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400 Years Ago in West Africa

Mai Idris Alooma, Sultan of Bornu 1580 to 1617

The Songhai Empire reaches its peak under the successors of Muhammad Toureacute, what is called the Askia dynasty. Leo Africanus, a writer and traveller, reported that Timbuktu in 1513 was a sophisticated and prosperous city. King Askia Daud ruled from 1549 to 1582 from his capital city Gao. During the reign of his successor, Askia Ishak, the Moroccans under Sultan Ahmad El Mansur invade Songhai in 1591. A huge battle is fought at Tondibi northwest of Lake Chad. The Moroccans, well equipped with muskets, defeated the Songhai forces who had only a few firearms and still relied on the charge of lance-armed horsemen. The Moroccans did not permanently occupy the Songhai lands, and soon withdrew back north, but the power of the empire was fatally weakened. The increasing demands of the trans-Atlantic slave trade further destabilized Songhai.

Oba Esigie rules in Benin. The capital, Benin city, is large and wealthy. Benin successfully withstood encroachments from the Portuguese and others but suffered a mysterious decline in the 18th and 19th centuries.

As a result of increasing trade with North Africa, the city-state of Kano rises among the Hausa people. The Hausa were agricultural people who mostly lived in small villages. Kano and Katsina became Muslim intellectual centres.

The Kanem-Bornu Empire, in the Lake Chad area, reaches its peak between 1570 and 1617 under Mai Idris Alooma. A strong military-feudal state was established, and Islam promoted. Agriculture and trade with North Africa was maintained. Ibn Fahtua wrote about Idris Alooma's feats in The Kanem Wars.

The Portuguese, followed by the Dutch, French and English, set up trading stations on the West African coast. The increasing demands of the slave trade further weakened the already collapsing Songhai Empire, and there was little organized resistance.

Songhai Empire

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