Wuli was a kingdom located on the north bank of the

Gambia River The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra) is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul. It is navigable f ...

in what is now the eastern portion of

The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

and the

Tambacounda region Tambacounda, formerly known as ''Sénégal Oriental'', is a region of Senegal. It used to be part of the Mali Empire before the borders were created to separate Mali from Senegal. Tambacounda is physically the largest of Senegal's 14 regions, but ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

. It was ruled by the Wally family. The capital was located in the village of Bantunding.

History

According to oral tradition,

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 ...

immigrants from

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

led by

Tiramakhan Traore Tiramakhan Traore (variations : ''Tiramakhan Traoré'' or Tirimakhan Trawally) was a 13th-century general in the Mali Empire who served under Sundiata Keita. Traore expanded the power of Mali westward and set up the Kabu Empire. Oliver, Roland, "T ...

, one of Sundiata's top generals, first came to Wuli in the 14th century. The independent kingdom of Wuli was founded in the 15th century. It was an important center of trade in slaves, salt, gold, leather, shellfish, beeswax, European manufactures and other goods, linking the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast, the

Senegal River ,french: Fleuve Sénégal) , name_etymology = , image = Senegal River Saint Louis.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Fishermen on the bank of the Senegal River estuary at the outskirts of Saint-Louis, Senegal ...

, and the Manding heartland in the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...

basin. The Portuguese and other European nations traded at the important river port of

Fattatenda Fattatenda is a small village in eastern Gambia on the Gambia River. It is located in Wuli District in the Upper River Division, a few kilometers southwest of the much larger village of Baja Kunda. As of 2009, it has an estimated population of ...

, near the modern-day villages of Baja Kunda and Sutukoba. This was the last major trading post on the river below the falls of Barra Kunda, which hampered travel further upstream, so Wuli was a key hub linking river traffic and caravans. Wuli eventually fell under the hegemony of the

Jolof Empire Jolof (french: Djolof or ') may refer to either of * Jolof Empire, a West African successor state to the Mali Empire in modern Senegal from the 14th to 16th centuries * Kingdom of Jolof, a rump survival of the earlier empire from the 16th to the 19t ...

and paid tribute to the ''Buur'' or king. During this period, Wuli's neighboring states on the north bank of the Gambia - Nyumi, Badibu, and Nyani - did as well. Around the turn of the 19th century, the Scottish explorer Mungo Park passed through Wuli on both of his voyages to the Niger River. Soon afterwards, the kingdom, led by Mansa Koyo, defeated Nyani in a war. Throughout the Soninke-Marabout wars in the 19th century, Wuli was closely allied with Bondu and resisted attempts by , king of Fulladu on the south bank of the river Gambia, to incorporate the territory. When the colonial empires of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

set the boundary between The Gambia and Senegal in the 1890s, Wuli was divided in two. This division, coupled with the rise of rail transport at the expense of river trade, economically marginalized the area.Gailey, 142.

References

{{reflist 19th century in the Gambia History of Senegambia History of Senegal History of the Gambia Kingdoms of Senegal Kingdoms Gambia River Trade