Bundu (state)

Bundu in the 17th century was a sparsely-populated part of the kingdom of Gajaaga inhabited mostly by Pulaar communities but with minorities of Jakhanke, Soninke and other peoples, all non-Muslim.[3][4]

In 1690, Fula Torodbe cleric Malick Sy[5] came to the region from him home near Podor in Futa Toro. He and his followers may have been fleeing persection in the aftermath of the Char Bouba war or simply seeking a place where Sy could enforce his interpretation of sharia law. The tunka of Gajaaga gave Sy control first over one village and then a larger territory, the border of which Sy advantageously manipulated by cheating on a pact with the king. Bundu's growth that would set a precedent for later Fula jihads in West Africa.[6] Sy settled the lands with relatives from his native Futa Toro and Muslim immigrants from as far west as the Djolof Empire and as far west as Nioro du Sahel.[7][8]^: 26

Under Sy, Bundu became a refuge for Muslims and Islamic scholars persecuted by traditional rulers in other kingdoms. It eventually expanded east, taking territory from Bambuk.[9] Sy was killed in 1699 caught in an ambush by the army of Gajaaga.[10]

Sy was succeeded by his son Bubu Malick Sy, who expanded the realm southwards at the expense of local Mandinka kingdoms. By 1716 Bundu was the most powerful state on the upper Senegal.[11] When he in turn died between 1718 and 1727, an interregnum ensued that threatened both Sisibe (the descendants of Malick Sy) control over the state and the integrity of its central authority. This was, however, restored by Bubu's son Maka Jiba between 1731 and 1735.[8]^: 28

From the 1720s to the 1760s Bundu suffered Moroccan and Moorish slave raids, as did the neighboring states of Gajaaga, Bambuk, and Futa Toro.[12] Maka Jiba died in 1764 and was suceeded by his son Amadi Gai, who adopted the title of almamy and introduced a legal system based on sharia. The division between the Bulibani and Koussan branches of the family, which would be the source of many succession disputes. originated at this time.[13]

Mungo Park, the first European traveller to visit the country, passed through Bondu in 1795, and had to submit to many exactions from the reigning monarch. The royal residence was then at Fatteconda;[14] but when Major William Gray, a British officer who attempted to solve the Niger problem, visited Bondu in 1818 it had been moved to Bulibani (Boolibany), a village with a population of 1500–1800, surrounded by a strong clay wall.[15]

The French established a fort at Bakel in Gajaaga in 1820, followed by a brief presence at Sansanding in Bundu itself. Almamy Saada Amadi Aissata Sy, trying to promote trade, agreed to allow a permanent fort built at Senudebou in 1845, though this became a source of contention within the Sisibe ruling class.[16] He also hoped to gain French support for the alliance he was building with the Imamate of Futa Toro and Bambuk against Kaarta, the only state on the upper Senegal that could rival Bundu at this time. But the Europeans, while happy to see Kaarta humbled, did not want Bundunke hegemony either.[17]

In 1851 Saada Amadi died and a civil war broke out. El Hadj Umar Tall took advantage, taking over the area initially with the support of both the people and the Bundu aristocracy. Many Fulbe migrated east to Nioro du Sahel, heart of Tall's Toucouleur Empire. In 1855 Bokar Saada Sy, son of Saada Amadi, claimed the title of almamy with French support, but only managed to exert real control over Bundu after Tall's 1857 defeat at the Siege of Medina Fort with French military support. During this period warfare and famine devastated the economy, and Tall's call for Muslims to emigrate eastwards to his domain dramatically reduced the population, particularly among the Fulbe.[18][19]

In the 1860s and 70s the Sisibe under Bokar Saada rebuilt their wealth through extensive raiding and trading for slaves and cattle as well as taxing the people. By the late 19th century two thirds of the population was enslaved.[20] After the closing of the Senoudebou fort in 1862, Saada was the most powerful representative of French interests east of Bakel. He used this position to continually raid neighboring states for captives and booty, particularly the Kingdom of Wuli.[21]

Nevertheless, in the face of popular discontent, a series of famines and plague outbreaks, and renewed succession disputes, the state was fragile. Mahmadu Lamine's popular 1885-7 jihad briefly drove the Sisibe out of power until French military power defeated the jihadist forces and restored them to the throne.[22] With this, French control was effectively complete. The last almamy, chosen by the French, died in 1902.[23]

Early years of French control saw a rising population as many former migrants returned. Starting in 1904, however, conditions deteriorated significantly, and large-scale famines forced much of the population to move within or leave Bundu. Slaves in particular took the opportunity to flee or renegotiate their situations, and many joined the French army during World War 1.[24] With the growth of the peanut basin and the reorientation of trade towards the Dakar-Niger Railway, Bundu was increasingly ignored by the colonial administration. The area was economically marginalized, but also saw a flourishing of religious communities deliberately separating themselves from the pagan French.[25]