The Battle of Kansala or ''Final Battle'' (Mandinka: ''Turban Keloo'') or ''Siege of Kansala'' was a military engagement between forces of the
Kaabu Empire
The Kaabu Empire (1537–1867), also written Gabu, Ngabou, and N'Gabu, was an empire in the Senegambia region centered within modern northeastern Guinea-Bissau, larger parts of today's Gambia; extending into Koussanar, Koumpentoum, region ...
and the
Imamate of Futa Jallon
The Imamate of Futa Jallon or Jalon ( ar, إمامة فوتة جالون; fuf, Fuuta Jaloo or ' ) was a West African theocratic state based in the Fouta Djallon highlands of modern Guinea. The state was founded around 1727 by a Fulani jihad a ...
. The battle ended
Mandinka Mandinka, Mandika, Mandinkha, Mandinko, or Mandingo may refer to:
Media
* ''Mandingo'' (novel), a bestselling novel published in 1957
* ''Mandingo'' (film), a 1975 film based on the eponymous 1957 novel
* ''Mandingo (play)'', a play by Jack Kir ...
hegemony over Africa’s Atlantic coast begun by the
Mali Empire
The Mali Empire ( Manding: ''Mandé''Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: ''UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. IV, Abridged Edition: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century'', p. 57. University of California Press, 1997. or Manden; ar, مالي, Māl ...
.
Background
In the second half of the 13th century, Sénegambia saw the invasion of Bainouk and Diola territories by the Manden conquerors with a view to the expansion of the Manden empire.
At the end of the 15th century between 1470 and 1790, the Mali empire was seriously threatened by very warlike Fulani waves which would lead to the dismantling of the Manden empire in Sénegambia. The territory of Gabou succeeded in continuing the Manden hegemony. One of the Fulani tribes nevertheless succeeded in establishing itself in the south of Gabou, as the Emirate of Futa Jallon. After the Islamic takeover led to the establishment of Futa Jallon by the Fulani in 1725, the new theocratic state surrounded by animist peoples managed to impose themselves definitively on the region in 1774.
Forces
According to historian Djibril Tamsir Niane, Gabou had 25,000 soldiers, half of whom were present directly in the capital of Gabou where the Battle of Kansala took place. They were mustered by ''mansaba'' Dianke Waali to meet the Fulani invasion.
The Futa Jallon would have mobilized 12,000 horsemen, according to the same author, and set off into Gabou, targeting its capital, Kansala.
Siege
Alfa Molo’s forces surrounded Kansala’s fortress for either one
[Forrest, page 69] or three months,
[Sonko-Godwin, page14] depending on the source. Though both sides were armed with muskets, neither would fire a shot. According to legend, Abdu Khudus, a prominent ''
marabout
A marabout ( ar, مُرابِط, murābiṭ, lit=one who is attached/garrisoned) is a Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the function of a chaplain serving as a part of an Islamic army, notably in North Africa and the Saha ...
'' from
Timbo, told Alfa Yaya that whichever side fired first would lose the battle. Within the Mandinka ranks, a resident ''marabout'' named Foday Barika Drammeh told Mansaba Waali the same.
[Bowman, page 59] The Nyancho were infuriated by the mere presence of the Fula and believed that to not attack was cowardly. It is reported that on May 13, a Mandinka finally fired a shot that caused the battle to commence. The story is likely apocryphal and meant to highlight the hubris and arrogance of the Nyancho aristocrats.
Battle
For eleven days,
[Sonko-Godwin, page14] the Fula, who could not bring their cavalry to bear against the fortress walls, were kept at bay. The only cavalry casualty of the battle may have been a Mandinka named Faramba (General) Tamba of Kapentu whom marched out of Kansala with only his walking stick to drive the “haughty” Fula away. He was trampled to death by a Fula horseman. The Mandinka accounts are of the opinion that Fula took many casualties with hundreds of their infantry being decapitated as they tried to scale the wall with ladders.
[Sonko-Godwin, page14] They failed to enter the city until Mansaba Waali, convinced that the sheer number of enemies was insurmountable, ordered the gates open. At this point, Mandinka women began committing suicide by jumping down wells to avoid slavery. Mansaba Waali ordered his sons to set fire to Kansala’s seven gunpowder stores once the city was full of the enemy. Six were successfully ignited, killing all the Mandinka defenders and around 8,000 of the Alfa Yaya’s army.
Aftermath
The fall of Kansala marked the end of the Kaabu Empire. The Fula army had surrounded Kansala so thoroughly that the neighboring towns could not be warned of the invasion. They were only made aware by the sound of Kansala’s gunpowder stores exploding. Kaabu’s territory was divided up into two tributaries owing allegiance to Futa Jallon. Alfa Molo’s victory is considered pyrrhic in that most of his army died on the walls of Kansala or in its explosion, with only 4,000 troops returning from Kaabu. Alfa Molo went on to govern the region he had conquered and made his capital at
Labé
Labé ( Pular 𞤆𞤵𞤤𞤢𞤪:𞤂𞤢𞤦𞤫) is the main city and administrative capital of the Fouta Djallon region of Guinea. It has a population of about 200,000. It is the second largest city in the country after the capital Conakry ...
. It became more or less autonomous of Futa Jallon while maintaining close ties to Timbo. Both his realm and a severely weakened Futa Jallon would fall to French rule after the
Battle of Pore-Daka
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
in 1896.
See also
*
Kaabu Empire
The Kaabu Empire (1537–1867), also written Gabu, Ngabou, and N'Gabu, was an empire in the Senegambia region centered within modern northeastern Guinea-Bissau, larger parts of today's Gambia; extending into Koussanar, Koumpentoum, region ...
*
Imamate of Futa Jallon
The Imamate of Futa Jallon or Jalon ( ar, إمامة فوتة جالون; fuf, Fuuta Jaloo or ' ) was a West African theocratic state based in the Fouta Djallon highlands of modern Guinea. The state was founded around 1727 by a Fulani jihad a ...
*
History of Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau was claimed by Portugal from the 1450s to the 1970s. However, Portuguese control of the region was limited to forts along the coast. Portugal gained full control of the mainland after the pacification campaigns of 1912-15, the offsho ...
References
Sources
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*{{cite book , author=Iliffe, John , title=Honour in African History , publisher=Cambridge University Press , location=Cambridge , year=2005 , pages=404 Pages , isbn=0-521-83785-5
Kansala
1867 in Africa