20th century – 20th century
Sudan region, French West Africa
A devastating food crisis in the Sudan region of French West Africa followed drought and colonial requisitions during the First World War. Reserve granaries had already been weakened by semi-drought in 1911–12 and total aridity in 1913, while staple crops were exported for imperial needs. The famine probably caused between 250,000 and 300,000 deaths, although the passage presents this figure as an estimate. The crisis extended across the region from Senegal toward Wadai and Chad.
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The Story
The famine emerged from the convergence of environmental stress and colonial extraction. Two years of semi-drought in 1911–12 were followed by a year of total aridity in 1913, affecting the Sudan area from Senegal to Wadai and Chad. The region entered the First World War with reserve granaries already depleted, leaving communities vulnerable when the colonial administration intensified its demands for food.
In AOF, authorities exported local staple crops to provision the imperial war economy. This policy emptied reserve granaries at the moment when drought had reduced the ability of households to replenish them. The resulting transition from periodic shortages to devastating famine illustrates how requisitioning converted climatic stress into a broader subsistence catastrophe.
The estimated death toll was probably between 250,000 and 300,000 people. Relief was limited: 4,000 tonnes of cereals from French Sudan, now Mali, were available but could not be shipped to France because there was neither sufficient means nor enough time. The passage therefore presents the famine as both a regional food crisis and a consequence of wartime colonial priorities.
20th century – 20th century
Sudan region, French West Africa
A devastating food crisis in the Sudan region of French West Africa followed drought and colonial requisitions during the First World War. Reserve granaries had already been weakened by semi-drought in 1911–12 and total aridity in 1913, while staple crops were exported for imperial needs. The famine probably caused between 250,000 and 300,000 deaths, although the passage presents this figure as an estimate. The crisis extended across the region from Senegal toward Wadai and Chad.
Continue exploring
The Story
The famine emerged from the convergence of environmental stress and colonial extraction. Two years of semi-drought in 1911–12 were followed by a year of total aridity in 1913, affecting the Sudan area from Senegal to Wadai and Chad. The region entered the First World War with reserve granaries already depleted, leaving communities vulnerable when the colonial administration intensified its demands for food.
In AOF, authorities exported local staple crops to provision the imperial war economy. This policy emptied reserve granaries at the moment when drought had reduced the ability of households to replenish them. The resulting transition from periodic shortages to devastating famine illustrates how requisitioning converted climatic stress into a broader subsistence catastrophe.
The estimated death toll was probably between 250,000 and 300,000 people. Relief was limited: 4,000 tonnes of cereals from French Sudan, now Mali, were available but could not be shipped to France because there was neither sufficient means nor enough time. The passage therefore presents the famine as both a regional food crisis and a consequence of wartime colonial priorities.
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