XVIIᵉ siècle – XVIIIᵉ siècle
Northern Côte d’Ivoire and western upper Volta
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Kingdom of Kong was an eighteenth-century Manden polity created within the wider expansion of Jula commercial, military, and religious settlements. Keita and Kulibali Mande, later known as Wattara, subdued indigenous populations, while Sekou Wattara unified competing Jula groups and ruled from Nafana and Kong with a powerful army. Kong forces extended their influence across western upper Volta and toward the Niger bend, seeking control of trade routes linking forest resources with the Niger. After Sekou Wattara’s death in 1740, the polity was deeply disrupted.
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Le récit
Kong became a major centre in the chain of Jula settlements during the early eighteenth century. The polity emerged from a wider movement in which Jula traders, soldiers, and Muslim missionaries moved southward into savannah regions connected to the forest and the Niger bend. Keita and Kulibali Mande, who became Wattara, subdued indigenous populations around the centre.
Sekou Wattara eliminated rival Jula groups and ruled at Nafana and Kong through a powerful army. His forces conquered part of western upper Volta as far as Dafina, then subdued Turka country and Folona. They also devastated the Sikasso region and parts of Minianka and Macina, reaching Sofara opposite Jenne on the Bani River.
Kong’s expansion had both religious and economic dimensions. It became a centre of Islamic learning, but the effort to control Jenne reveals the importance of trade routes linking the forest to the Niger bend. After Sekou Wattara died in 1740, the kingdom was profoundly disrupted by conflict between non-Muslim Joola and Senufo warriors, the Sohondji, and Muslim Salama Jula traders.
XVIIᵉ siècle – XVIIIᵉ siècle
Northern Côte d’Ivoire and western upper Volta
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Kingdom of Kong was an eighteenth-century Manden polity created within the wider expansion of Jula commercial, military, and religious settlements. Keita and Kulibali Mande, later known as Wattara, subdued indigenous populations, while Sekou Wattara unified competing Jula groups and ruled from Nafana and Kong with a powerful army. Kong forces extended their influence across western upper Volta and toward the Niger bend, seeking control of trade routes linking forest resources with the Niger. After Sekou Wattara’s death in 1740, the polity was deeply disrupted.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Kong became a major centre in the chain of Jula settlements during the early eighteenth century. The polity emerged from a wider movement in which Jula traders, soldiers, and Muslim missionaries moved southward into savannah regions connected to the forest and the Niger bend. Keita and Kulibali Mande, who became Wattara, subdued indigenous populations around the centre.
Sekou Wattara eliminated rival Jula groups and ruled at Nafana and Kong through a powerful army. His forces conquered part of western upper Volta as far as Dafina, then subdued Turka country and Folona. They also devastated the Sikasso region and parts of Minianka and Macina, reaching Sofara opposite Jenne on the Bani River.
Kong’s expansion had both religious and economic dimensions. It became a centre of Islamic learning, but the effort to control Jenne reveals the importance of trade routes linking the forest to the Niger bend. After Sekou Wattara died in 1740, the kingdom was profoundly disrupted by conflict between non-Muslim Joola and Senufo warriors, the Sohondji, and Muslim Salama Jula traders.