19th century – 19th century
Eastern Guinea, western Mali, and northern Côte d’Ivoire
The Maninka Empire was a nineteenth-century state established by Samori Touré among the Maninka. It grew from a private army formed to protect trading interests and expanded through the goldfields of Buré and the forests of eastern Guinea. Samori promoted identification with medieval Mali, resisted French conquest for nearly two decades, and surrendered in 1898 before dying in exile in Gabon.
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The Story
The Maninka Empire arose from the military organization created by Samori Touré, a Maninka leader from a family of non-Muslim traders. In the 1860s he organized a private army to defend commercial interests. After converting to Islam sometime in the late 1860s or 1870s, Samori assumed the title almami in 1884, strengthening the religious and political authority of his expanding state.
During the 1870s Samori extended his power into the ancient goldfields of Buré and southward into the forest regions of what is now eastern Guinea. By the mid-1880s, his state encompassed eastern Guinea, western Mali, and northern Côte d’Ivoire. Although most of the conquered populations were non-Muslim, Samori encouraged them to identify the new state with medieval Mali and attempted in 1888 to convert the entire population to Islam.
The empire’s prolonged resistance to France depended on a large army and locally organized arms production. From 1881 to 1898 Samori’s forces fought French troops; thousands of muskets came through agents on the coast of Sierra Leone, while villages of blacksmiths produced firearms, musket balls, and gunpowder. French pressure eventually forced a costly eastward movement of the population. By 1898 Samori’s forces were cornered and starving in the mountains of Liberia, and he surrendered before being exiled to Gabon.
19th century – 19th century
Eastern Guinea, western Mali, and northern Côte d’Ivoire
The Maninka Empire was a nineteenth-century state established by Samori Touré among the Maninka. It grew from a private army formed to protect trading interests and expanded through the goldfields of Buré and the forests of eastern Guinea. Samori promoted identification with medieval Mali, resisted French conquest for nearly two decades, and surrendered in 1898 before dying in exile in Gabon.
Continue exploring
The Story
The Maninka Empire arose from the military organization created by Samori Touré, a Maninka leader from a family of non-Muslim traders. In the 1860s he organized a private army to defend commercial interests. After converting to Islam sometime in the late 1860s or 1870s, Samori assumed the title almami in 1884, strengthening the religious and political authority of his expanding state.
During the 1870s Samori extended his power into the ancient goldfields of Buré and southward into the forest regions of what is now eastern Guinea. By the mid-1880s, his state encompassed eastern Guinea, western Mali, and northern Côte d’Ivoire. Although most of the conquered populations were non-Muslim, Samori encouraged them to identify the new state with medieval Mali and attempted in 1888 to convert the entire population to Islam.
The empire’s prolonged resistance to France depended on a large army and locally organized arms production. From 1881 to 1898 Samori’s forces fought French troops; thousands of muskets came through agents on the coast of Sierra Leone, while villages of blacksmiths produced firearms, musket balls, and gunpowder. French pressure eventually forced a costly eastward movement of the population. By 1898 Samori’s forces were cornered and starving in the mountains of Liberia, and he surrendered before being exiled to Gabon.