An Atlantic revolution

Historians talk about the late 1700s and early 1800s as an age of revolution. During this time, some people in Europe and the Americas were unhappy with their leaders. They did not want to pay high taxes to support rich rulers. The working class began to share new ideas and beliefs. These ideas led to revolutions. New leaders and new kinds of governments emerged.

Revolutions also happened in West Africa during this period. ‘Uthman dan Fodio was a Muslim scholar and leader. He led a revolution in what is now Nigeria. It took place between 1804 and 1811. Yet historians hardly every mention him when they talk about revolutions.

I’m here to suggest that this should change. But you should make up your own mind about it. We will look at some West African revolutions alongside others such as the American, French, Haitian, and Latin American revolutions. There are many differences between them. However, I believe revolutions in West Africa were just as important as those taking place on the other side of the Atlantic. Read on, and see if you agree!

The Atlantic economy — West African wing

The Atlantic economy refers to the growth of trade and the circulation of money among West Africa, the Americas, and Europe. These countries are all connected by the Atlantic Ocean. In the 1700s, countries began to trade more goods across the Atlantic Ocean. This growth made merchants rich and kept workers poor. This class divide lead to revolution in those regions. In France, for example, merchants demanded more power as their wealth grew. Meanwhile, French peasants were angry that they were denied that wealth and power. The people of France overthrew their government in 1789.

Atlantic trade also made the ruling classes richer in West Africa. The wealthy sold gold and enslaved people to Europe. West African rulers also collected taxes from their people to fund wars. These wars helped them kidnap people to sell to European slavers. This system, which is sometimes called the “fiscal-military” state, looks a lot like Europe at this time. During the 1700s, European countries were also increasing taxes to pay for wars. This matters to our study of revolution. Remember, it was increased taxation that helped spark both the French and American Revolutions.

This fiscal-military system of trade and taxation caused many problems in West Africa. West Africans exported goods like gold and copper to Europe. These materials were important for keeping economies strong. West Africa ended up with fewer of those goods. Meanwhile, Europe was building up a strong supply. West African societies were also losing people to the transatlantic slave trade. Rich West Africans rulers exchanged enslaved people for imported goods such as alcohol. Alcohol was not good for growing the local economy. As a result, West African economies were weaker than European economies. This caused more working class people to suffer.

Jihad as revolution

Revolutions in Europe were inspired by the news ideas of the Enlightenment. It was a cultural movement that began in Europe in the late 1700s. This movement valued individualism and reason over tradition. However, Enlightenment ideas didn’t spread widely in West Africa.¹ Instead, West Africans turned to Islam as a force for change. The religion had entered West Africa around the eleventh century. Over time, West African scholars developed a form of Islam that suited most people.

Islam became a revolutionary force in West Africa because it helped the working class in three main ways. First, Islam doesn’t allow the sale of Muslims as enslaved people. Many people saw becoming Muslim as protection from becoming enslaved. Second, Islamic laws in West Africa kept rulers from having too much power. Third, Islam doesn’t allow alcohol. This was one of the main goods imported by the harsh West African rulers.

West Africans used Islamic ideas to overthrow their leaders. They launched military campaigns to take power from their rulers. These were revolutions. They were also called jihad. That is an Arabic word meaning “struggle.”

The first of these revolutions was launched in Senegal in the 1670s. At the time, Senegal was a series of states. These states raided each other’s communities to enslave people. A Muslim man named Naṣīr al-Dīn led an uprising of peasants and herders against the ruling elite. They helped put an end to enslavement in the region.

In 1727, a similar jihad broke out in modern-day Guinea. Herders overthrew the military and merchant elite. They created the Muslim state of Fuuta Jalon. In the 1790s, another revolutionary Muslim state was created in Senegal. It was called Fuuta Toro. In both the revolutions of Fuuta Jalon and Fuuta Toro, the leaders were mostly cattle herders. They had been among the most highly taxed and enslaved people of their regions.

One of the last great revolutionary jihads broke out in 1804. The transatlantic slave trade was expanding during this period. Europeans were trying to buy captives in what is now modern-day Nigeria. Many of these people were herders and farmers who were enslaved during wars. A number of the communities suffering from these wars and enslavement turned to Islam. Islam, as mentioned earlier, did not allow the sale of Muslims as slaves.

One leader of these communities was ‘Uthman dan Fodio. He criticized the local rulers. He spoke out against them because they imposed high taxes and allowed slavery. He brought many communities together to launch a revolution. It created one of the largest states in West African history. Known as the Sokoto Caliphate, it existed between 1804 and 1903.

How revolutionary were these West African states? Well, many brought education to a wider range of the population. And in many regions the ruling powers were restricted by Islamic law. In general, these states sold fewer people into the transatlantic slave trade. Still, as in Europe and the Americas, there were limits to the revolution. The new governments still made people pay high taxes and allowed some forms of slavery.

West African states were revolutionary in a similar way to the Americas and Europe at this time, even though the actual results of these revolutions were different. Across the Atlantic, wealth shifted to rulers and merchants while others worked for little or no pay. This caused great anger and resentment. People turned towards a belief system that promised change and freedom. What does your inner historian say? Should ‘Uthman dan Fodio’s revolution make the list?

1 In part, this was because of the language barrier—few West Africans spoke French or English. In part, it was because those ideas weren’t really that attractive or familiar to West Africans.