The Volta-Bani War was an
anti-colonial
Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on independence m ...
rebellion which took place in
French West Africa
French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burki ...
(specifically, the areas of modern
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...
and
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 ...
) between 1915 and 1917. It was a war between an indigenous African force drawn from a heterogeneous coalition of local peoples who rose against the
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...
. At its height in 1916 the rebels mustered from 15,000–20,000 men and fought on several fronts. After about a year and several setbacks, the French army defeated the insurgents and jailed or executed their leaders but resistance continued until 1917.
The war started after the 1915
rainy season
The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs.
Rainy Season may also refer to:
* ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King
* "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni
* ''T ...
when a group of representatives from around a dozen villages gathered at
Bona where they resolved to take up arms against the French occupiers. This took place in the context of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and introduction of
conscription
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
for the French Army. There was also widespread optimism that the colonial government could be beaten at this moment of weakness. It went through various phases as the colonial army organised two suppression campaigns but initially failed in its purpose, in the face of fierce opposition and superior tactics. The Volta-Bani War is one of the most significant armed oppositions to colonial government anywhere in Africa. It was the main reason for the creation of the colony of
Haute Volta (now Burkina Faso) after World War I, by splitting off seven districts from the large colony of
Haut-Sénégal and Niger.
The name "Volta-Bani War" was coined in the book ''West African Challenge to Empire: Culture and History in the Volta-Bani War'', which is an anthropological analysis and detailed description of these confrontations, on the basis of military archives documents and an elaborate understanding of the region based on ethnographic fieldwork and oral history. The book won the Amaury Talbot Prize of the Royal Anthropological Institute for 2002. A fictional account of the revolt was the subject of one of the important early literary works of West Africa,
Nazi Boni
Nazi Boni (December 31, 1909, in Bwan, Upper Senegal and Niger – May 16, 1969, in Kokologho, Upper Volta) was a politician from Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso). In 1948 Boni was elected to the French National Assembly on behalf of the Voltaic U ...
's ''Crépuscule des temps anciens'' (1962).
See also
*
African theatre of World War I
The African Theatre of the First World War comprises campaigns in North Africa instigated by the German and Ottoman empires, local rebellions against European colonial rule and Allied campaigns against the German colonies of Kamerun, Togoland, Ge ...
Footnotes
References
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Further reading
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External links
Book review: West African Challenge to Empire: Culture and History in the Volta-Bani Anticolonial War: Tony ChaferBook review: West African Challenge to Empire: culture and history in the Volta-Bani anticolonial war: James Currey
{{World War I
Wars involving France
Wars involving Burkina Faso
Wars involving Mali
African resistance to colonialism
1916 in French West Africa
Conflicts in 1915
Conflicts in 1916
Conflicts in 1917
African theatre of World War I
French colonial empire and World War I
Resistance to the French colonial empire