History · Lesson 4

The Sokoto jihad, the caliphate, Masina, Tukulor and Samori

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: Section B 1 The Sokoto Caliphate (causes, process, consequences, administration; links with Seku Ahmadu and Al-Hajj Umar); Part II A1 Samori Toure and other 19th-century West African jihads

WAEC: Section B The Sokoto Jihad and its impact; Paper 1: Islamic revolutions in West Africa; resistance to European rule

NECO: Section B The Sokoto Jihad and its impact; Paper 1: Islamic revolutions in West Africa; resistance to European rule

What you will learn

Describe conditions in Hausaland before 1804.
Outline the life and teaching of Usman dan Fodio.
Explain the causes of the jihad and the debate about them.
Narrate the course of the jihad and explain its success.
Describe the emirates and explain the failure of the jihad in Borno.
Describe the administration of the Sokoto Caliphate.
Assess the effects of the jihad.
Describe the jihads of Seku Ahmadu and al-Hajj Umar, and Samori Toure’s empire and resistance.

Key points

Hausaland before 1804: wars, injustice, mixed Islam, oppressive taxes.
Usman dan Fodio born 1754; taught by Jibril ibn Umar; preached from c.1774–75.
Edict of Nafata; clash with Yunfa; hijra Degel to Gudu, 21 Feb 1804.
Tabkin Kwotto (June 1804); Tsuntsua defeat; Alkalawa 1808; Sokoto 1809.
Flag bearers became emirs; about thirty emirates.
Jihad failed in Borno: el-Kanemi’s leadership and letters.
1812: Bello at Sokoto (east), Abdullahi at Gwandu (west). Dan Fodio died 1817.
Administration: emirs, Waziri supervision, Sharia, Islamic taxes, ribats.
Effects: unity, Islam, learning, trade; slave raiding and war.
British took Sokoto 15 March 1903; Attahiru I killed at Burmi 27 July 1903.
Masina: Seku Ahmadu, 1818, Hamdullahi; taken by al-Hajj Umar 1862.
Al-Hajj Umar: Tijaniyya, jihad from 1852, died 1864. Samori: Wassoulou, fought France 1882–98.

Start here: Hausaland on the eve of the jihad

By the late eighteenth century the Hausa states were wealthy trading centres, but there was deep discontent. Understanding this background is the key to explaining the jihad.

Political conditions

The states were often at war with one another. Gobir had become the dominant military power, having destroyed much of Zamfara in the 1760s and fought Katsina, Kano and Kebbi. War meant heavy demands for soldiers, horses and supplies. Rulers (the Habe or Hausa kings) were accused of arbitrary rule: seizing property, using forced labour and favouring their own families.

Religious conditions

Islam had been present for centuries (hi3), but it was practised mainly by the towns and the court. Many rulers combined Islam with traditional rites such as sacrifices to spirits and the Bori cult. Scholars complained that rulers ignored Sharia, appointed judges who took bribes and enslaved free Muslims.

Economic and social conditions

Taxes such as the jangali (cattle tax), market dues and levies on traders were seen as un-Islamic and oppressive. The cattle tax fell heavily on the pastoral Fulani.
Peasants (talakawa) suffered from raids, forced labour and confiscation.
Muslims were sometimes captured and sold as slaves, which Islamic law forbids.

The intellectual background

A long tradition of Islamic reform existed in West Africa. Scholars knew of earlier jihads in Futa Jallon (from 1725) and Futa Toro (1776). The Qadiriyya Sufi order linked teachers across the region. Reformist teachers such as Jibril ibn Umar of Agades had already preached against mixed practice and taught the young Usman dan Fodio.

Worked example 4.1 (WAEC Paper 2)

Describe the conditions in Hausaland that led to the jihad of 1804. Organise under headings: political (inter-state wars, Gobir’s dominance, arbitrary rule); religious (mixed Islam, neglect of Sharia, corrupt judges); economic (jangali, market dues, confiscation); social (oppression of the talakawa and Fulani; enslavement of Muslims); intellectual (earlier jihads, Jibril ibn Umar). Five developed points earn high marks.

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Practice questions

1. The Sokoto jihad began in

1804
1750
1850
1903

Show answer

A: 1804
After the hijra from Degel.

2. Usman dan Fodio’s withdrawal from Degel to Gudu is called the

Hajj
Mahdiyya
jama’a
hijra

Show answer

D: hijra
February 1804.

3. The first major victory of the jihadists was the Battle of

Alkalawa
Burmi
Tabkin Kwatto
Tsuntsua

Show answer

C: Tabkin Kwatto
June 1804.

4. The Gobir capital Alkalawa fell to the jihadists in

1817
1808
1804
1812

Show answer

B: 1808
Sultan Yunfa was killed.

5. The Hausa ruler of Gobir against whom the jihad was fought was

Yunfa
Bawa
Nafata
Rumfa

Show answer

A: Yunfa
Yunfa had been Usman’s pupil.

Key words

Jihad: Struggle in the cause of God; here, an armed Islamic reform movement.
Hijra: Emigration, modelled on the Prophet’s migration to Medina.
Amir al-Mu’minin: Commander of the Faithful; title of the caliph.
Caliphate: A Muslim state headed by a caliph.
Emir: Ruler of an emirate under the caliph.
Flag bearer: Leader given a flag by dan Fodio to lead the jihad in his area.
Habe: Term for the pre-jihad Hausa ruling dynasties.
Talakawa: Hausa commoners or peasants.
Jangali: Cattle tax.
Waziri: Chief minister.
Ribat: Fortified frontier settlement.
Bay’a: Oath of allegiance.

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