Lesson

Fulani Jihads and Religious Mobilization for Captive Acquisition

Bridge-in

You may already know that religious movements have sometimes been linked to conflict and forced migration. In West Africa, a series of 18th- and 19th-century Islamic reform movements led by Fulani leaders used warfare framed as holy struggle to establish new states, and in doing so they captured large numbers of people who were then sold to European traders along the coast. Understanding this helps explain how religious ideology and the Atlantic slave trade intersected in producing captives.

Objective

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain how Fulani-led Islamic jihads in the 18th and 19th centuries used religiously motivated warfare to conquer neighboring societies and produce captives for sale to European traders.

Pre-check — warm-up, not graded

What was one major way that people became captives destined for the transatlantic slave trade in West Africa?

Through warfare and raiding by African societies and movements, which produced captives sold to European coastal traders.

Content

Between the late 18th and mid-19th centuries, a series of Islamic reform jihads led by Fulani religious leaders swept across parts of Senegambia and Upper Guinea. These movements, such as those associated with leaders like Usman dan Fodio in the Sokoto Caliphate and later figures in the Fouta Djallon and Massina regions, framed their campaigns as defensive and purifying holy wars against what they viewed as un-Islamic or insufficiently Islamic rule. The jihads were not merely religious revivals; they were also military campaigns that conquered neighboring societies, including non-Muslim communities and rival polities. Conquest brought large numbers of captives, who were held in bondage or sold internally. European traders operating along the coast of Senegambia and Upper Guinea purchased many of these captives, linking the religiously motivated Fulani jihads to the broader Atlantic slave trade. Historians note that while these movements were driven by genuine religious conviction and reformist goals, their military success depended on capturing people, and the resulting surplus of captives fed directly into coastal markets where European merchants acquired them for transport across the Atlantic. Thus, the Fulani jihads exemplify how religious mobilization could be intertwined with the production and export of captives during this period.

Post-check — self-check

According to the lesson, how were the Fulani jihads connected to the Atlantic slave trade?

The Fulani jihads conquered neighboring societies, producing captives who were sold to European traders along the coast, thereby linking religiously motivated warfare to the Atlantic slave trade.

Summary

Fulani-led Islamic jihads in the 18th and 19th centuries combined religious reform with military conquest, capturing large numbers of people who were sold to European coastal traders, thus connecting religious mobilization to the Atlantic slave trade.

According to the lesson, what was one outcome of the Fulani-led Islamic jihads in Senegambia and Upper Guinea?