1.
Regions of Mali
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Since 2016, Mali has been divided into ten regions and one capital district. A reorganization of the country from eight to nineteen regions was passed into law in 2012, each of the regions bears the name of its capital. The regions are divided into 56 cercles, the cercles and the capital district are divided into 703 communes. The regions are numbered, originally west to east, with Roman numerals, the capital Bamako is administered separately and is in its own district. The ten regions and the Bamako District are listed below, the population figures are from the 1998 and 2009 censuses
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
Mali
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Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of just over 1,240,000 square kilometres, the population of Mali is 14.5 million. The countrys economy centers on agriculture and fishing, some of Malis prominent natural resources include gold, being the third largest producer of gold in the African continent, and salt. About half the population lives below the poverty line of $1.25 a day. A majority of the population are Muslims, present-day Mali was once part of three West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade, the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire, and the Songhai Empire. During its golden age, there was a flourishing of mathematics, astronomy, literature, at its peak in 1300, the Mali Empire covered an area about twice the size of modern-day France and stretched to the west coast of Africa. In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali, French Sudan joined with Senegal in 1959, achieving independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. Shortly thereafter, following Senegals withdrawal from the federation, the Sudanese Republic declared itself the independent Republic of Mali. After a long period of one-party rule, a coup in 1991 led to the writing of a new constitution and the establishment of Mali as a democratic, multi-party state. In January 2012, a conflict broke out in northern Mali, in which Tuareg rebels took control of by April and declared the secession of a new state. The conflict was complicated by a coup that took place in March. In response to Islamist territorial gains, the French military launched Opération Serval in January 2013, a month later, Malian and French forces recaptured most of the north. Presidential elections were held on 28 July 2013, with a second round held on 11 August. The name Mali is taken from the name of the Mali Empire, the name was originally derived from the Mandinka or Bambara word mali, meaning “hippopotamus”, but it eventually came to mean the place where the king lives. The word carries the connotation of strength, D. Niane suggests in Sundiata, An Epic of Old Mali that it is not impossible that Mali was the name given to one of the capitals of the emperors. 14th century Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta reported that the capital of the Mali Empire was indeed called Mali and this name could have formerly been that of a city. In old Mali there is one village called Malikoma which means “New Mali. ”Another theory suggests that Mali is a Fulani pronunciation of the name of the Mande peoples. It is suggested that a sound shift led to the change, whereby in Fulani the alveolar segment /nd/ shifts to /l/, Mali was once part of three famed West African empires which controlled trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt, slaves, and other precious commodities
4.
Capital (political)
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A capital city is the municipality exercising primary status in a country, state, province, or other region, usually as its seat of government. A capital is typically a city that encompasses the offices and meeting places of its respective government. In some jurisdictions, including countries, the different branches of government are located in different settlements. In some cases, a distinction is made between the capital and the seat of government, which is in another place. The word capital derives from the Latin caput, meaning head, in several English-speaking states, the terms county town, county seat, and borough seat are also used in lower subdivisions. In unitary states, subnational capitals are known as administrative centres. The capital is often, but not necessarily, the largest city of its constituent, historically, the major economic centre of a state or region often becomes the focal point of political power, and becomes a capital through conquest or federation. Examples are Ancient Babylon, Abbasid Baghdad, Ancient Athens, Rome, Constantinople, Changan, Ancient Cusco, Madrid, Paris, London, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, Vienna, and Berlin. Some of these cities are or were also religious centres, e. g. Constantinople, Rome, Jerusalem, Ancient Babylon, Moscow, Belgrade, Paris, and Peking. A capital city that is also the economic, cultural. The convergence of political and economic or cultural power is by no means universal, traditional capitals may be economically eclipsed by provincial rivals, e. g. Nanking by Shanghai, Quebec City by Montreal, and numerous US state capitals. The decline of a dynasty or culture could also mean the extinction of its city, as occurred at Babylon. Although many capitals are defined by constitution or legislation, many long-time capitals have no legal designation as such, for example Bern, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London, Paris, are located in or near them. In Canada, there is a capital, while the ten provinces. The states of such countries as Mexico, Brazil, and Australia all have capital cities, for example, the six state capitals of Australia are Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. In Australia, the capital cities is regularly used, to refer to the aforementioned state capitals plus the federal capital Canberra and Darwin. Abu Dhabi is the city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. In unitary states which consist of multiple constituent countries, such as the United Kingdom or the Kingdom of Denmark, the national capitals of Germany and Russia, the Stadtstaat of Berlin and the Federal City of Moscow, are also constituent states of both countries in their own right
5.
Kayes
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Kayes is a city in western Mali on the Sénégal River, with a population of 127,368 at the 2009 census. Kayes is the capital of the region of the same name. The name Kayes comes from the Soninké word karré, which describes a low humid place that floods in rainy season, the city is located 420 kilometres northwest of the capital Bamako. Prior to French colonial expansion, Kayes was a small village and its location on the path of the future Dakar-Niger Railway, and the French need for trade centers, led to the creation of the Kayes market town in 1881. It remains a hub, primarily for Senegalese trade, to this day. Kayes lies on the Route Nationale 1 highway and is 612 km by road from Bamako and 96 km from the border with Senegal. The town has an airport, and lies on the Dakar-Niger Railway which offered regional passenger train service to Bamako three times a week via Kati and Diamou as of 2013. The area is rich in gold and iron, the climate is subject to the West African Monsoon with all the rainfall occurring between June and October. There is almost no rainfall during the seven months of the year. The total annual rainfall is around 650 mm. Kayes is nicknamed the pressure cooker of Africa due to its extreme heat, the town has been described as the hottest continuously inhabited town in Africa. The average daily temperature in the city is 37 °C. Colonial history of Kayes, from Web Site of Dr. Jim Jones, African History Since 1875, view of Sénégal River Bridge at Kayes, Kidira Border Crossing into Mali, December 16,2004 by NKOverland
6.
Cercles of Mali
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A cercle is the second level administrative unit in Mali. Mali is divided into eight régions and one district, the régions are subdivided into 49 cercles. These subdivisions bear the name of their principal city, during French colonial rule in Mali, a cercle was the smallest unit of French political administration that was headed by a European officer. A cercle consisted of several cantons, each of which in turn consisted of several villages, in 1887 the Cercle of Bafoulabé was the first cercle to be created in Mali. In most of former French West Africa, the term cercle was changed to Prefecture or Department after independence, since these reforms, cercles are now directly subdivided into rural and urban communes, which in turn are divided in Quartiers which have elected councils at each level. There are 703 communes,36 urban communes and 667 rural communes, Mali Maplibrary, vector maps of national subdivisions of Mali. Regions, Cercles and Places in Mali, African Development Information Services Database, contains listing of Arrondissements under each Cercle page, as well as some Communes and places of interest in each Cercle. French Colonialism in Tropical Africa 1900-1945
7.
Ghana Empire
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The Ghana Empire, properly known as Awkar was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania and western Mali. By the time of the Muslim conquest of North Africa in the 7th century the camel had changed the ancient more irregular trade routes into a trade running from Morocco to the Niger river. The Ghana Empire grew rich from this increased trade in gold. It furthermore encouraged territorial expansion to gain control over the different trade-routes, when Ghanas ruling dynasty began is uncertain, it as mentioned for the first time in written records by Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī in 830. In the 11th century the Cordoban scholar Abu Ubayd al-Bakri collected stories from a number of travelers to the region, and gave a detailed description of the kingdom. He claimed that the Ghana could put 200,000 men into the field, more than 40,000 of them archers, as the empire declined it was finally made a vassal to the rising Mali Empire at some point in the 13th century. The origins of Ghana have often been obscured by fights between ethno-historic accounts and interpretations and archaeology, the earliest discussions of its origins are found in the Sudanese chronicles of Mahmud Kati and Abd al-Rahman as-Sadi. In addressing the origin, the Tarikh al-Fettash provides three different opinions, one that they were Black, another that they were Wangara, which are a Soninke group. Al-Kati favored another interpretation in view of the fact that their genealogies linked them to this group and he says that 22 kings ruled before the Hijra and 22 after. While these early views lead to many interpretations of a foreign origin of Wagadu. In addition, the archaeologist and historian Raymond Mauny argues that al-Katis and al-Sadis view of a foreign origin cannot be regarded as reliable, modern scholars, particularly African Muslim scholars, have argued about the extension of the Ghana Empire and tenure of its reign. Islamic religion was very well around the Asian-African-European area. Several such traditions were recorded and published, while there are variants, these traditions called the most ancient polity they knew of Wagadu, or the place of the Wago the term current in the nineteenth century for the local nobility. Upon Dingas death, his two sons Khine and Dyabe contested the kingship, and Dyabe was victorious, founding the kingdom. While Delafosse produced a theory of an invasion by Judeo-Syrians. Raymond Mauny, synthesizing early archaeology, various traditions, and the Arabic materials in 1961 concluded that trade was vital to the empires foundation. While there has not been much study of either traditions or documents, archaeologists have added considerable nuance to the ultimate play of forces. Archaeological research was slow to enter the picture, the Dar Tichitt site had clearly become a complex civilization by 1600 BCE and had architectural and material culture elements that seemed to match the site at Koumbi-Saleh
8.
Mali Empire
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The Mali Empire, also historically referred to as the Manden Kurufaba, was an empire in West Africa from c.1230 to c. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, the Manding languages were spoken in the empire. The Mali Empire was the largest in West Africa and profoundly influenced the culture of West Africa through the spread of its language, laws and customs. Rock art in the Sahara suggests that northern Mali has been inhabited since 10,000 BC, by 300 BC, large organised settlements had developed, most notable near Djenné, one of West Africas oldest cities. By the 6th century AD, the lucrative trade in gold, salt and slaves had begun. There are a few references to Mali in early written literature and this area was composed of mountains, savannah and forest providing ideal protection and resources for the population of hunters. Those not living in the mountains formed small city-states such as Toron, Ka-Ba, yet African Muslim scholars like the London-based Nigerian-British cleric, Sheikh Dr. Adelabu. During the height of Sundiatas power, the land of Manden became one of its provinces, the Manden city-state of Ka-ba served as the capital and name of this province. From at least the beginning of the 11th century, Mandinka kings known as faamas ruled Manden from Ka-ba in the name of the Ghanas, wagadous control over Manden came to a halt after internal instability lead to its decline. The Kangaba province, free of Soninké influence, splintered into twelve kingdoms with their own maghan or faama, Manden was split in half with the Dodougou territory to the northeast and the Kri territory to the southwest. The tiny kingdom of Niani was one of several in the Kri area of Manden, in approximately 1140 the Sosso kingdom of Kaniaga, a former vassal of Wagadou, began conquering the lands of its old masters. By 1180 it had even subjugated Wagadou forcing the Soninké to pay tribute, in 1203, the Sosso king Soumaoro of the Kanté clan came to power and reportedly terrorized much of Manden stealing women and goods from both Dodougou and Kri. According to Nianes version of the epic, during the rise of Kaniaga and he was the son of Nianis faama, Nare Fa. Sundiatas mother was Maghan Kon Fattas second wife, Sogolon Kédjou and she was a hunchback from the land of Do, south of Mali. The child of this received the first name of his mother. Combined in the spoken language of the Mandinka, the names formed Sondjata, Sundjata or Sundiata Keita. The anglicized version of this name, Sunjata, is also popular, in Ibn Khalduns account, Sundjata is recorded as Mari Djata with Mari meaning Amir or Prince. He also states that Djata or Jatah means lion, Prince Sundjata was prophesized to become a great conqueror
9.
Mauritania
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Mauritania /mɔːrɪˈteɪniə/, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in the Maghreb region of western Africa. The country derives its name from the ancient Berber Kingdom of Mauretania, approximately 90% of Mauritanias land is within the Sahara and consequently the population is concentrated in the south, where precipitation is slightly higher. The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast, the government was overthrown on 6 August 2008, in a military coup détat led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. On 16 April 2009, Aziz resigned from the military to run for president in the 19 July elections, about 20% of Mauritanians live on less than US$1.25 per day. Mauritania suffers from several human rights issues, including slavery, as at least 4% of the population are enslaved against their will, the Bafours were primarily agriculturalist, and among the first Saharan people to abandon their historically nomadic lifestyle. With the gradual desiccation of the Sahara, they headed south, many of the Berber tribes claimed Yemeni origins. There is little evidence to such claims, but a 2000 DNA study of Yemeni people suggested there might be some ancient connection between the peoples. Other peoples also migrated south past the Sahara to West Africa, in 1076, Moorish Islamic warrior monks attacked and conquered the large area of the ancient Ghana Empire. Over the next 500 years, Arabs overcame fierce resistance from the population to dominate Mauritania. The Char Bouba war was the final effort of the peoples to repel the Yemeni Maqil Arab invaders. The invaders were led by the Beni Hassan tribe, the descendants of the Beni Hassan warriors became the upper stratum of Moorish society. Hassaniya, a Berber-influenced Arabic dialect that derives its name from the Beni Hassan, berbers retained a niche influence by producing the majority of the regions marabouts, those who preserve and teach Islamic tradition. Imperial France gradually absorbed the territories of present-day Mauritania from the Senegal River area and upwards, in 1901, Xavier Coppolani took charge of the imperial mission. Through a combination of strategic alliances with Zawiya tribes, and military pressure on the Hassane warrior nomads, he managed to extend French rule over the Mauritanian emirates. Trarza, Brakna and Tagant quickly submitted to treaties with the colonial power, Adrar was finally defeated militarily in 1912, and incorporated into the territory of Mauritania, which had been drawn up and planned in 1904. Mauritania was part of French West Africa from 1920, French rule brought legal prohibitions against slavery and an end to inter-clan warfare. During the colonial period, 90% of the population remained nomadic, many sedentary peoples, whose ancestors had been expelled centuries earlier, began to trickle back into Mauritania. After gaining independence, larger numbers of indigenous Sub-Saharan African peoples entered Mauritania, educated in French language and customs, many of these recent arrivals became clerks, soldiers, and administrators in the new state
10.
Senegal
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Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country in West Africa. Senegal is bordered by Mauritania in the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast, and Guinea-Bissau to the southwest. Senegal also borders The Gambia, a country occupying a narrow sliver of land along the banks of the Gambia River, Senegal also shares a maritime border with Cape Verde. Senegals economic and political capital is Dakar and it is the westernmost country in the mainland of the Old World, or Afro-Eurasia, and owes its name to the Senegal River, which borders it to the east and north. The name Senegal comes from the Wolof Sunuu Gaal, which means Our Boat, Senegal covers a land area of almost 197,000 square kilometres and has an estimated population of about 15 million. The climate is Sahelian, but there is a rainy season, the territory of modern Senegal has been inhabited by various ethnic groups since prehistory. Organized kingdoms emerged around the century, and parts of the country were ruled by prominent regional empires such as the Jolof Empire. The present state of Senegal has its roots in European colonialism, which began during the mid-15th century, the establishment of coastal trading posts gradually led to control of the mainland, culminating in French rule of the area by the 19th century, albeit amid much local resistance. Senegal peacefully attained independence from France in 1960, and has since been among the politically stable countries in Africa. Senegals economy is centered mostly on commodities and natural resources, major industries are fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, construction materials, and ship construction and repair. As in most African nations, agriculture is a sector, with Senegal producing several important cash crops, including peanuts, sugarcane, cotton, green beans, tomatoes, melons. Owing to its stability, tourism and hospitality are also burgeoning sectors. A multiethnic and secular nation, Senegal is predominantly Sunni Muslim with Sufi, French is the official language, although many native languages are spoken and recognized. Since April 2012 Senegals president has been Macky Sall, Senegal has been a member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie since 1970. Senegal is named after the Senegal River, the etymology of which is contested, one popular theory is that it stems from the Wolof phrase sunu gaal, which means our canoe, resulting from a miscommunication between 15th-century Portuguese sailors and Wolof fishermen. The our canoe theory has been embraced in modern Senegal for its charm. It is frequently used in appeals to national solidarity, frequently heard in the media, modern historians believe the name probably refers to the Sanhaja, Berbers who lived on the northern side of the river. A competing theory is that it derives from the town of Sanghana
11.
Guinea
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Guinea /ˈɡɪni/, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a country on the West coast of Africa. Guinea has a population of 10.5 million and an area of 245,860 square kilometres, the president is directly elected by the people and is head of state and head of government. The unicameral Guinean National Assembly is the body of the country. The judicial branch is led by the Guinea Supreme Court, the highest, the country is named after the Guinea region. Guinea is a name for the region of Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea. It stretches north through the tropical regions and ends at the Sahel. Guinea is a predominantly Islamic country, with Muslims representing 85 percent of the population, Guineas people belong to twenty-four ethnic groups. French, the language of Guinea, is the main language of communication in schools, in government administration, and the media. Guineas economy is dependent on agriculture and mineral production. It is the second largest producer of bauxite, and has rich deposits of diamonds. The country was at the core of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, human rights in Guinea remain a controversial issue. In 2011 the United States government claimed that torture by security forces, the land that is now Guinea belonged to a series of African empires until France colonized it in the 1890s, and made it part of French West Africa. Guinea declared its independence from France on 2 October 1958, from independence until the presidential election of 2010, Guinea was governed by a number of autocratic rulers. What is now Guinea was on the fringes of the major West African empires, the Ghana Empire is believed to be the earliest of these which grew on trade but contracted and ultimately fell due to the hostile influence of the Almoravids. It was in period that Islam first arrived in the region. The Mali Empire was ruled by Mansa, the most famous being Kankou Moussa, shortly after his reign the Mali Empire began to decline and was ultimately supplanted by its vassal states in the 15th century. The most successful of these was the Songhai Empire, which expanded its power from about 1460 and it continued to prosper until a civil war over succession followed the death of Askia Daoud in 1582. The weakened empire fell to invaders from Morocco at the Battle of Tondibi just three years later, the Moroccans proved unable to rule the kingdom effectively, however, and it split into many small kingdoms
12.
Koulikoro Region
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Koulikoro Region is a region in western Mali. It is the administrative area of Mali and covers an area of 90,120 km2. Its capital is the city of Koulikoro, the region of Koulikoro is bordered by Mauritania on the north, the region of Kayes on the west, by Guinea and the region of Sikasso on the south, and by the region of Ségou to the east. In 2009 the Koulikoro Region had a population of 2,418,305 and these were mainly Bambaras, Malinkés Sonikes and Somonos around the Niger River. The region is irrigated by rivers, including the Niger, Baoulé, Sankarani, Baogé, Bani. The climate of the south has the high rainfall typical of the Sudan, while north of the Kita-Bamako axis. The largest cities of the region are Kati, Koulikoro, Kolokani, Nara, Banamba and Dioïla, the Boucle du Baoulé National Park and the natural reserves of Fina, Kongossambougou and Badinko shelter a diversity of wildlife. The region of Koulikoro is the seat of great empires which followed one another in Mali, the Ghana Empire, the Sosso Empire. The land of the Manding is located in this area and it is the cradle of the Empire of Mali and known for preserving its traditional culture with its griots and its hunters. Like much of Mali, the area is strongly Islamized, bambara serves as the areas most common language. Koulikoro is famous for its traditional puppet theater, showcased in festivals such as in the village of Diarabougou. Several musicians are natives of the region, including Salif Keita, Koulikoro is the terminus of the Dakar-Niger railway. It is also an important port on the Niger River which makes it possible to serve the towns of Ségou, Mopti, Tombouctou, the area is served by the airport of Bamako-sénou
13.
Soninke people
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They speak the Soninke language, also called Maraka language, which is one of the Mande languages. Predominantly Muslims, the Soninke were one of the ethnic groups from Sub-Saharan West Africa to convert to Islam in about the 10th century. The contemporary population of Soninke people is estimated to be over 2 million, Soninke people were the founders of the ancient empire of Ghana c. Subgroups of Soninke include the Maraka and Wangara, when the Ghana empire dispersed, the resulting diaspora brought Soninkes to Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, Gambia, Burkina Faso, and Guinea-Bissau where some of this trading diaspora was called Wangara. The cultural practices of Soninke people are similar to the Mandé peoples, and it includes traditional Islamic rites of marriages, circumcision and social stratification. Archaeological evidence suggests that the regions where Soninke people are found were inhabited in ancient times and these stone settlements were built on the rocky promontories of Tichit-Walata and the Tagant cliffs of Southern Mauritania. However, there are no surviving records to suggest which ethnic group these people were, a significant agro-pastoral society had developed in this pre-historic era. According to Soninke oral tradition history, the ancestor of the Soninke was Dinga and his sons included Dyabe Sisse, the founder of the Wagadu kingdom with its capital at Kumbi. The early written records about Soninke come from early Islamic historians, the Soninke, according to these records, were the founders of the ancient Ghana Empire, also called the Wagadu Empire. This empire has roots in the 5th-century CE and was destroyed by about the 12th century, in contemporary time, the total population of Soninke people is above 2 million. Soninke people are found throughout West Africa and in France, given their migration when Senegal, most of the Soninke people are found in the valley of the upper Senegal river and along the Mali – Senegal – Mauritania border between Nara and Nioro du Sahel. Migrations under French colonial rule have led many Soninke to build communities in Dakar, other cities in Africa, the Maraka - Soninke merchant communities and plantations were an economic mainspring under the Bambara Empire, and built trade routes in the West Africa region. The Soninke people were a trade link between the Berber people of Maghreb and the Empires in sub-Saharan West Africa. In their early history, they helped exchange salt from the north and this trade brought Muslim traders to them, particularly Arab traders interested in gold, after Islam arrived in North Africa. The rulers and Soninke people of the Ghana Empire converted to Islam in the 11th century, some Islamic sources suggest that the conversion was triggered after the 1076 Almoravid conquest of the Empire of Ghana. The Soninke people, like other Mande peoples, subscribe to the Maliki school of Sunni Islam, the Soninke society and its culture has historically many cultural practices with its neighboring ethnic groups, particularly the Mande peoples. This includes the religion of Islam, occupations, foods, the rites of passage, family structure, weddings, the Soninke society, like other Mande society, has social stratification. The Soninke strata have included a category called Horro or Horon, a caste system category called Namaxala or Nyaxamalo
14.
Mandinka people
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The Mandinka is a West African ethnic group with an estimated global population of eleven million. The Mandinka are the descendants of the Mali Empire, which rose to power under the rule of the Malinké/Maninka king Sundiata Keita, the Mandinka are a one ethnic group within the larger linguistic family of the Mandé peoples, who account for more than twenty million people. Originally from Mali, the Mandinka gained their independence from previous empires in the 13th century and they migrated west from the Niger River in search of better agricultural lands and more opportunities for conquest. Through a series of conflicts, the Fula jihads, particularly the Fula-led Imamate of Futa Jallon, over 99% of Mandinka in contemporary Africa are Muslim. The Mandinka people live primarily in West Africa, particularly in The Gambia, major populations of the Mandinka people also live in Mali, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Niger and Mauritania. Although widespread, in most countries, the Mandingo are not the largest ethnic group, most Mandingos live in family-related compounds in traditional rural villages, their traditional society has featured socially stratified castes. Mandinka communities have been fairly autonomous and self-ruled, being led by a chief, Mandingo has been an oral society where mythologies, history and knowledge is verbally transmitted from one generation to next. Between the 16th and 19th century, many Muslim and non-Muslim Mandinka people and these intermixed, creating a Creole culture, with the Mandika people significantly influencing the African heritage peoples now found in the Caribbean, Brazil and the southern United States. The Mandés were initially a part of many fragmented kingdoms that formed after the collapse of Ghana empire in the 11th century, during the rule of Sundiata Keita, these kingdoms were consolidated, and the Mandinka expanded west from the Niger River basin under Sundiatas general Tiramakhan Traore. This expansion was a part of creating a region of conquest and this migration began in the later part of the 13th century. Another group of Mandinka people, under Faran Kamara – the son of the king of Tabou – expanded southeast of Mali, with the migration, many gold artisans and metal working Mandinka smiths settled along the coast and in the hilly Fouta Djallon and plateau areas of West Africa. Their presence and products attracted Mandika merchants and brought trading caravans from north Africa and it also brought conflicts with other ethnic groups, such as the Wolof people, particularly the Jolof Empire. The caravan trade to North Africa and Middle East brought Islamic people into Mandinka peoples original, the Muslim traders sought presence in the host Mandinka community, and this likely initiated proselytizing efforts to convert the Mandinka from their traditional religious beliefs into Islam. In Ghana, for example, the Almoravids had divided its capital into two parts by 1077, one part was Muslim and other non-Muslim, the Muslim influence from North Africa had arrived in the Mandinka region before this, via Islamic trading diasporas. In 1324, Sultan Mansa Musa who ruled Mali, went on Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca with caravan carrying gold. Shihab al-Umari, the Arabic historian, described his visit and stated that Musa built mosques in his kingdom, established Islamic prayers and took back Maliki school of Sunni jurists with him. According to Richard Turner – a professor of African American Religious History, Musa was highly influential in attracting North African, the Mandinka people of Mali converted early, but those who migrated to the west did not convert and retained their traditional religious rites. One of the legends among the Mandingo of western Africa is that the general Tiramakhan Traore led the migration, because people in Mali had converted to Islam, another legend gives a contrasting account, and states that Traore himself had converted and married Muhammads grand daughter
15.
Fula people
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The Fula people or Fulani or Fulɓe, numbering between 20 and 25 million people in total, are one of the largest and a widely dispersed Muslim ethnic group in Sahel and West Africa. The Fula people are believed to have roots in the people from North Africa and the Middle East. As an ethnic group they are bound together by the Fula language, culture, history, their religious affiliation and their efforts to spread Islam in Sahel region and the West Africa. A significant proportion of the Fula – a third, or an estimated 7 to 8 million – are pastoral people, the majority of the Fula ethnic group consisted of semi-sedentary people, as well as sedentary settled farmers, artisans, merchants and nobility. Spread over many countries, they are mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa. Many Fulbe was also taken to the New World during 16th to 19th century Atlantic Slave Trade and they were largely captured from the Senegal and Guinea with a significant percentage also taken from Mali and Cameroon. Some of the Fulbe of note were Bilali Muhammad, Ayuba Diallo, Salih Bilali, Abdulrahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori, some of Bilali Muhammads known descendants still live on Salepo Island Georgia and he also left descendants in the Bahama Archipelago who are not known. Abdulrahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori and many others have many descendants in the USA, there are many names used in other languages to refer to the Fulɓe. Fulani in English is borrowed from the Hausa term, Fula, from Manding languages, is also used in English, and sometimes spelled Fulah or Fullah. Fula and Fulani are commonly used in English, including within Africa, the French borrowed the Wolof term Pël, which is variously spelled, Peul, Peulh, and even Peuhl. More recently the Fulfulde / Pulaar term Fulɓe, which is a noun has been Anglicised as Fulbe. In Portuguese, the terms Fula or Futafula are used, the terms Fallata Fallatah or Fellata are of Kanuri origins, and are often the ethnonyms by which Fulani people are identified by in Sudan. The Fula people are distributed, across the Sahel from the Atlantic coast to the Red Sea. Alongside, many speak other languages of the countries they inhabit. Such languages include Hausa, Bambara, Wolof, and Arabic and this is the area known as the Fombina, literally meaning The South in Adamawa Fulfulde, because it represented the most southern and eastern reaches of Fulɓe hegemonic dominance in West Africa. In this area, Fulfulde is the lingua franca. Further east of this area, Fulani communities become predominantly nomadic, the Fulani People occupy a vast geographical expanse located roughly in a longitudinal East-West band immediately south of the Sahara, and just north of the coastal rain forest and swamps. There are an estimated 20-25 million Fulani people, there are generally three different types of Fulani based on settlement patterns, viz, the Nomadic/Pastoral or Mbororo, The Semi-Nomadic and the Settled or Town Fulani
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French language
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French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
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Bafing River
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The Bafing River runs through Guinea and Mali and is about 760 kilometres long. It joins with the Bakoy River at Bafoulabé to form the Sénégal River in the Kayes Region of western Mali, in Manding languages, Bafing signifies black river and Bakoye white river. The Bafing forms part of the border between Guinea and Mali. From 1895 to 1898 the railway bridge near the town of Mahina, the Manantali hydroelectric dam, is located on the Bafing River 90 km upstream of Bafoulabé. It forms the largest artificial lake in Mali, Lake Manantali, the dam retains 11.3 km3 of water which is used to power the turbines during the dry season. As a result, the intensity of the flood downstream of the dam has been reduced
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Bakoy River
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The Bakoy or Bakoye River is a river in West Africa. It runs through Guinea and Mali and joins with the Bafing River to form the Sénégal River at Bafoulabé in the Kayes Region of western Mali, in Manding languages, Bakoye signifies white river, Bafing black river and Baloué red river. The source of the Bakoy is at an elevation of 760 m in the granite Monts Ménien to the northwest of Siguiri in Guinea, the river flows north and forms part of the international border between Guinea and Mali. It then meanders across the Manding Plateau and joins its principal affluent, the Baloué, the Bakoy is 560 km in length and drains a basin of around 85,600 km2. The river is seasonal with a flow in September after the start of the West African Monsoon. The large year-to-year variation in the intensity of the West African Monsoon gives rise to changes in the discharge of the Bakoy River. For the exceptionally dry year of 1972, the flow at the Oualia gauging station,54 km upstream of Bafoulabé, was only 30 m3/s while in 1958 the value was 260 m3/s. The average flow over the period 1951-1978 was 156 m3/s corresponding to a discharge of 4.9 km3. At Bafoulabé the average discharge of the Bakoy is between a third and a half of that of the Bafing
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Senegal River
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The Senegal River is a 1,086 km long river in West Africa that forms the border between Senegal and Mauritania. The Senegals headwaters are the Semefé and Bafing rivers which originate in Guinea, they form a small part of the Guinean-Malian border before coming together at Bafoulabé in Mali. From there, the Senegal river flows west and then north through Talari Gorges near Galougo and over the Gouina Falls, then more gently past Kayes. The Senegal further flows through semi-arid land in the north of Senegal, forming the border with Mauritania, in Kaedi it accepts the Gorgol from Mauritania. Flowing through Bogué it reaches Richard Toll where it is joined by the Ferlo coming from inland Senegals Lac de Guiers and it passes through Rosso and, approaching its mouth, around the Senegalese island on which the city of Saint-Louis is located, to then turn south. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a strip of sand called the Langue de Barbarie before it pours into the ocean itself. In between Manantali and Maka-Diama is the Félou Hydroelectric Plant which was completed in 1927 and uses a weir. The power station was replaced in 2014, in 2013, construction of the Gouina Hydroelectric Plant upstream of Felou at Gouina Falls began. The Senegal River has a basin of 270,000 km2, a mean flow of 680 m3/s. Important tributaries are the Falémé River, Karakoro River, and the Gorgol River, downstream of Kaédi the river divides into two branches. The left branch called the Doué runs parallel to the river to the north. After 200 km the two branches rejoin a few kilometres downstream of Pondor, the long strip of land between the two branches is called the Île á Morfil. In 1972 Mali, Mauritania and Senegal founded the Organisation pour la mise en valeur du fleuve Sénégal to manage the river basin, at the present time, only very limited use is made of the river for the transport of goods and passengers. The OMVS have looked at the feasibility of creating a navigable channel 55 m in width between the town of Ambidédi in Mali and Saint-Louis, a distance of 905 km. It would give landlocked Mali a direct route to the Atlantic Ocean, although the species richness is moderately high, only three species of frogs and one fish are endemic to this ecoregion. The existence of the Senegal River was known to the early Mediterranean civilizations and it was called Bambotus by Pliny the Elder and Nias by Claudius Ptolemy. It was visited by Hanno the Carthaginian around 450 BCE at his navigation from Carthage through the pillars of Herakles to Theon Ochema in the Gulf of Guinea. There was trade from here to the Mediterranean World, until the destruction of Carthage, in the Early Middle Ages, the Senegal River restored contact with the Mediterranean world with the establishment of the Trans-Saharan trade route between Morocco and the Ghana Empire
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Gouina Falls
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The Gouina Falls or Chutes de Gouina are on the Sénégal River in Mali between the towns of Bafoulabé and Diamou in the Kayes Region, where the river runs north from the Talari Gorges. They have been called the Niagara falls of Mali, the river is about 500 m wide at this point, and drops 16 m over the falls. The volume of water is 12-13 m3 per second in the dry season, the government of Mali and Senegal River Basin Development Authority has investigated the possibility of developing the electric power potential of the Senegal River. Downstream on the Félou Falls, a new Félou Hydroelectric Plant was completed in 2014, on Gouina Falls, construction of the 140 MW Gouina Hydroelectric Plant began in December 2013. It is expected to be complete in 2017
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Sudan (region)
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West Africa, also called Western Africa and the West of Africa, is the westernmost subregion of Africa. Early human settlers from northern Holocene societies arrived in West Africa around 12,000 B. C, sedentary farming began in, or around the fifth millennium B. C, as well as the domestication of cattle. By 1500 B. C, ironworking technology allowed an expansion of productivity. Northern tribes developed walled settlements and non-walled settlements that numbered at 400, in the forest region, Iron Age cultures began to flourish, and an inter-region trade began to appear. The desertification of the Sahara and the change of the coast cause trade with upper Mediterranean peoples to be seen. Local leather, cloth, and gold also contributed to the abundance of prosperity for many of the following empires. Also, based on the archaeology of city of Kumbi Saleh in modern-day Mauritania, three great kingdoms were identified in Bilad al-Sudan by the ninth century. They included Ghana, Gao and Kanem, the Sosso Empire sought to fill the void, but was defeated by the Mandinka forces of Sundiata Keita, founder of the new Mali Empire. In the 15th century, the Songhai would form a new dominant state based on Gao, in the Songhai Empire, under the leadership of Sonni Ali, further east, Oyo arose as the dominant Yoruba state and the Aro Confederacy as a dominant Igbo state in modern-day Nigeria. The Kingdom of Nri was a West African medieval state in the present-day southeastern Nigeria, the Kingdom of Nri was unusual in the history of world government in that its leader exercised no military power over his subjects. The kingdom existed as a sphere of religious and political influence over a third of Igboland, the Eze Nri managed trade and diplomacy on behalf of the Nri people, and possessed divine authority in religious matters. The Oyo Empire was a Yoruba empire of what is today Western, established in the 15th century, the Oyo Empire grew to become one of the largest West African states. It rose through the organizational skills of the Yoruba, wealth gained from trade. The Benin Empire was an empire located in what is now southern Nigeria. Its capital was Edo, now known as Benin City, Edo and it should not be confused with the modern-day country called Benin, formerly called Dahomey. The Benin Empire was one of the oldest and most highly developed states in the hinterland of West Africa. Olfert Dapper, a Dutch writer, describing Benin in his book Description of Africa and its craft was the most adored and treasured bronze casting in the history of Africa. It was annexed by the British Empire in 1897 during the invasion, in the early 19th century, a series of Fulani reformist jihads swept across Western Africa
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Sahel
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The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition in Africa between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian Savanna to the south. Having a semi-arid climate, it stretches across the south-central latitudes of Northern Africa between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea, the Arabic word sāḥil literally means shore, coast, while the word Sahara is derived from the Arabic word for desert. Together, these names evoke an image of the Sahels vegetation as a coastline on the Saharas ocean of sand, historically, the western part of the Sahel was sometimes known as the Sudan region. This belt was roughly located between the Sahara and the areas of West Africa. It is an ecoregion of semi-arid grasslands, savannas, steppes. The topography of the Sahel is mainly flat, most of the region lies between 200 and 400 meters in elevation, several isolated plateaus and mountain ranges rise from the Sahel, but are designated as separate ecoregions because their flora and fauna are distinct from the surrounding lowlands. Annual rainfall varies from around 100–200 mm in the north of the Sahel to around 600 mm in the south, the Sahel is mostly covered in grassland and savanna, with areas of woodland and shrubland. Grass cover is continuous across the region, dominated by annual grass species such as Cenchrus biflorus, Schoenefeldia gracilis. Species of acacia are the dominant trees, with Acacia tortilis the most common, along with Acacia senegal, other tree species include Commiphora africana, Balanites aegyptiaca, Faidherbia albida, and Boscia senegalensis. In the northern part of the Sahel, areas of shrub, including Panicum turgidum and Aristida sieberana, alternate with areas of grassland. During the long dry season, many lose their leaves. The larger species have greatly reduced in number by over-hunting and competition with livestock. The seasonal wetlands of the Sahel are important for birds moving within Africa. The Sahel has a tropical, hot steppe climate, the climate is typically hot, sunny, dry and somewhat windy all year long. The Sahels climate is similar to, but less extreme than, the Sahel mainly receives a low to a very low amount of precipitation annually. The steppe has a long, prevailing dry season and a short rainy season. The precipitation is extremely irregular, and varies considerably from season to season. Most of the rain falls during only one or two months, while the other months may remain absolutely dry
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Kayes Cercle
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Kayes Cercle is an administrative subdivision of the Kayes Region of Mali. Its seat is the city of Kayes, which is also the capital of its Region, the Cercle is further divided into Communes. The city of Kayes is subdivided into Urban Communes and Wards, Kayes Cercles population in 2009 was 513,362
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Khasso
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Khasso or Xaaso was a West African kingdom of the 17th to 19th centuries, occupying territory in what is today Senegal and the Kayes Region of Mali. Over two thousand years ago, it was part of Serer territory, from the 17th to 19th centuries, its capital was at Medina until its fall. Seated at the head of the Senegal River, the Khasso kingdom was composed of Fulas who had immigrated to the area, Séga Doua is remembered as the first Fankamala of the Khasso, and his dynasty would last until the death of his descendant Demba Séga in 1796. Following a civil war between his sons Dibba Samballa et Demba Maddy, the kingdom fragmented into five smaller states, like the Bambara Empire to the east, the Khasso kingdoms depended heavily on the slave trade for their economy. A familys status was indicated by the number of slaves it owned and this trade led the Khasso into increasing contact with the European settlements of Africas west coast, particularly the French. However, the Khasso found themselves increasingly under French control until they were assimilated into French Sudan in 1880, present-day inhabitants of this region often identify themselves as Khassonké. Pre-Colonial Malian History Khasso. com Khassonké music, song, and dance
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Louis Faidherbe
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Louis Léon César Faidherbe was a French general and colonial administrator. He created the Senegalese Tirailleurs when he was governor of Senegal, Faidherbe was born into a lower-middle-class family in Lille. He was the child of Louis César Joseph Faidherde, a hosier. His father died in 1826 when he was seven and he was brought up by his mother and he received his military education at the École Polytechnique and then at the École dApplication in Metz. From 1843 to 1847 he served in Algeria, then for one year in Guadeloupe, in 1852 he was transferred to Senegal as sub-director of engineers, and in 1854 was promoted chef de bataillon and appointed governor of the colony on December 16. He held this post with one interval until July 1865. The work he accomplished in French West Africa constitutes his most enduring legacy, at that time France possessed in Senegal little else than the town of Saint-Louis and a strip of coast. Explorers had, however, made known the riches and possibilities of the Niger regions and he even dreamed of creating a French African empire stretching from Senegal to the Red Sea. The plan specified in detail the creation of forts along the Sénégal River to end African control of the gum trade from the interior. Faidherbes push to build fortifications farther out, his conflicts with Protet, within three months of his appointment as governor, he had begun work on the first in a series on inland forts up the Sénégal, at Médine just below the Félou Falls. French military forces had previously avoided conflicts with the most powerful states in the area, the Toucouleur empire along the Niger River, and the Cayor in the south. To accomplish even the first part of his design, he had very inadequate resources, especially in view of the opposition from El Hadj Umar Tall, the Muslim ruler of the countries of the middle Niger. By advancing the French outposts on the upper Senegal, and particularly by breaking Umar Talls siege of Medina Fort, striking an advantageous treaty with Umar in 1860, Faidherbe brought the French possessions into touch with the Niger. He also brought into subjection the country lying between the Senegal river and Gambia, at the Battle of Logandème, Faidherbe launched war against the Serer people of Sine, during the reign of Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof. After his victory, he gave the order for Fatick and its villages to be burned to the ground. The French government in Paris criticised him for undertaking a campaign without their authority. To answer his critics, Faidherbe claimed that he only occupied areas that belonged to France since 1679, scholars like Martin A. Kelin notes that, Faidherbe was merely playing with words and was making political decisions in Senegal without any authority whatsoever. The Kingdom of Sine nor any of its provinces never belonged to France, Saint-Louis was placed under formal military control, and a telegraph and road link was set up to the other French colonies in Gorée Island and Rufisque
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Siege of Medina Fort
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France at this time was struggling to create a West African empire to rival the holdings of its powerful neighbor Britain. The previous year, the French legislature had voted the first funds for what would become the Dakar-Niger railway line, a key transportation system to link Frances colonies. As the railroad line expanded toward the east, the established a series of forts, moving troops and cannon into them by steamship where possible. In 1848, Umar Tall launched his jihad against neighboring Malinké regions, by 1855, his rapid expansion had led to several skirmishes with the French army. With the authorization of his ally, Khasso Queen Hawa Demba Diallo, Governor Faidherbe ordered a fort built at the Khasso city of Medina, not far from Kayes. In April 1857, Umar Tall declared war against the Khasso kingdom and he laid siege to the fort and began a series of assaults that resulted in hundreds of casualties for the Toucouleur army. However, the French continued to expand their West African presence, conquering Ségou, the Fort du Medine is open to the public. The Fort is located about 12 km east of Kayes on the road to Bamako, there is also an old railroad station and European-style cemetery with graves from the mid-19th century. The village population is around 1800 with a small market daily, initial article is based on a translation of the corresponding article from the French Wikipedia, retrieved on July 5,2005 B. O
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French Sudan
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French Sudan was a French colonial territory in the federation of French West Africa from around 1880 until 1960, when it became the independent state of Mali. The colony was formally called French Sudan from 1890 until 1899 and then again from 1921 until 1958, the colony was initially established largely as a military project led by French troops, but in the mid-1890s it came under civilian administration. A number of reorganizations in the early 1900s brought increasing French administration over issues like agriculture, religion. Following World War II, the African Democratic Rally under Modibo Keita became the most significant political force pushing for independence, Mali initially retained close connections with France and joined in a short-lived federation with Senegal in 1959, but ties to both countries quickly weakened. In 1960, the French Sudan colony formally became the Republic of Mali and began to distance itself further from Senegal, French Sudan originally formed as a set of military outposts as an extension of the French colony in Senegal. Though the area offered France little economic or strategic gain, the military effectively advocated greater conquest in the region. French conquest began in 1879, when Joseph Gallieni was dispatched to the area to establish a fort and this was followed with the establishment of a number of French forts and political alliances with specific leaders in the region in the early 1880s. Desbordes gradually took more territory, often using inter-ethnic rivalries. Archinard led military campaigns against Samori Ture, Ahmadu Tall, and other resistant leaders in the region, Archinards campaigns were often executed through direct military control, without civilian oversight. As costs increased, the French administration decided to replace Archinards control over the area with a civilian governor, the region was governed under a number of different names between 1880 and 1960. The area was Upper River from 1880 until 18 August 1890, on 10 October 1899, French Sudan was divided, with the southern cercles joining coastal colonies, and the rest split into two administrative areas called Middle Niger and Upper Senegal. In 1902, the region again was organized as a colony under the name Senegambia. The name changed again in 1904 to Upper Senegal and Niger, finally, in 1921, the name changed back to French Sudan. Borders and administration of the colony similarly changed a number of times, originally, and for the initial period, the colony vacillated between military administration and civilian administration from Senegal. In 1893, French Sudan formally came under administration, which lasted until 1899. At that point, a reorganization of the colony split 11 southern provinces to other French colonies like French Guinea, the area that was not reorganized was governed in two administrations linked to other French colonies. Following this, the territory of the colony was reestablished in 1902, though the borders shifted slightly, there was little territorial change until 1933. At that point, the colony of the French Upper Volta dissolved, in 1947, Upper Volta was reestablished, and the French Sudan borders became those that eventually became the borders of Mali
Mali
