Samory

Samory was born around 1830 in the village of Manyambaladugu (in the present south-east of Guinea, in the family of dealers from the Gyula people. It grew at a time when European invasion was increasing in trade in West Africa. Trade with Europeans made some merchant African states rich, whereas the widespread availability of firearms has changed the traditional West African methods of warfare.Samori converted to Islam in his youth.

In 1848, Samory's mother was captured during the war by Sere-Berle from the Cisse clan. To be able to release his mother at least in the future, Samori himself went to the service of Cisse, where he learned how to use weapons. According to legend, he stayed there "seven years, seven months and seven days", before fleeing with his mother.

He then joined the army of the Beret clan, the enemies of Cisse, two years before reuniting with his clan, Camara. Having received the title of “Keletigu” (“commander”) in Douala in 1861, Samori swore an oath to protect his people from both Beret and Cisse. He created a professional army and attracted his relatives to the cause of its creation: in particular, his brothers and childhood friends became commanders in it.

In 1864, Al-Haj Omar , the founder of a state called Tijaniya Omar al-Hajj , who dominated the upper reaches of the Niger River, was killed. After that, his empire immediately began to disintegrate, before the warlords and local rulers subordinate to him began to fight among themselves in an attempt to create their own states.

By 1867, Samori was a powerful military leader; his army was based in Sanankoro, on the Guinean Highlands, near the Upper Milo River, a tributary of the Niger River . Samori understood that he needed to do two things: create an effective and dedicated army equipped with firearms, and build his own stable state.

In 1876, Samory had the opportunity to import breech-loading rifles through the British colony of Sierra Leone . He conquered the gold-bearing region of Bure (now - the territory on the border of Guinea and Mali) in order to strengthen his financial position. In 1878, he felt strong enough to proclaim himself a Faam (military title, roughly meaning “military leader”) of his own Vassulu empire. Samori made the city of Bessandougou his capital and established political and commercial relations with the Tijani territories.

In 1881, after numerous battles, Samory managed to establish control over the key Dyulian trading city of Kankan in the upper reaches of the Milo River. Kankan was a stake trading center for stakes and had a very good geographical location, allowing it to control trade routes in all directions from it. By 1881, the Vassulu empire expanded to Guinea and Mali, including part of the territory of present-day Sierra Leone and the north of Côte d'Ivoire .

Although Samori conquered many small tribal states around his empire, he also tried to strengthen his diplomatic ties. He established regular contacts with the British in Sierra Leone and maintained “working” relations with the Fulbe people from the Fouta Jalon region .

France began expanding its colonial presence in West Africa in the late 1870s, conquering territories east of Senegal, in an attempt to reach the upper Nile (in what is now Sudan). She also sought to expand her territory to the southeast in order to combine new lands with the colonies in Côte d'Ivoire. These actions led her to conflict with the state of Samori.

In 1882, the French attacked one of the armies of Samori, besieging the city of Kenyira. Samori managed to defeat the French, but was surprised by the discipline and firepower of European soldiers.

Samory tried to fight the French in many ways. He expanded his empire southwest to secure the border with Liberia . In January 1885, he sent an embassy to Freetown, the administrative center of Sierra Leone, proposing to make his kingdom a British protectorate. The British were not interested in the war with the French at this time, so they refused, but allowed Samory to purchase from them a number of modern rifles.

When a French expedition led by Colonel Comba attempted to capture gold mines in the Boer, Samory counterattacked. Dividing his army into three mobile columns, he circumvented the French positions and forced them to retreat in a hurry.

In 1887, Samory possessed a disciplined army of 30,000-35,000 infantrymen, united in platoons and regiments according to the European model, as well as 3,000 cavalrymen from several squadrons of 50 horsemen each. However, the French were determined not to give Samory time to strengthen their position. Taking advantage of the rebellions against Samory of several tribes that professed animism and opposed the adoption of Islam, the French continued to extend their power to the western part of its territories, forcing Samory to sign a series of agreements on territorial concessions to them between 1886 and 1889.

In March 1891, French troops led by Colonel Louis Arshinar launched an offensive on Kankar. Knowing that his fortifications could not withstand the French artillery , Samory began a maneuver war. Despite his separate victories over small and fragmented French troops (for example, near Dabadougou in September 1891), Samori was unable to expel the French from his state. In June 1892, Colonel Gustave Humber, temporarily replaced by Arshinar, with small, but selected and well-armed forces, took the capital of Zamori, Bissandoug. Another blow for Samory was that the British stopped selling him weapons in accordance with the 1890 Brussels Convention.

Samori moved his main base to the east of the country, towards Bandam and Komoe. He used scorched earth tactics in the war, devastating every area left before it was captured by the French. Although this maneuver cut off Samory from his last source of modern weapons - Liberia - he also delayed the French advance.

However, the defeat of other opposing armies, especially the leader Babemba Traore in Sikaso , allowed the French to approach the victory in the war and focus their efforts on the capture of Samory. He was captured on September 29, 1898 by the French captain Henri Gouraud and exiled to Gabon .

Samori Toure died in captivity on June 2, 1900 from pneumonia. His great-grandson Ahmed Sekou Toure became the first president of independent Guinea .

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• Piłaszewicz, Stanisław. 1991. On the Veracity of Oral Tradition as a Historical Source: - the Case of Samori Ture. In Unwritten Testimonies of the African Past. Proceedings of the International Symposium held in Ojrzanów n. Warsaw on 07-08 November 1989 ed. by S. Piłaszewicz and E. Rzewuski, (Orientalia Varsoviensia 2). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. [one]

• webMande
• Samori biography
• West Africa; the fight for survival
• New York Times article about his capture