The Sokoto Caliphate: In The Heart of AfricAAR
 

In the first decade of the nineteenth century, two unrelated developments that were to have a major influence on virtually all of the area that is now Nigeria ushered in a period of radical change. First, between 1804 and 1808, the Islamic holy war of Usman dan Fodio established the Sokoto Caliphate, which not only expanded to become the largest empire in Africa since the fall of Songhai but also had a profound influence on much of Muslim Africa to the west and to the east. Second, in 1807 Britain declared the transatlantic slave trade to be illegal, an action that occurred at a time when Britain was responsible for shipping more slaves to the Americas than any other country. Although the transatlantic slave trade did not end until the 1860s, it was gradually replaced by other commodities, especially palm oil; the shift in trade had serious economic and political consequences in the interior, which led to increasing British intervention in the affairs of Yorubaland and the Niger Delta. The rise of the Sokoto Caliphate and the economic and political adjustment in the south strongly shaped the course of the colonial conquest at the end of the nineteenth century.

From the library of the US Congress

A group of Fulbe Noblemen

It's time to end my life as a lurker of the Tea Room and to speak about my first voyage. I've visited one of lost empires hidden in the heart of Africa.
I personally followed the history of this African Flower from its birth to its amazing end. I have seen the horsemen at the service of the young empire to carry the word of allah under their green flag through all Africa. I have seen what the industrial revolution has carried in one country where the men rambled barefoot and half of the population was reduced in Slavery.

I ask forgiveness to you all for my bad english, but I'm sure that this interesting story is not to be forget in the memories of single man.

Here to you the reports of my African explorations.

Lorenzo dei Capitani, surgeon and explorer under direction and patronage African Association of Kingdom of the Two Sicily

nice start.

are you playing Sokoto because you said 'I personally followed the history of this African Flower from its birth to its amazing end'

so i assume you you play ecuador (or some other naiton) and watched them the whole game.

Well... My first post and my first AAR! After a lot of gameplay with the major powers of the game, I've chosen a fourth-rank nation. Sokoto is uncivilized, poor, lack key-resources...

My goal for the end of the game is the unification of Africa, or maybe the unification of the muslim world... Or maybe only survive!

The game settings are:

Scenario: The Great Campaign
Difficulty: Very Hard
AI aggressiveness: Furious

I'm working on some historical events to put some flavour and to redesign the parties and the factions of my chosen nation.

In the week-end you all will see my first update.

Best Regards,

Cipolla

You are wrong. The story is a writing of 'Lorenzo dei Capitani', an explorer. Everything in this AAR will come from his memories and Lorenzo is the narrator.

Hmm, in all my games the British did earlier or later attack Sokoto and annex it. I hope that doesn't happen to you. Good luck. :)

Well, I believe this is the first to play as Sokoto, so good luck. Good opening. I'll be watching this one.

Well once I think about it there are much crappier countries then Sokoto so I wish you good luck on this AAR! You've made a great start!

2nd January 1836
 

2nd January 1836

Yesterday was the first time I’ve seen Sokoto City. I landed in an English port near the Niger Delta and followed a caravan in the interior. Two days later I leaved them to continue alone with my guide and the others natives that carry my belongings. The legitimate trade in commodities attracted a number of rough-hewn British merchants to the Niger River, as well as some men who had been formerly engaged in the slave trade but who now changed their line of wares. Maybe I landed in the same port where John and Richard Lander arrived 6 years ago. They followed the lower Niger River from Bussa to the sea, travelling in leaky canoes. Along the way they were kidnapped by the King of the Ibos, rescued by another king (King Boy of Brass), and were reluctantly helped by a British ship. Lander later published his "Journal of an Expedition to Explore the Course and Termination of the Niger"

In Red, starting from the west, you can see the trip of the Lander Brothers. In Green, starting from the south, you can see my trip to Sokoto City

Richard Lander died on his third West African trip (1833-1834). He was killed along the Niger River by African tribesmen on Feb. 6, 1834. I pray the Almighty to survive this exploration.
My guide, ‘Nganu, don’t like the actual Fulani Leadership. He was a son of an Hausa Warlord and the ritual signs on his face are signs of noblehood. But the Islamic revolt of the past years brought a new order in the region.

My indigenous guide, 'Nganu

By the late eighteenth century, many Muslim scholars and teachers had become disenchanted with the insecurity that characterized the Hausa states and Borno. Some clerics (mallams) continued to reside at the courts of the Hausa states and Borno, but others, who joined the Qadiriyah brotherhood, began to think about a revolution that would overthrow existing authorities. Prominent among these radical mallams was Usman dan Fodio, who with his brother and son, attracted a following among the clerical class. Many of his supporters were Fulani, and because of his ethnicity he was able to appeal to all Fulani, particularly the clan leaders and wealthy cattle owners whose clients and dependents provided most of the troops in the jihad that began in Gobir in 1804. Not all mallams were Fulani, however. The cleric whose actions actually started the jihad, Abd as Salam, was Hausa; Jibril, one of Usman dan Fodio's teachers and the first cleric to issue a call for jihad two decades earlier, was Tuareg. Nonetheless, by the time the Hausa states were overthrown in 1808, the prominent leaders were all Fulani.

A simple graph showing a summary of the population of the Caliphate in the early 1836. 3.847.000 people lived inside the borders of the Caliphate.

Simultaneous uprisings confirmed the existence of a vast underground of Muslim revolutionaries throughout the Hausa states and Borno. By 1808 the Hausa states had been conquered, although the ruling dynasties retreated to the frontiers and built walled cities that remained independent. The more important of these independent cities included Abuja, where the ousted Zaria Dynasty fled; Argungu in the north, the new home of the Kebbi rulers; and Maradi in Niger, the retreat of the Katsina Dynasty. Although the Borno mai was overthrown and Birni Gazargamu destroyed, Borno did not succumb. The reason, primarily, was that another cleric, Al Kanemi, fashioned a strong resistance that eventually forced those Fulani in Borno to retreat west and south. In the end, Al Kanemi overthrew the centuries-old Sayfawa Dynasty of Borno and established his own lineage as the new ruling house. The new state that arose during Usman dan Fodio's jihad came to be known as the Sokoto Caliphate, named after his capital at Sokoto, founded in 1809. The caliphate was a loose confederation of emirates that recognized the suzerainty of the commander of the faithful, the sultan.

A polical map of the Caliphate in the early 1836

I hope you unite all africa.

I'll be watching this one. Good luck. :)

Nganu looks more Melanesian or polynesian than African. Still, it's a good start. Good luck.

Informative yet with a nice personal touch with your narrator. Keep it up. And that was nice work showing the travels of the explorers into the interior.

A genuine travel-report from 19th century africa, that´s a new one! Be sure to add some of that European superiority-complex so prevalent in many writings of travel-reports at that time! I´ll be watching this with curiousity!

Sokoto, my favorite colonial stomping ground! I have no idea what you could possibly do with it, but good luck!

Thanks a lot to you all. I'm working for the first in-game update. I'm going a little slow, but Sokoto is quite hard to play.

To Semi-Lobster: Well... Have you tryed? Sokoto is REALLY crappy!

To Zanza: (spoiler) the english will be the first to be sent out of western Africa!

To Rajj: I'm working for an African Caliphate! My dream is to build up a 1° great power controlling all Africa. A really alternate History.

To Gjerg Kastrioti: Look carefullyto the picture: the nose and and the mouth are undoubtedly African. And the carving on the face are traditional carvings of the populations around the Niger River.

To Coz1: Yeah, I'm the first! Sokoto is quite disowned. I thought that some information on the history of the nation I'm playing are quite usefull to everyone. Thanks a lot!

To Meltdown1986: Wait for other reports! the only problem is the ending. It's quite hard that Lorenzo will survive around 90 years in the Savannah. But I'm working on it!

To Deaghaidh: You pale white man! How do you dare! You will be conquered by the faithfull! Thanks for the greetings!

This looks like it will be a good AAR.

Indeed. I was only vaguely aware that Sokoto existed before I bought Victoria, and I like to think I know something about history, so any information is good.

This seems quite interesting AAR. I always like these minor/unciviliced AARs.
Good luck.

This'll be great... and it's going to be the second Vicky AAR I'm following (I prefer EU2 :))

Speaking of EU2, this sounds like the WC someone did with Benin....

Good luck!

Interesting. Most Victoria AARs are boring industrialization(?) graphs. This is something different.