West Africa

West Africa is the region of western Africa that is generally considered to include the countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. In addition, the region is sometimes considered to include Cape Verde, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Mauritania, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Western Sahara.

History

The history of West Africa can be divided into five major periods: first, its prehistory, in which the first human settlers arrived, agriculture developed, and contact made with the Mediterranean civilizations to the north; the second, the Iron Age empires that consolidated trade and developed centralized states; third, the slave-trading kingdoms, jihads, and colonial invaders of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; fourth, the colonial period, in which France and Great Britain controlled nearly the whole of the region; fifth, the post-independence era, in which the current nations were formed.

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Prehistory

Early human settlers, probably related to the Pygmies, arrived in West Africa around 12,000 BCE. Sedentary farming began around the fifth millennium, as well as the domestication of cattle. By 400 BCE, ironworking technology allowed an expansion of agricultural productivity, and the first city-states formed. The domestication of the camel allowed the development of a cross-Saharan trade with Mediterranean cultures, including Carthage and the Berbers; major exports included gold, cotton cloth, metal ornaments and leather goods, which were then exchanged for salt, horses, and textiles.

Related Topics:
Camel - Mediterranean - Carthage - Berber - Gold - Salt - Horse

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Empires

The development of the region's economy allowed more centralized states to form, beginning with the Soninke Ghana Empire in the eighth century. Based around the city of Kumbi Saleh in modern-day Mauritania, the empire came to dominate much the region until its defeat by Almoravid invaders in 1052. The Sosso Empire sought to fill the void, but was defeated (c. 1240) by the Mandinka forces of Sundiata Keita, founder of the new Mali Empire. The Mali Empire continued to flourish for several centuries (most particularly under Sundiata's grandnephew, Kankan Musa I before a succession of weak rulers led to its collapse under Mossi, Tuareg and Songhai invaders. In the fifteenth century, the Songhai would form a new dominant state based around Gao, the Songhai Empire, under the leadership of Sonni Ali and Askia Mohammed. Meanwhile, south of the Sudan, strong city states arose in Ife, Bono, and Benin around the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Further east, Oyo arose as the dominant Yoruba state in modern-day Nigeria.

Related Topics:
Soninke - Ghana Empire - Eighth century - Kumbi Saleh - Almoravid - 1052 - Sosso Empire - 1240 - Mandinka - Sundiata Keita - Mali Empire - Kankan Musa I - Mossi - Tuareg - Songhai - Fifteenth century - Gao - Songhai Empire - Sonni Ali - Askia Mohammed - Ife - Bono - Benin - Oyo - Yoruba

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Slavery and colonialism

Following the 1591 destruction of the Songhai capital by Moroccan invaders, a number of smaller states arose across West Africa, including the Bambara Empire of Ségou, the Bambara kingdom of Kaarta, the Peul/Malinke kingdom of Khasso, and the Kénédougou Empire of Sikasso. Portuguese traders began establishing settlements along the coast in 1445, followed by the French and English; the African slave trade began not long after, which over the following centuries would debilitate the region's economy and population. The slave trade also encouraged the formation of states such as the Bambara Empire and Dahomey, whose economies largely depended on exchanging slaves for European firearms, which were then used to capture more slaves.

Related Topics:
Moroccan - Bambara Empire - Ségou - Bambara - Kaarta - Peul - Malinke - Khasso - Kénédougou Empire - Sikasso - African slave trade - Dahomey - Europe - Firearm

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In the early nineteenth century, a series of Fulani reformist jihads swept across the Western Sudan. The most notable include Usman dan Fodio's Fulani Empire, which replaced the Hausa city-states, Seku Amadu's Massina Empire, which defeated the Bambara, and El Hadj Umar Tall's Toucouleur Empire, which briefly conquered much of modern-day Mali. However, the French and British continued to advance in the Scramble for Africa, subjugating kingdom after kingdom. With the fall of Samory Ture's new-founded Wassoulou Empire in 1898 and the Ashanti queen Yaa Asantewaa in 1902, West African military resistance to colonial rule came to an effective end.

Related Topics:
Jihad - Usman dan Fodio - Fulani Empire - Hausa - Seku Amadu - Massina Empire - Umar Tall - Toucouleur Empire - French - British - Scramble for Africa - Samory Ture - Wassoulou Empire - 1898 - Ashanti - Yaa Asantewaa - 1902

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Britain controlled the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Nigeria throughout the colonial era, while France unified Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire and Niger into French West Africa. Portugal founded the colony of Guinea-Bissau, while Germany claimed Togoland, but was forced to divide it between France and Britain following World War I. Only Liberia retained its independence, at the price of major territorial concessions.

Related Topics:
French West Africa - Portugal - Guinea-Bissau - Germany - Togoland - World War I - Liberia

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Postcolonial era

Following World War II, nationalist movements arose across West Africa, most notably in Ghana under Kwame Nkrumah. In 1957, Ghana became the first sub-Saharan colony to achieve its independence, followed the next year by France's colonies; by 1974, West Africa's nations were entirely autonomous. Since independence, many West African nations have been plagued by corruption and instability, with notable civil wars in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire, and a succession of military coups in Ghana and Burkina Faso. Many states have failed to develop their economies despite enviable natural resources, and political instability is often accompanied by undemocratic government. AIDS is also a growing problem for the region, particularly in Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, and Nigeria. Famine has been a problem in parts of northern Mali and Niger, the latter of which is currently undergoing a food crisis.

Related Topics:
World War II - Kwame Nkrumah - 1957 - Corruption - AIDS - Famine - A food crisis

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