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150 Years Ago in West Africa

1787, the slave-free state of Sierra Leone is established on the West African coast. The city of Freetown is founded in 1791 as the capital of the new territory. Several thousand former slaves who left the United States after the American Revolution, and had been living in Nova Scotia, move to Sierra Leone. The territory remains under British control. In 1822, a second slave-free state, called Liberia, is created. Its capital is Monrovia, named after the American president at the time, James Monroe. This was a result of a movement in the United States, called "colonization", which sought to have all people of African descent living in America deported back to Africa, but the movement lost support after a few years. Liberia becomes a fully independent republic in 1847.

After the territorial expansion of the Asante state under kings Opuku Ware (1720-50), Kwasi Obodun (1750-64) and Osei Kwadwo (1764-77), the next two kings strengthened the internal structure of the empire. The first was Osea Kwame (1777-1801). King Osei Bonsu (1801-1824), however, is seen as specially important in consolidating the royal dynasty, that is, making sure Asante's government and home situation was stable.

Senegambia (the region of the Senegal and Gambia) and the Niger river valley are shaken by an upsurge in militant Islamic movements. The Muslim reformer Uthman dan Fodiye, leads a jihad, an Islamic holy war, between 1804 and 1811. A member for the Fulbe people, his campaigns overthrow the old Hausa kingdoms and leads to the dominance of the Fulbe over most of northern Nigeria. He is followed by his son in 1817, Muhammad Bello who makes Uthman's conquests more permanent by establishing a new Islamic state, what is called the Sokoto Caliphate, named after the main city and capital, Sokoto. It was a loosely united state made up out of semi-independent emirates. This became the largest empire in west Africa since the fall of Songhai in the 16th century. It stretched 1500 km from what is now the modern country of Burkina Faso, through Nigeria to Cameroon.

Sekou Ahmadou, a shepherd of the upper Niger River in Mali, leads an Islamic movement and creates the new Fulbe empire of Macina. Ahamdou founds a new capital called Hamdallahi. But it only lasts from 1820 to 1864. In 1852, al-hajj Omar begins a jihad from Upper Guinea. He founds the Tuculor state on the middle Niger River, coming into conflict with the French expanding along this river. The state of Bondu between the Senegal and Gambia rivers, with its tolerant form of Islam, manages to survive the threats of both the French and Omar--at least for now.

By this time, France and Britain began their rapid expansion into the interior of Africa, followed by Italy and Germany. Previously content to control only coastal trading ports, the usefulness of these ports had declined with the end of the slave trade. This new round of colonial expansion concentrated on capturing territory, both for economic gain, to control sources of gold and other raw materials, but most importantly, for political prestige. From 1854, the French advanced along the Senegal River.

In 1857, they had occupied Dakar. In 1851, the British attack and occupied Lagos in Nigeria. In 1863, they attacked the Asante kingdom. The Asante are defeated and Britain annexes southern Ghana in 1864.

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