Mali as an independent state
- David Petersen
- May 2
- 6 min read
The current day Mali is a former colony of France as the French Sudan (Soudan Francais). This was itself part of a larger group called, French West Africa (Afrique-Occidentale Francaise), which comprised of eight territories: Mauritania, Senegal, French Guinea (Guinea), Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire), Upper Volta (Burkina Faso), Dahomey (Benin), Niger, and the French Sudan (Mali). France had a significant portion of Africa as did other European nations. The modern-day borders and lines that are seen on contemporary maps were created from the Berlin Conference in 1885. This conference saw 13 European states, the US and the Ottoman Empire deliberate on how Africa should be divided amongst them
There were no Africans, state leaders or peoples invited to the conference. The borders of which are seen to be almost ruler straight were just that when first carved. Mountainous regions, rivers, tribal divides were irrelevant during the meeting, only the usefulness to the wider world was considered[1]. According to Olyaemi Akinwumi, “the foundation for present day crises in Africa was laid by the conference”[2]. The vast continent of Africa has an incredibly rich history, some more known than others, but this essay focuses on Mali, previously known as the French Sudan. In the twenty-first century, Mali has made the news for its coup in 2012 after being labelled a poster child for democracy in Africa[3]. However, prior to this time, very little is known, and for that reason state leaders will continue to make the mistakes that will perpetuate Mali into becoming a so called ‘failed state’[4]. Only by understanding Mali’s origins as an independent state, free from official colonial rule, can Mali become a West African leader.
European states and traders have known about Africa, or more specifically North Africa since classical antiquity but it was not until the 15th century when Europe sought to set up trading outposts utilizing African materials. Despite popular belief, local wares in North and West Africa were somewhat superior to that produced in Europe, however the novelty and rarity of the European wares were often purchased by African rulers as courtly regalia[5]. Europeans would return with precious materials, textiles and African slaves which facilitated a European presence in coastal Africa.
By 1750 much of the North to West African coastline was understood, explored, and traded with. However, the interior was lacking any sufficient and reliable cartography. The only real gains had been made centuries before by the Portuguese who had set up trading posts across West Africa during the fifteenth century. This began with raids on coastal towns but due to heavy loss of life, the Portuguese resorted to diplomatic means of communication. This developed into ‘landlord-stranger agreements’ whereby a Portuguese trader would attach themselves to a local ‘protector’ through trading commissions[6]. During this time momentous discoveries such as ‘Mina’ (The Mine, otherwise known as the Gold Coast) allowed Portugal to circumnavigate Africa to Asia increasing trade[7]. Mina had a rich supply of gold and so Portugal were able to trade their base metals and cloth, enabling Portugal to become a global trader and a powerful European state[8].
There were three main motives for European exploration of North and West Africa: the search for wealth, search for political advantage, and search for souls to save[9]. This continued into the 19th century which led to what was known as the ‘Scramble for Africa’ which included the competitive demonstration by European nations to acquire territories around the world[10]. These European powers were Britain, Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, and Spain. By the beginning of the twentieth century all African states except for Ethiopia and Liberia were colonized by a European power.
Mali (French Sudan) was colonized by France after the French military made a significant effort for control in 1880. Mali resisted control which led to 7 years of war that came to an end when the Malinke warrior Samoury Toure was killed in 1898[11]. By 1905, the territory of the French Sudan was firmly under French control and was primarily used as a labor supply for the West African coastal settlements. The arbitrary, straight-line borders that are visible today on an African map were non-existent at the time of French colonial rule. Mali as was, also comprised of parts of Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Senegal. French ruled over Mali from a distance, primarily from Paris due to the uninhabitable climate for the Europeans. This ruling permitted the Malian people to discuss ideas with little knowledge by the French governments and so nationalist thinking began to surge. Deficient French decision making and a lack of awareness for how the Malians perceived them helped develop disapproval. An example of bad decision making and a disregard for how the Malian people would react can be highlighted with the case of Emile Belime. Beginning in the 1920’s, Emile Belime presided over a plan in which he believed colonial authorities could coerce Africans to work within West Africa in order to increase raw cotton production[12]. This scheme would include a proposal for a 1,850,000 million hectares of sparsely populated land being transformed into an irrigation system. The systems that they implemented led to flooding of the entire immediate region, displacement on an enormous scale as the ground was completely unusable, and deaths as those that could not leave were left to die.
A growing desire for independence was building across the world through the 1930’s and reached its peak during World War II. The most notable of this desire is India who gained independence from Britain in 1947[13]. It wouldn’t be for another 13 years until Mali would finally claim itself as an independent nation once again. There were some African states that had gained independence prior to World War II such as: South Africa (1910) and Egypt (1922). Many African states became independent between 1950 and 1980 with only a select few that were outside of this timeline. Interestingly, there were three states that gained independence after 1980, Namibia, Eritrea, and South Sudan, but their colonial power was not a European nation but an African state[14].
Mali’s independence was navigated by Mobido Keita, a charismatic, Bamako born teacher who’s Marxist ideology pushed him towards politics. His first taste of politics came when he stood in the elections for the ‘Assemblee Constituante Francaise’ (French Constituent Assembly) in October 1945. Keita lost to Fily Dabo Sissoko and changed course by joining the ‘Parti Democratique Soudanais’ or PDS (Sudanese Democratic Party). The PDS had close affiliations to the French communist party which allowed Keita to further develop his Marxist beliefs. Fily Dabo Sissoko was leading the ‘Parti Soudanais Progressiste (Sudanses Progressive Party) which supported the colonial administration. This support gained favours with the French powers but also equally angered Keita. In order to ensure that Sissoko’s party could be democratically or politically overcome, Keita needed to ensure that he was with strong enough opposition. Keita decided to join the ‘Bloc Soudanais’ (Sudanese Bloc). In June 1946 there was a second election and for a second time, Keita lost out to Sissoko and his progressive party.
In October 1946, at the congress of Bamako, Keita was part of a group that created the ‘Rassemblement Democratique Africain’ (RDA, African Democratic Rally). In Sudan it was known as Union Soudanaise (US, Sudanese Union) and in January 1947, Keita became its general secretary.
Independent political parties were first formed in Mali in 1946 through a territorial assembly. After political gesturing and internal movement, the US-RDA became the predominant political party with Mobida Keita as the leader. Keita was a revered character that took to public speaking and leadership roles with indignant satisfaction. Spurred on by his strong belief in Marxism, Keita had very strong ideas for what direction Mali should go in. Although his profession was as a teacher in his home city of Bamako (Mali), he grew intensely disturbed by the French ruling of Mali and joined the Rassemblement Democratique Africain (RDA) in 1947. His natural charisma enabled him to swiftly rise the ranks of the party to become secretary general of the ‘Union Soudaniase’[15].
The French hierarchy recongnised the political power of Keita and arrested him.
This enabled a greater understanding of the interior of West Africa but unfortunately little was done in the way of cartography and exploration as these trading stations were primarily for the gain of wealth but were someway from reaching deep into the interior.
European explorers of the interior of Africa did not successfully or officially exist until the 19th century with names such as Mungo Park, Alexander Laing, and Mary Kingsley. These were chartered with exploring the central and western parts of the interior but in 1870 the famous mission to find the source of the Nile took place with names such as John Henning Speke and Henry Morton Stanley. This time is often called the scramble for Africa or as the New Imperialism. It was for the invasion and occupation of the vast majority of Africa with Spain, Italy, France, Britain, Germany, Portugal, and Belgium controlling approximately 90% of Africa by 1914.
[6] Elbl, Ivana. "Cross-Cultural Trade and Diplomacy: Portuguese Relations with West Africa, 1441-1521." <i>Journal of World History</i> 3, no. 2 (1992): 165-204. Accessed August 10, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20078528.
[9] Elbl, Ivana. "Cross-Cultural Trade and Diplomacy: Portuguese Relations with West Africa, 1441-1521." <i>Journal of World History</i> 3, no. 2 (1992): 165-204. Accessed August 10, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20078528.
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