XVIᵉ siècle – XIXᵉ siècle
Southern Senegambia, between the Gambia River and Futa Jallon
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Kingdom of Kaabu was a Mande-led polity in southern Senegambia that emerged from Mali's influence and became the dominant regional power after Mali's decline. Its ruling Naanco dynasty governed from Kansala and expanded across territories between the Gambia River and Futa Jallon. Kaabu's apogee in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries coincided with the overseas slave trade and the growing European control of regional commerce.
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Le récit
Kaabu emerged in the southern part of Senegambia through the expansion of Mande Juula, or Dyula, who linked the Niger bend with trade in kola, iron, and indigo from forest regions. The conquerors established the kingdom south of the Gambia River in the name of Mali. From this base, Kaabu came to dominate all of southern and part of northern Senegambia while Mali itself entered decline.
After Mali's final decline, Kaabu became the leading power of the Southern Rivers. It controlled the Bainuk and Beafada trading network and seized Mande principalities along the Gambia River. The Maane and Saana ruling families formed the Naanco dynasty at Kansala, whose increasingly warlike character came to symbolize ceddo authority during the era of the overseas slave trade.
The kingdom reached its apogee in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, replacing Mali throughout the Southern Rivers. Its expansion coincided with the rise of the overseas slave trade and European control of commerce in the region. Portuguese traders redirected commercial initiative away from indigenous peoples and drew the Beafada, Bainuk, Mande, and Bijago into the Atlantic trade as suppliers of enslaved people.
Kaabu's dominance ended when the theocratic revolution in Futa Jallon triumphed at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The extract presents the kingdom's political development as inseparable from regional warfare, commercial competition, and the violent transformation produced by Atlantic slavery.
XVIᵉ siècle – XIXᵉ siècle
Southern Senegambia, between the Gambia River and Futa Jallon
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Kingdom of Kaabu was a Mande-led polity in southern Senegambia that emerged from Mali's influence and became the dominant regional power after Mali's decline. Its ruling Naanco dynasty governed from Kansala and expanded across territories between the Gambia River and Futa Jallon. Kaabu's apogee in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries coincided with the overseas slave trade and the growing European control of regional commerce.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Kaabu emerged in the southern part of Senegambia through the expansion of Mande Juula, or Dyula, who linked the Niger bend with trade in kola, iron, and indigo from forest regions. The conquerors established the kingdom south of the Gambia River in the name of Mali. From this base, Kaabu came to dominate all of southern and part of northern Senegambia while Mali itself entered decline.
After Mali's final decline, Kaabu became the leading power of the Southern Rivers. It controlled the Bainuk and Beafada trading network and seized Mande principalities along the Gambia River. The Maane and Saana ruling families formed the Naanco dynasty at Kansala, whose increasingly warlike character came to symbolize ceddo authority during the era of the overseas slave trade.
The kingdom reached its apogee in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, replacing Mali throughout the Southern Rivers. Its expansion coincided with the rise of the overseas slave trade and European control of commerce in the region. Portuguese traders redirected commercial initiative away from indigenous peoples and drew the Beafada, Bainuk, Mande, and Bijago into the Atlantic trade as suppliers of enslaved people.
Kaabu's dominance ended when the theocratic revolution in Futa Jallon triumphed at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The extract presents the kingdom's political development as inseparable from regional warfare, commercial competition, and the violent transformation produced by Atlantic slavery.