Until 18th century
Western Sudan and Northern Nigeria
The Muslim emirates that expanded across Western Sudan and Northern Nigeria during the eighteenth century introduced political and socio-economic institutions grounded in Muslim law. They displaced or overlaid earlier authorities, replaced jonya with slave-owning systems, and institutionalized taxation, land dues, rent, tenant farming, and share-cropping. The emirates were connected to jihads, the spread of Islam, and adaptations of Ottoman land-tenure and taxation models. Their emergence created hybrid political orders in which emirate institutions coexisted with older African structures.
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The Story
During the eighteenth century, Muslim states and emirates progressively extended their authority across Western Sudan. Their expansion brought Muslim law and tradition into regions where earlier political institutions had structured social relations. In Western Sudan and Northern Nigeria, the emirate became a new framework of authority, replacing the mansaya in some places or being superimposed upon it in others.
The emirates altered the organization of land and dependent labour. Payments associated with land, fishing grounds, hunting grounds, grazing land, and mines became annual dues payable to those in power and were collected under state supervision. Share-cropping, tenant farming, and land rental became established practices, while landless peasants dispossessed by conquest or legal change could become serfs or vassals.
The political order was connected to the spread of Islam, the expansion of the Islamized mai of Borno, the activity of the askiyas, and the jihads. The almamia of Futa Toro and Futa Jallon, together with the Sokoto caliphate, are described as adopting Ottoman models of land tenure and taxation. These institutions did not erase every earlier structure: in Songhay, the askiyas retained part of the traditional socio-economic order.
Until 18th century
Western Sudan and Northern Nigeria
The Muslim emirates that expanded across Western Sudan and Northern Nigeria during the eighteenth century introduced political and socio-economic institutions grounded in Muslim law. They displaced or overlaid earlier authorities, replaced jonya with slave-owning systems, and institutionalized taxation, land dues, rent, tenant farming, and share-cropping. The emirates were connected to jihads, the spread of Islam, and adaptations of Ottoman land-tenure and taxation models. Their emergence created hybrid political orders in which emirate institutions coexisted with older African structures.
Continue exploring
The Story
During the eighteenth century, Muslim states and emirates progressively extended their authority across Western Sudan. Their expansion brought Muslim law and tradition into regions where earlier political institutions had structured social relations. In Western Sudan and Northern Nigeria, the emirate became a new framework of authority, replacing the mansaya in some places or being superimposed upon it in others.
The emirates altered the organization of land and dependent labour. Payments associated with land, fishing grounds, hunting grounds, grazing land, and mines became annual dues payable to those in power and were collected under state supervision. Share-cropping, tenant farming, and land rental became established practices, while landless peasants dispossessed by conquest or legal change could become serfs or vassals.
The political order was connected to the spread of Islam, the expansion of the Islamized mai of Borno, the activity of the askiyas, and the jihads. The almamia of Futa Toro and Futa Jallon, together with the Sokoto caliphate, are described as adopting Ottoman models of land tenure and taxation. These institutions did not erase every earlier structure: in Songhay, the askiyas retained part of the traditional socio-economic order.
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