle of modern day Guinea), to
the north from Kankan to Bamako (in Mali); to the
south, down to the borders of present-day Sierra
Leone, Liberia, and Cote d’Ivoire . His capital was
Bisandugu, in present day Gambia.
 SAMORI TOURE
• Samori Touré is one of the great kings, warriors, empire
builders, greatest military leaders and fighters of African
freedom. Over 100 years ago, Samori Touré was captured by
the French and deported to Gabon where he died of
pneumonia.
• He is known in historical circles for staging stiff resistance to
French imperialism and he was nicknamed the Napoleon of
Africa.
• He refused to submit to French colonization and thus chose
the path of confrontation using warfare and diplomacy.
• Well, Samori Touré was born in 1830 in Manyambaladugu
Sanankoro, a village southeast of Kankan in present-day
Guinea. He was son of a Dyula trader.
• Until the age of 20, Samori was a trader. After his mother was
captured in a slave raid by the king Sori Birama, he offered to
serve in his army and excelled by his military prowess and
skills.
• Samori Touré had a vision of unity for the Mandinka people, and thus
started organizing his empire using traditional and innovative methods.
• From his early adulthood, he was converted to the Tijanniya
brotherhood. He joined a small Jihadist army and had gone off fighting
in Jihad-holy war. However he broke away from this army and formed
his own army.
• Samori ensured unity in his state by allowing Islam to co-exist with
traditionalism peacefully. He also assumed the title of ‘Al mamy’ which
means ‘Commander of the faith.’ This fostered a great sense of unity
and patriotism in the Mandinka people as they had a worthy cause to
fight for whenever faced with fiery adversaries.
• He effectively organized Mandinka chiefdoms into a single state under
his authority, at the core of which was the army.
• He managed to increase loyalty to the state in the Mandinka people
who now thought as one united people… this intensified their
allegiance to him.
• His state was well-organized and efficient.
• Samori’s army was powerful, disciplined, professional, and trained in
modern day warfare.
• They were equipped with European guns.
 Main features of Mandinka Empire
• Efficient government and administration – 162 cantons, 20 villages in each.
• Samori’s military and religious qualities were clearly reflected in the political
and administrative system.
• Military and religious personnel – Qadis, were prominent figures in the
administration of the empire.
• Samori, though head of state was not a despot.
• He was helped by a Council of Advisers, each member of which was
responsible for a particular sector (justice, finance, foreign relations, and an
efficient Civil Service).
• Samori, the Almami, ruled the three central provinces.
• The outlying areas were divided into five provinces.
• The army played a key role and each province had a military commander at it’s
head.
• Former traditional rulers were also given a role.
• The army, with highly trained cavalry and infantry units, was recruited from all
parts of the empire as a means of unifying the state.
• It was well armed, well paid and well fed.
• Promotion was based on merit.
• Blacksmiths were trained to repair and manufacture weapons.
 Economic Organisation
• Samori never forgot his origins as a trader and he
was indebted to his close links with the Dyula
traders in many ways.
• In return, the traders were guaranteed free trade,
throughout the empire, in secure conditions.
• Gold, horses and firearms were amongst the
main items of trade.
• Agriculture was highly organized.
• The Almami’s fields were a feature on every
village and provided the basis for the supply of
food to the army.
• He was able to collect taxes which gave him the
resources to provide his army – thus trade began to
play an important role to the political and
economic stability of the state.
• He expanded trade by eliminating small national
boundaries.
• Samori Toure exercised an element of mercantilism
(free enterprise).
• He also initiated the new system of law.
• Taxes were imposed on gold trade and villages were
supposed to pay tribute in gold and agricultural
products.
• Moreover, control of the slave trade also largely
contributed to the empire.
 Social Organisation
• Socially – Islam was a unifying factor.
• Qadis were involved in administration, alongside military
personnel.
• The principle of promotion on merit made it possible for
people of humble origins to hold important posts.
• The Tijanniya Brotherhood, to which Samori belonged,
emphasized equality and education.
• Birth and ethnicity counted for little.
• Great emphasis was placed on education and Kornic
schools were widespread in the empire.
• In spite of its importance, however, Islam was not the only
religion tolerated. Only once, in the late 1880s, did Samori
attempt forced conversions, a decision which led to the
“Great Revolt” of 1888 – 89.
 Political Administration
• Unlike his predecessors he organized a highly
centralized state divided into various provinces
under the jurisdiction of district chiefs.
• However it must be noted that district chiefs were
responsible to Samori Toure.
• Unlike the provincial level traditional authority at
village level was intact but they were subjected to a
system of officials which were also directly
responsible to the Almaami.
• Functions of Samoni were purely religious and he
held all religious authority.
• The empire was divided into 162 districts of twenty
or more villages each.
• The districts were grouped together to form ten
large provinces.
 Quid
• His main function was to work as a judge and law
enforcer. All forms of justice were controlled through
him.
Sofa
• This official was responsible for military recruitment.
Furthermore, he ensured each region was in a
position to supply the forces.
• The Sofa was appointed by Samori himself.
• The official raised supplies for the army and
harvested and sold the produce from Almami‟s field
which was farmed communally in each village.
District Chiefs
• Samori's district chiefs were assisted by a war chief
who had 200 to 300 sofas under his command .
 The Almami
• The Almami was the supreme political, judicial and
religious head of the empire as well as its military
commander.
• He was assisted by a special state council which meant his
powers were always curtailed. (They were checks and
balances).
• The Almami (Samori’s) state council was composed of
provincial heads of three lines of authority: political,
religious and military.
• Functions of the state council were to assist the supreme
leader in state affairs administration and to further ensure
he did not to rule arbitrarily.
• There was a deliberate policy which was to discourage
enthusiasm within the state.
• The basic aim of Samori was to encourage integration of
all defeated people.
 The Army
• Samori maintained a standing army of about 2 000 to 3 000 men.
• Due to that, the state was always at war in most of its existence.
Soldiers were always well armed.
• The state also relied on both Cavalry and infantry.
Functions of the Army
• At times it was used for slave capturing and booting / looting
which helped to provide the money for maintaining it such as to
buy modern weaponry.
• The army had also an education function, thus soldiers were
trained not just to fight but equally to spread Islam.
• There was an effective centrally controlled system of
recruitments.
• The army provided opportunities for social mobility.
• Soldiers were given education centered on the basis of
allegiance and marriage.
• However senior officers in the army have often been not derived
from the ruling class.
 A military state
• Samori's empire has been called a military state
because the sofas were so important.
• The empire was at war for most of its existence so
the army had to be strong.
• Samori was able to appoint the best men,
regardless of their origins to high positions in the
army.
• Since education, discipline and national rather than
local loyalty were taught in the army, it was a good
training ground for political officers.
• The Mandinka Empire was probably the most
efficiently run African State nineteenth century.
 Promotion of National Identity and
Loyalty
• Samori aimed at destroying ethnicism.
• In its place, he put national loyalty among the
Mandinka.
• At each level of government he saw to it that men
of different families and ethnic groups worked
together.
• Less emphasis was placed on village groups and
more emphasis on larger political units like the
canton which united villages.
• He also tried to abolish distinctions between groups
which worked together. He also tried to abolish
distinctions between privileged and non-privileged
classes by giving every chance to rise through the
army to highest places in the state.
• Mandinka unity was based on law, way of life
and thinking of Islam.
• Religious leaders were as important as the
political and military.
• Images of ancestor’s houses and sacred graves
were replaced with mosques and schools.
• Taxation and law were reformed according to
Islamic practice.
• Judiciary matters were usually settled in the
alkali’s courts at the village, district and
provincial levels but very serious matters could
be brought before Samori and his state council.
 NB:: Samori introduced great changes and did
NB
that to just preserve old customs and
institutions. He created a complex
administration with political officers appointed
by the central government and an efficient and
loyal army to carry out the government’s will –
both essential for a modern state.
• He also aroused a feeling of national pride,
without which a state is not likely to last long.
• Samori was a diplomatic and military genius
who was helped by the Mandinka’s pride in
their history (i.e. is the Mali empire).
• With the conquest of Kankan in 1880, he became the most
important force in the region.
• By the early eighties, his control stretched from the forest
edge northward to include the Bure goldfields and the
upper Niger as far as downstream as Bamako.
• But Samori's empire was clearly less Islamic than those
created by the early Jihads.
• He was Muslim, but he had joined some of the earlier
fighting in the non-Muslim side of things.
• For a time he adopted a strongly pro-Islamic policy, taking
the title of Almam (Almaami) in 1886 and using state
power to force conversion.
• However, he later dropped the religious emphasis and it
appears in retrospect that Samori was moved in the first
place by hope that Islam could help to unify the diverse
people he happened to control.
• The army was divided into two flanks, the infantry
or sofa, with 30,000 to 35,000 men, and the
cavalry or sere of 3,000 men.
• Each wing was further subdivided into permanent
units, fostering camaraderie among members and
loyalty to both the local leaders and Samori
himself.
• Talk about African organization and discipline… this
was really a strong army! His empire reached its
apogee between 1883 and 1887, and he took the
title of Almami or religious leader of a Muslim
empire.
 FOREIGN POLICY
• In the 1850s, slavery being abolished, European powers
decided to establish colonies in Africa, and could not
tolerate strong states like the Mandinka empire, and strong
leaders like Samori Touré.
• These African leaders had to be crushed!
• By 1867, Samori was now a full-fledged army commander
in his own right. He wanted to build an efficient and
transparent state that was founded on the ideals of trade
and Islam. For him this would ensure a stable state in the
Western Sudan (Ancient West Africa). Being born into a
family of Dyula traders, Samori had a flair for trade and by
1876 had already engaged in trade with Freetown for
firearms and ammunition, in exchange with slaves.
Bolstering his sound financial situation were the Boure
gold fields that he had conquered.
• By 1878 his empire was now very big and formidable, with
admirable transparency.
• In 1882, at the height of the Mandinka empire, the
French accused Samori Touré of refusing to comply
to their order to withdraw from an important
market center, Kenyeran (his army had blockaded
the market).
• They thus started war on him. This was an excuse to
start war! From 1882 to 1885, Samori fought the
French and had to sign infamous treaties in 1886
and then 1887.
• In 1888, he took up arms again when the French
reneged on the treaty by attempting to foster
rebellion within his empire.
• He defeated the French several time between 1885
and 1889.
• After several confrontations, he concluded several
treaties with the French in 1889.
• In 1890, he reorganized his army, and signed a
treaty with the British in Sierra Leone, where he
obtained modern weapons.
• He re-organized his army so as to stress defense,
and employed guerilla tactics.
• In December 1891, French forces overran the major
cities of the Mandinka empire, leaving death and
desolation in their wake.
• These incursions into Touré’s empire led to exodus
of the entire nation eastward. In 1893, Samori
moved his capital east from Bisandugu to Dabakala.
• In 1894, the French assembled all their troops in
western sudan (Senegal, Mali, Niger, etc…) to fight
Samori.
• Between 1893 and 1898, Samori’s army retreated eastward,
toward the Bandama and Como (in modern day Cote d’Ivoire),
conquering huge territories in the northern part of modern-day
Cote d’ivoire.
• He led the scorched earth tactic, destroying every piece of land
he evacuated.
• Although that tactic cut him from his new source of weapons in
Liberia, he still managed to delay the French.
• He formed a second empire, and moved his capital to Kong , in
upper Cote d’Ivoire.
• On May 1, 1898, the French seized the town of Sikasso and his
army took up positions in the Liberian forests to resist a second
invasion.
• This time Samori’s army fought valiantly but was no match to the
power of the French arsenal.
• Samori forced to fight a total war against a foreign invader, and
fighting against all odds, was captured on September 29, 1898
• He was exiled to Gabon where he died two years later on June 2,
1900.
• Samori was a victim of African disunity at a time when
European encroachment was rife and colonisation was
taking place.
• However it is important to note his legacy in launching a
spirited campaign against the French.
• Although his diplomatic efforts were futile he must be
credited for such efforts.
• Some historians have said that Samori is the Napoleon of
Africa but that is not an apt description of him.
• It shows that we are bowing down to European
supremacy, when Samori was the model for much of the
resistance to colonial rule that was to follow.
• His empire reached his apogee between 1883 and 1887,
and he took the title of Almami or religious leader of a
Muslim empire.
• Sekou Toure, the first president of Guinea, is the great-
grandson of Samori Toure, leader of the Mandinka Empire.
 WHY WAS SAMORI TOURE ABLE TO RESIST THE FRENCH
INVASION FOR SO LONG AND WHY WAS HE EVENTUALLY
DEFEATED?

• The key issue is an assessment of the reasons for Samori’s

prolonged resistance of the French and his final defeat. This is
a two part question and candidates have to address both parts
adequately. The long – resistance by Samori’s against the
French can be explained, first and foremost in military terms.
Samori fought his first war against France from 1882 to 1886.
The result was an indecisive four – year war. The second and
final war was fought between 1891 and 1898, and resulted in
the defeat of the Mandinka Empire. Although Samori was
finally defeated, he had held out for a considerable length of
time. This was because this army was unusually strong for one
in a pre – industrial society. The army was advanced in
organization, weapons and in tactics. Wooden weapons were
bought from European traders, especially rifles. He employed
highly skilled Mandinka smiths in government workshops to
make ammunition and replacement ports for rifles.
• In military organization, he reorganized his sofa or
infantry along European lines in small units of
riflemen trained to shoot accurately. Samori, a
successful trader, used this experience and reasons
to build an excellent supply organization of the
army. He established state control of agriculture
and markets to ensure a regular food supply for
the army. He also employed effective fighting
methods. He used an effective espionage system,
where he sent some of his soldiers as spies to
enlist in the French army, to learn French drill and
tactics. He used horses as transport to move
soldiers quickly. He employed with devastating
effect the guerrilla or commando tactics of
ambushes and night raids by small and highly
mobile forces.
• Samori also had the support of many elements of
the Mandinka People. He was able to mobilize the
masses against the invaders in supplying food to
the army in manufacturing ammunition and mass
evacuations. Samori was finally defeated because
of superior French weaponry and artillery tactics.
The collapse of Tokolor resistance against the
French enabled them to focus and concentrate on
the Mandinka, leading to the latter’s defeat. The
French support of the Great Revolt of 1888 – 1890
finally weakened him. The failure to secure British
help against the French also contributed to defeat.
Famine led to starvation, and consequently to troop
defections to the French for food.