The almamate of Futa Toro, 1770-1836: a political history

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Dissertation / thesis

Title:	The almamate of Futa Toro, 1770-1836: a political history
Author:	Johnson, James P.
Year:	1974
Pages:	513
Language:	English
City of publisher:	Ann Arbor, MI
Publisher:	University Microfilms International
Geographic term:	Senegal
Subjects:	Islamic history history Futa Toro polity dissertations (form)
Abstract:	The kingdom of Futa Toro in the middle valley of the Senegal River faced external threats and internal dissension throughout much of the 18th century. after mid-century the ruling dynasty was so seriously weakened that the Muslim clerics and their supporters were able to begin assuming power, and ended by establishing an Islamic state, the almamate, in place of the kingdom. This study attempts to describe the reasons for the clerical assumption of power, the means used to achieve it, and the structures of government established then. Particular attention is paid to the source and exercise of political power, the groups amd individuals wielding it, and the change that occured in the conception of its rightful use and aims during the first 60 years of the new state's life. Two appendices: thew schooling of the clerical leaders who founded the almamate - Chronology of almamies, 1776-1836, on the basis of known dates and interpolations from traditional lists.