|Biographical detail : ||The founder of a Muslim State in West Africa
Samori fought several battles with the French including one in 1882 when his armies were besieged in Kenyeran. He resisted French colonial expansion from 1882 until his capture in 1898.
Samori conquered the Bure’ gold mining district (now on the border between Sierra Leone and Guinea) to bolster his financial situation. By 1878 he was strong enough to proclaim himself ‘Faama’, military leader, of his kingdom.
In 1879, after numerous struggles, Samori was able to secure control of the key Dyula trading centre of Kankan, on the Upper Milo Rive, a dominating site for the trade in kola nuts and for trade routes to all directions.
By 1881, Samori controlled an emerging state extending through Guinea and Mali, from what is now Sierra Leone, to northern Cote d’Ivoire. He sought to establish a state based on orthodox version of Islam and, in 1884, proclaimed himself ‘Almani’, as a ruler.
In 1898, a French column captured Samori at Guelemou, en route to Liberian border. Samori was deported to Gabon where he died as a French prisoner. A brilliant military commander with a broad view of grand strategy, Samori Ture has now become an inspiration to modern West Africa.
Samori was born in Manyambaladugu (in what is now south-eastern Guinea) and grew up in the place being transformed by growing contacts with the Europeans.