- Samori Ture
Samori Ture (also Samory Touré or Samori ibn Lafiya Ture, c. 1830 - 1900) was the founder of the
Wassoulou Empire , anIslamic state that resisted French rule inWest Africa from 1882 to his capture in 1898.Early life and career
Born c. 1830 in Manyambaladugu (in what is now southeastern
Guinea ), the son ofDyula traders, Samori grew up in a West Africa being transformed by growing contacts with the Europeans. European trade made some African trading states rich, while growing access tofirearms changed traditional West African patterns of warfare. Early in his life, Ture, converted to Islam. [Learning to Love Africa By Monique Maddy, pg. 156] [Wars of imperial conquest in Africa, 1830-1914 By Bruce Vandervort, pg. 128]In 1848, Samori's mother was captured in the course of war by Séré-Burlay, of the Cissé clan. After arranging his mother's freedom, Samori engaged himself to the service of the Cissés where he learned the handling of arms. According to tradition, he remained "seven years, seven months, seven days" before fleeing with his mother.
He then joined the Bérété army, the enemies of the Cissé, for two years before rejoining his people, the Kamara. Named Kélétigui ("war chief") at Dyala in 1861, Samori took an oath to protect his people against both the Bérété and the Cissé. He created a professional army and placed close relations, notably his brothers and his childhood friends, in positions of command.
Expansion through the Sudan
In 1864, El Hadj Umar Tall, the founder of the aggressive
Toucouleur Empire that dominated the UpperNiger River , died. As the Toucouleur state lost its grip on power, generals and local rulers vied to create states of their own.By 1867, Samori was a full-fledged war chief, with an army of his own centered on Sanankoro in the
Guinea Highlands , on the Upper Milo, a Niger tributary. Samori understood that he needed to accomplish two things: to create an efficient, loyal fighting force equipped with modern firearms, and to build a stable state of his own.By 1876 Samori was able to import breech-loading
rifle s through the British colony ofSierra Leone . He conquered the Buré gold mining district (now on the border betweenMali andGuinea ) to bolster his financial situation. By 1878 he was strong enough to proclaim himself "faama" (military leader) of his ownWassoulou Empire . He madeBissandugu his capital and began political and commercial exchanges with the neighboring Toucouleur.In 1879, after numerous struggles, Samori was able to secure control of the key Dyula trading center of
Kankan , on the upperMilo River . Kankan was a center for the trade in kola nuts, and was well sited to dominate the trade routes in all directions. By 1881, Wassoulou extended through Guinea andMali , from what is nowSierra Leone to northernCôte d'Ivoire .Samori conserved most organizations and traditions of conquered peoples, though he forced local
animist populations to convert toIslam and in 1884 took the title of "Almany", commander of believers. This same year, he also besieged and took the city ofFalaba , then capital ofSolimana .While Samori conquered the numerous small tribal states around him, he also moved to secure his diplomatic position. He opened regular contacts with the British in Sierra Leone, and built a working relationship with the Fulbe (Fula) jihad state of
Fouta Djallon .Samori sold slaves to Futa Jallon in exchange for cattle, horses, and, most importantly, French rifles.
First battles with the French
The French began to expand aggressively in West Africa in the late 1870s, pushing eastward from Senegal in an attempt to reach the upper reaches of the
Nile in what is nowSudan . They also sought to drive southeast to link up with their bases inCôte d'Ivoire . These moves put them directly into conflict with Samori.In February 1882, a French expedition attacked one of Samori’s armies besieging
Keniera . Samori was able to drive the French off, but he was alarmed at the discipline and firepower of the European military.Samori tried to deal with the French in several ways. First, he expanded southwestward to secure a line of communication with Liberia. In January 1885 he sent an embassy to
Freetown , the capital of Sierra Leone, offering to put his kingdom under British protection. The British were not interested in confronting the French at this time, but they did allow Samori to buy large numbers of modernrepeating rifle s.When an 1885 French expedition under Col. A. V. A. Combes attempted to seize the Buré gold fields, Samori counterattacked. Dividing his army into three mobile columns he worked his way around the French lines of communication and forced them to withdraw in haste.
War and defeat
By 1887, Samori had a disciplined army of 30,000 - 35,000
infantry , organized into platoons and companies on the European model, and 3,000cavalry , in regular squadrons of 50 each. However, the French were determined not to give Samori time to consolidate his position. Exploiting the rebellions of several of Samori's animist subject tribes, the French continued to expand into his westernmost holdings, forcing Samori to sign several treaties ceding territory to them between 1886 and 1889.In March 1891, a French force under Col. Archinard launched a direct attack on Kankan. Knowing his fortifications could not stop French
artillery , Samori began a war of maneuver. Despite victories against isolated French columns (for example at Dabadugu in September 1891), Samori failed to push the French from the core of his kingdom. In June 1892, Col. Archinard’s replacement, Humbert, leading a small, well-supplied force of picked men, captured Samori’s capital ofBissandugu . In another blow, the British stopped selling breech loaders to Samori in accordance with theBrussels convention of 1890.Samori moved his entire base of operations eastward, toward the Bandama and Comoe. He instituted a
scorched earth policy, devastating each area before he evacuated it. Though this maneuver cut Samori off from his last source of modern weapons,Liberia , it also delayed French pursuit.Nonetheless, the fall of other resistance armies, particularly
Babemba Traoré atSikasso , permitted the colonial army to launch a concentrated assault against Touré. He was captured29 September , 1898 by French Commandant Gouraud and exiled toGabon .Samori died in captivity on
June 2 ,1900 , following a bout ofpneumonia .amori in fiction
Massa Makan Diabaté 's play "Une hyène à jeun" (A Hyena with an Empty Stomach, 1988) dramatizes Samori Ture's signing of the 1886 Treaty of Kéniéba-Koura, which granted the left bank of the Niger to France.References
*Ajayi, J.F. Ade, Editor: "UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. VI: Africa in the Nineteenth Century until the 1880s". (1989) University of California Press, Berkeley.
*Boahen, A. Adu, Editor: "UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. VII: Africa Under Colonial Domination, 1880-1935". (1985) University of California Press, Berkeley.
*Gann, L.H. and Duigan, Peter, Editors: "Colonialism in Africa, 1870-1960, Vol. 1: The History and Politics of Colonialism 1870-1914". (1969) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
*Oliver, Roland and Sanderson, G.N., Editors, "The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 6: from 1870-1905". (1985) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.ources
*cite book |author=Boahen, A. Adu |title=African Perspective on Colonialism |publisher=John Hopkins University Press |location=Baltimore |year=1989 |pages=144 pages |isbn=0-80183-931-9
*cite book |author=Boahen, A. Adu |title=Africa Under Colonial Domination, 1880-1935 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |year=1990 |pages=357 pages |isbn=0-52006-702-9
*cite book |author=Ogot, Bethwell A. |title=Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century |publisher=University of California Press|location=California|year=1992 |pages= 1076 pages |isbn=0-520-03916-5Footnotes
External links
* [http://www.purpleplanetmedia.com/bhp/pages/samoriture.shtml Samori biography]
* [http://calbears.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1984_May/ai_3247486/pg_2 West Africa; the fight for survival]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9A02E5D7143CE433A25750C1A9669D94699ED7CF New York Times article about his capture]
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