Politics and the Military

Sources

Defense Expenditures. Given the large sizes of the armies maintained by West African states, a modern scholar might deduce that huge resources were expended on soldiers. In reality, however, the profits derived from invasions tended to offset the expense of the military action. Revenues from conquered territories supported defense expenditures and minimized the resources that the conquering state had to spend on its military. The victorious state typically imposed large tributes and heavy indemnities. Court fees and fines were important sources of revenues. Expenditures were also kept low by the practice of giving warriors shares in the booty.

Civil-Military Relations. In many cases, soldiers were not personal instruments of the rulers and thus could not be dispatched to do their personal bidding. The military was an organ of the state, which was not the private property of its ruler. The principle of civilian supremacy over the military was maintained through designated political institutions, and some safeguards were built into the political system with the intent of ensuring that a military commander did not usurp power. For instance, in some states, the military commander had to live far away from the capital city. In other cases, the military chief was an integral part of the king’s cabinet.

Reasons for Military Deployment. Most West African leaders considered war a necessity for defense and territorial expansion, but many did not derive any particular pleasure from waging it. For example, it is said that Sundiata (ruled 1230-1255), the great ruler who used his military skills to extend vastly the borders of Mali, detested war.

Territory and the Spoils of War. Military campaigns were mounted to increase the territory of an empire and to acquire war booty, including gold, salt, cattle, and grain. Some states maintained home-guard units to provide security against such raids, as well as protection for women, children, and others left at home during major military campaigns. Defeated states were compelled to grant large political concessions to the victors. For example, after Moroccan forces defeated the soldiers of Askia Ishaq II of Songhai (ruled 1588-1591), he was forced to grant Morocco the right to import salt from Songhai. Other military missions were undertaken to capture women and

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slaves or to punish conquered states that had refused to pay their obligatory tributes.

Demonstrations of Force. The military was also used as a demonstration of force against a potential foe. When Sultan al-Mansur asked Askia Ishaq II to cede the salt mines of Taghaza to Morocco, Ishaq responded by dispatching two thousand soldiers to raid the Moroccan city of Dra’a, instructing them not to kill anyone. This military action was intended to caution the sultan about the consequences of making an outrageous demand.

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Holy Wars. In some cases, soldiers were used to wage religious or holy wars. Askia Muhammad I’s (ruled 1493-1528) war against Emperor Nassere of Mossi in 1497-1498 was partly a holy war for the purpose of converting the Mossi to Islam. In general, however, even when a war was sparked by religious considerations, economic interests rather than religious fervor were the primary motivating factor.

Raids. Military raids, such as the Mossi incursions into Mali in the fourteenth century, weakened an empire even if the raiders did not seek territorial expansion. The campaigns of Sunni Ali (ruled 1464-1492) of Songhai against the Tuaregs, who had pillaged and massacred people in Timbuktu, were not meant for permanent occupations. Instead, they were quick raids in which soldiers looted what they could find and withdrew.

Bodyguards. Soldiers were also used to provide security for rulers and their royal households. Ibn Battuta observed during his 1353 visit to Mali that when the ruler, Mansa Sulaiman, moved about, three hundred armed slaves provided security. Similarly, on his 1497 pilgrimage to Mecca, Askia Muhammad I was accompanied by a bodyguard of five hundred cavalrymen and one thousand foot soldiers.

Civil Wars. Some wars in ancient West Africa were civil wars resulting from the disruption of the constitutional norms of succession. Like states in other parts of the world, African empires and kingdoms were subjected to intrigues, rebellions, and resistance, general uprisings to gain political control or end tyrannical rule. Some succeeded while others were put down by force of arms.

A Tradition of Resistance. Frequent military incursions from outside the region helped to build a tradition of resistance among West African polities. For example, the Songhai and the Zarma fiercely resisted the series of invasions by Moroccan troops in the late 1500s. The same tradition helped to protect some West Africans against the transatlantic enslavement of Africans during the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries.

Sources

J. F. A. Ajayi and Michael Crowder, eds., The History of West Africa, second edition, 2 volumes (New York: Columbia University Press, 1976, 1987).

Bolanle Awe, ed., Nigerian Women in Historical Perspectives (Lagos: Sankore / Ibadan, Nigeria: Bookcraft, 1992)

E. W. Bovill, The Golden Trade of the Moors (London & New York: Oxford University Press, 1958).

Basil Davidson, Old Africa Rediscovered (London: Gollancz, 1959); republished as The Lost Cities of Africa (Boston & Toronto: Little, Brown, 1959; revised, 1970).

J. C. De Graft-Johnson, African Glory (London: Watts, 1954).

Jacob U. Egharevba, A Short History of Benin, second edition, revised and enlarged (Benin: Published by the author, 1953).

J. D. Fage, An Introduction to the History of West Africa, third edition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1962).

Sylvia C. Finkley, Africa in Early Days (New York: Odyssey Press, 1969).

Robin Law, The Horse in West African History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980).

Wale Ogunyemi, Queen Amina of Zazzau (Ibadan, Nigeria: University Press, 1999).

Roland Oliver, ed., The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3: from c. 1050 to c. 1600 (Cambridge, London, New York & Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 1977).

Oliver and J. D. Fage, A Short History of Africa (Harmondsworth, U.K.: Penguin, 1962).

Elias N. Saad, The Social History of Timbuktu: The Role of Muslim Scholars and Notables, 1400-1900 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983).

Margaret Shinnie, Ancient African Kingdoms (London: Arnold, 1965).

John Spencer Trimingham, A History of Islam in West Africa (London: Published for the University of Glasgow by Oxford University Press, 1962).

Jan Vansina, Kingdoms of the Savanna (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1966).