Samori Touré
c. 1828 – 2 June 1900
Samori Touré was a West African military leader who founded and ruled the Wassoulou Empire in the region of present-day Guinea, Mali, and Côte d'Ivoire. He organized a powerful, well-armed state and led a prolonged resistance against French colonial expansion in the late nineteenth century. He was captured by French forces in 1898 and died in exile.
Lived at the same time
Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Samori Touré.
- Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913) Overlapped 72 years →
- Clara Barton (1821–1912) Overlapped 72 years →
- Elizabeth Blackwell (1821–1910) Overlapped 72 years →
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902) Overlapped 72 years →
- Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) Overlapped 72 years →
- Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) Overlapped 72 years →
Life events
Samori Touré was born into a Mandinka trading family in the upper Milo River valley in present-day Guinea.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe entered military service and rose to prominence as a commander among the Mandinka.
He established the Wassoulou Empire, building a centralized state with a disciplined, firearm-equipped army.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe waged sustained military resistance against French expansion in West Africa over more than a decade.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe proclaimed himself Faama (ruler) of his growing empire, consolidating political and military authority.
He signed a treaty with the French that temporarily defined the boundaries of his empire.
Under French pressure he moved his empire eastward toward present-day Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana.
He was captured by French troops at Guélémou, bringing an end to his resistance.
Source: en.wikipedia.org