Battle of Kansala

The Battle of Kansala or Final Battle (Mandinka: Tourban Kello) or Siege of Kansala was a military engagement between forces of the Kaabu Empire and the Imamate of Futa Jallon. The battle ended Mandinka hegemony over Africa’s Atlantic coast begun by the Mali Empire.

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. A territory succeeded in continuing the Manden hegemony, it is Gabou One of these Fulani tribes nevertheless succeeded in establishing itself in the south of Gabou, it is the Futa jalon. After the Islamic revolution led to Futa jalon by the Fulani in 1725, the new theocratic state surrounded by animist peoples managed to impose themselves definitively on the region in 1774.

Kaabu 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. Following the call of the "mansaba" dianke wali to welcome the Fulani invasion

Futa Jallon forces[]

The Fouta djallon would have mobilized 12,000 horsemen according to the same author, set out again throughout Gabou whose jackpot was fixed in kansala the capital of Gabou

The siege[]

Alfa Molo’s forces surrounded Kansala’s fortress for a month^[1] or three months,^[3] depending on the source. Neither side would fire a shot (both sides were armed with muskets at this point). According to legend, Abdu Khudus, a prominent marabout 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.^[4] The nyancho were infuriated by the mere presence of the Fula and believed to not attack was cowardice. On May 13, someone (reportedly on the Mandinka side) fired the fateful shot that started the battled. The story is likely apocryphal and meant to highlight the hubris and arrogance associated with Nyancho aristocrats.

The battle[]

For eleven days,^[3] the Fula, who could not bring their cavalry to bear against the fortress walls, were kept at bay. In fact, 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.^[3] They didn’t succeed at entering 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. All in all, only 4,000 troops returned from Kaabu. Alfa Molo went on to govern the region he had conquered and made his capital at Labé. 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 in 1896.

See also[]

• Kaabu Empire
• Imamate of Futa Jallon
• History of Guinea-Bissau

References[]

Sources[]

• Forrest, Joshua (2003). Lineages of State Fragility: rural Civil society in Guinea-Bissau. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press. pp. 312 pages. ISBN 0-8214-1490-9.
• Vigh, Henrik (2006). Navigating Terrains of War: Youth and Soldiering in Guinea-Bissau. New York City: Berghahn Books. pp. 258 pages. ISBN 1-84545-149-X.
• Sonko-Godwin, Patience (1988). Ethnic Groups of the Senegambia: A Brief History. Banjul, Gambia: Sunrise Publishers. pp. 65 pages. ISBN 9983-86-000-7.
• Bowman, Joye (1997). Ominous Transition: commerce and Colonial Expansion in the Senegambia and guinea, 1857-1919. London: Avebury. pp. 198 pages. ISBN 1-85972-154-0.
• Iliffe, John (2005). Honour in African History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 404 Pages. ISBN 0-521-83785-5.