Chapter 8
Wars generally bring destruction and eat away the strength of the nation and its army. In the case of the Dendi war though, things were different. By the time it ended in October 1839, the deadly famine of the previous two years had subsided. This, coupled with the looting of Dendi created a huge surplus in Sokoto's treasury. With this surplus, Abu Bakr and Usman Amadu were finally able to build the strong army that they had lacked since the Oyo war. Virtually every single troop was taken apart and a completely new army was built within a period of 6 months. To prevent low military numbers due to famine in the future, Usman Amadu suggested that every single soldier be paid a minimum amount of salary atleast during wars.
Militaries in Sokoto and in this part of the world in general were not professionally paid. They were managed more akin to medieval European armies. The soldiers were not paid any fixed salaries except for some money to equip them on the campaign. Salaries were often given out by the local chieftains at their leisure and choice. Many poor peasants were forced to fight the whole war without a salary. As a result, the men mainly depended on loot gained from victory for getting paid. This system worked out well but now Abu Bakr's plans of continuous conquests needed a large army and as was seen during the famine, the men were reluctant to leave their families behind not knowing if they would survive the famine or not. Hence, Usman Amadu's proposal was valid. Surprisingly Abu Bakr accepted it and even made Amadu the supervisor of this new salary system, so big was his thirst for power and conquest. Of course, his booming treasury also had a lot to do with this affirmative decision. This was yet another unknowing step that Sokoto had taken towards developing into a modern nation state. However plans for this step could not be made immediately because there were other more important matters at hand.
To the west of Sokoto lay the Mossi kingdom.
"Yennenga was a legendary princess and the mother of the Mossi people. She was a famous warrior precious for her father. But the princess aspired to another destiny and decided to leave the kingdom. On the run with her horse, she meets a young hunter, Rialé with whom she had a child called Ouedraogo. Yennenga and her son Ouedraogo are considered the founders of the Mossi Kingdoms."
-Official Mossi folklore
According to folklore the Mossi kingdom had existed since time immemorial. But realistically the Mossi kingdom probably began in the late 11th or early 12th century and would become a vassal state of one power or another from time to time. Though never managing to become too powerful, the Mossi remained a powerful local force and after the fall of Shonghai they became an independent entity. Being located near many of the main Islamic states of West Africa, the Mossi kingdoms developed a mixed religious system recognizing some authority for Islam while retaining earlier ancestor-focused religious worship. The king participated in two great festivals, one focused on the genealogy of the royal lineage (in order to increase their naam) and another of sacrifices to tenga.
Court of the Rima(King) of Mossi. This painting was made from descriptions given by various individuals.
By the 18th century, the Mossi kingdoms had increased significantly in terms of economic and military power in the region. Foreign trade relations increased significantly throughout Africa with significant connections to the Fula kingdoms and the Mali Empire. These relations included military attacks on many times with the Mossi being attacked by a variety of African forces. Although there were a number of jihad states in the region trying to forcibly spread Islam, namely the Massina Empire and the Sokoto Caliphate, the Mossi kingdoms largely retained their traditional religious and ritual practices.
The Mossi kings made a major compromise with Islam around the time of the various Fulani and Massina Jihads. In Ouagadougou, the king assigned an Imam who was allowed to deliver readings of the Qur'an to the royalty in exchange for recognizing the Pagan genealogical power of the king. This however did not bring peace but sowed the seeds of war.
The title of the Mossi ruler was Rima(Literally it means "The person who eats that which is not chewed", ie.the King). By 1840, Rima Naaba Totebaldbo ruled over Mossi. Like his father before him, the Rima hated the compromise that had been made with the Muslim Inams. In 1838 he had decided to discourage their activities by over-taxing Ouagadougou. This caused large famines in the area as the peasants suffered. The Inams made several complaints to the Rima but he ignored them. Then in March 1839, the Inams finally declared war on the Rima and raised the flag of rebellion. This was the opportunity that the Rima had been waiting for. He promptly marched his army into Ouagadougou and crushed the rebels and razed the mosque down to the ground.
Unfortunately for the Rima, the chief Inam and his men managed to escape. They went straight to the court of Abu Bakr and pleaded for his help in the matter. Of course, Abu Bakr was furious. He demanded that the Rima immediately convert his entire kingdom to Islam and disband his pagan rituals and worships or face war. The Rima obviously declined and Abu Bakr decided to declare war.
But the actual declaration of war would come 3 months later as Usman Amadu warned that the new army, while recruited was still only half-trained and equipped. So Abu Bakr waited until the harvest season was over and the army was fully equipped. Then, he declared war in August 1840.
Meanwhile, in late 1839 a new kind of visitor arrived at the doors of Sokoto. British explorer and diplomat John Lander.
John Lander, British explorer and diplomat.
This was by no means the first contact that the British or any other Europeans had had with the Fulani and Hausa peoples. As early as 1796, the explorer Mungo Park had visited the region. Explorers Hugh Clapperton and Dixon Denham had visited Bornu and Sokoto in 1823. On 17 February 1823, the party had reached Kuka, capital of the Bornu Empire, where they were well received by the sultan Sheikh Al-Kaneimi, having earlier become the first white men to see Lake Chad. Along their return journey they also visited Sokoto but could not get an audience with Muhammed Bello. Clapperton returned to West Africa again in 1826. He landed at Badagry in the Bight of Benin, and started overland for the Niger on 7 December 1825, having with him his servant Richard Lemon Lander, Captain Pearce and Dr. Morrison, navy surgeon and naturalist. Before the month was out Pearce and Morrison were dead of fever. Clapperton continued his journey, and, passing through the Yoruba country, in January 1826 he crossed the Niger at Bussa, the spot where Mungo Park had died twenty years before. In July, Clapperton arrived at Kano and thence the Fulani capital Sokoto, intending to continue to Bornu and renew his acquaintance with the Kanuri leader Sheikh Al-Kaneimi. However, the Fulani were now at war with Al-Kaneimi(The first war which became a stalemate. Not to be confused with Abu Bakr's second successful war), and Sultan Muhammed Bello refused him permission to leave until the duration of the war. Shortly after this, Clapperton died of malaria and his crew returned home after the war was finished.
By the 1830s the British occasionally sent diplomats and communications increased. In fact the British governor of Sierra Leone Colonel Hery Dundass Campbell wrote in 1836 that,
"The state of Sokoto is the most amicable relation that we have among the peoples of the interior. In the unlikely case of war with the natives we could possibly look towards the Sooltans for temporary help"
John Lander and his brother Richard Lander were both explorers. As discussed earlier, Richard had accompanied Clapperton on his second journey to the West African interior. In 1830 the brothers went on an expedition to determine the course of the Niger River. They landed at Badagry in, took Clapperton's route to Bussa, then ascended the river for 160 kilometres before descending to explore the Benue River and the Niger Delta. They returned to Britain in 1831. Richard returned to the Niger in 1832, but John was employed in the custom house in Liverpool and later in London through the patronage of Lord Goderich, the president of the Royal Geographical Society. It was through this posting that he was recruited by the British colony at Sierra Leone as a diplomat after having displayed an exceptional skill and knowledge of this work.
John Lander's meeting was important for the reason that the first formal relation between Britain and Sokoto was established with Sultan Abu Bakr 'recognising' Queen Victoria as the Queen of Britain and vice versa. Plans were also made for the establishment of a British embassy at Sokoto by 1841. After 2 more months, Lander left in January 1840.
Meanwhile, as discussed earlier, Sokoto was once again up in arms by August 1840 and the Mossi war started!