Home Region:  West Africa (Africa)

Kingdom of Baol

D G SC PT New WA  se_baol_k

Preceding:
1360 CE 1549 CE Jolof Empire (se_jolof_emp)    [None]

Succeeding:
No Polity found. Add one here.

The Kingdom of Baol became an independent kingdom after the breakup of the Jolof Empire in the mid-sixteenth century. Baol established its capital in Lambaye. [1]
Some scholars such as Fiona McLaughlin have classified the Kingdom of Baol as a Wolof kingdom while Liora Bigon and Eric Ross and Ibrahima Thiaw have grouped the Baol along with its Sereer neighbours. Nevertheless, the Kingdom of Baol had longstanding unions with the Wolof kingdom of Cayor throughout its duration and their leader was known as the damel-teen signifying the merging of both kingdoms. The Kingdom of Baol like its coastal neighbours participated in trade relations with various European partners, particularly the French. [2] In 1890 CE the Kingdom of Baol became a protectorate of the French Empire. [3]

[1]: (Bigon and Ross 2020, 42) Bigon, Liora and Ross, Eric. 2020. Grid Planning in the Urban Design Practices of Senegal. London: Springer. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/MM67I638/collection

[2]: (Ogot 1999, 138) Ogot, B. A. 1999. ‘Senegambia from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century: Evolution of Wolof, Sereer and Tukuloor.’ In General History of Africa V. from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century. Berkeley: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/862PZTJ6/collection

[3]: (Glover 2009, 74) Glover, John. 2019. ‘Murid Modernity: Historical Perceptions of Islamic Reform, Sufism, and Colonization.’ In New Perspectives on Islam in Senegal: Conversion, Migration, Wealth, Power, and Femininity. Edited by Mamadou Diouf and Mara Leichtman. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ET3G9CJD/collection

General Variables
Identity and Location
Utm Zone:
28 N  
Original Name:
Kingdom of Baol  
Capital:
Lambaye  
Alternative Name:
Bawol  
Temporal Bounds
Duration:
[1,550 CE ➜ 1,890 CE]  
Political and Cultural Relations
Succeeding Entity:
French Empire  
Preceding Entity:
Preceding:   Jolof Empire (se_jolof_emp)    [None]  
Language
Linguistic Family:
Niger-Congo  
Language:
Sereer  
Wolof  
Religion
Religious Tradition:
Wolof Religion  
Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Hierarchical Complexity
Settlement Hierarchy:
[3 to 4]  
Professions
Bureaucracy Characteristics
Law
Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Market:
inferred present  
Communal Building:
present  
Utilitarian Public Building:
inferred present  
Transport Infrastructure
Road:
present  
Port:
present  
Special-purpose Sites
Trading Emporia:
inferred present  
Special Purpose Site:
present  
Ceremonial Site:
present  
Burial Site:
present  
Information / Writing System
Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Sacred Text:
present  
Religious Literature:
inferred present  
Calendar:
present  
Information / Money
Token:
inferred present  
Foreign Coin:
inferred present  
Article:
present  
Information / Postal System
Information / Measurement System
Time Measurement System:
present  
Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
Military use of Metals
Projectiles
Handheld weapons
Animals used in warfare
Armor
Naval technology
Religion Tolerance Nothing coded yet.
Human Sacrifice Nothing coded yet.
Crisis Consequences Nothing coded yet.
Power Transitions Nothing coded yet.

NGA Settlements:

Year Range Kingdom of Baol (se_baol_k) was in:
Home NGA: None

General Variables
Identity and Location


“Fifty kilometres to its north, Lambaye was the capital of the Kingdom of Baol from the mid-sixteenth to the late nineteenth century.” [1]

[1]: (Bigon and Ross 2020, 42) Bigon, Liora and Ross, Eric. 2020. Grid Planning in the Urban Design Practices of Senegal. London: Springer. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/MM67I638/collection



Temporal Bounds
Duration:
[1,550 CE ➜ 1,890 CE]

“All three capitals: Kahone, Diakhao, and Lambaye, were established in the mid-sixteenth century when the fertile coastal provinces of the Empire of Jolof- an inland empire established in the thirteenth century-gained independence.” [1] “The year 1886 was of particular importance to this interpretation. The last two claimants to the throne of the precolonial state of Kajoor were killed by colonial forces and the kingdom was transformed into the French protectorate of Cayor in that year. Kajoor’s neighbour to the south, the Kingdom of Bawol, fell under French control four years later.” [2]

[1]: (Bigon and Ross 2020, 42) Bigon, Liora and Ross, Eric. 2020. Grid Planning in the Urban Design Practices of Senegal. London: Springer. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/MM67I638/collection

[2]: (Glover 2009, 74) Glover, John. 2019. ‘Murid Modernity: Historical Perceptions of Islamic Reform, Sufism, and Colonization.’ In New Perspectives on Islam in Senegal: Conversion, Migration, Wealth, Power, and Femininity. Edited by Mamadou Diouf and Mara Leichtman. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ET3G9CJD/collection


Political and Cultural Relations
Succeeding Entity:
French Empire

“The year 1886 was of particular importance to this interpretation. The last two claimants to the throne of the precolonial state of Kajoor were killed by colonial forces and the kingdom was transformed into the French protectorate of Cayor in that year. Kajoor’s neighbour to the south, the Kingdom of Bawol, fell under French control four years later.” [1]

[1]: (Glover 2009, 74) Glover, John. 2019. ‘Murid Modernity: Historical Perceptions of Islamic Reform, Sufism, and Colonization.’ In New Perspectives on Islam in Senegal: Conversion, Migration, Wealth, Power, and Femininity. Edited by Mamadou Diouf and Mara Leichtman. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ET3G9CJD/collection


Preceding Entity:
Jolof Empire [se_jolof_emp] ---> Kingdom of Baol [se_baol_k]

“All three capitals: Kahone, Diakhao, and Lambaye, were established in the mid-sixteenth century when the fertile coastal provinces of the Empire of Jolof- an inland empire established in the thirteenth century-gained independence.” [1]

[1]: (Bigon and Ross 2020, 42) Bigon, Liora and Ross, Eric. 2020. Grid Planning in the Urban Design Practices of Senegal. London: Springer. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/MM67I638/collection


Language
Linguistic Family:
Niger-Congo

Language:
Sereer

There seems to be a scholarly debate as to classify the Kingdom of Baol as a Wolof kingdom or a Sereer kingdom. Liora Bigon and Eric Ross and Ibrahima Thiaw have included Bawol within a Sereer grouping while Fiona McLaughlin labels Baol as a Wolof kingdom. This confusion might be due to that fact that the Baol Kingdom had large groups of Sereers and Wolofs within its domains. Furthermore, the Wolof kingdom of Cayor annexed the Baol several times throughout its duration. Their ruler was called the damel-teen reflecting the union of the two kingdoms. “It is believed that Sereer speakers migrated from Middle Senegal Valley in the Southern margins of the Sahara desert before settling in Bawol, around the modern towns of Thies, Sinig and Saalum.” [1] “The Wolof kingdoms of Bawol and Jolof abutted the Seereer kingdoms of Saalum to the south, but there were also pockets of Seereer living within the Wolof kingdoms. Wolof political, cultural, and linguistic influence on the Seereer is widely attested in the historical literature, so it is highly probable that Wolof was first used as a lingua franca in contact between these two people. [2]

[1]: (Thiaw 2013, 97) Thiaw, Ibrahima. 2013. ‘From the Senegal River to Siin: The Archaeology of Sereer Migrations in North-Western Senegambia. In Migration and Membership Regimes in Global and Historical Perspectives. Edited by Ulbe Bosma. Leiden: Brill. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Q2ZFJKTJ/collection

[2]: (McLaughlin, 2008, 92) McLaughlin, Fiona. 2008. ‘Senegal: The Emergence of a National Lingua Franca’. In Language and National Identity in Africa. Edited by Andrew Simpson. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/search/McLaughlin/titleCreatorYear/items/7VBFQ96V/item-list

Language:
Wolof

There seems to be a scholarly debate as to classify the Kingdom of Baol as a Wolof kingdom or a Sereer kingdom. Liora Bigon and Eric Ross and Ibrahima Thiaw have included Bawol within a Sereer grouping while Fiona McLaughlin labels Baol as a Wolof kingdom. This confusion might be due to that fact that the Baol Kingdom had large groups of Sereers and Wolofs within its domains. Furthermore, the Wolof kingdom of Cayor annexed the Baol several times throughout its duration. Their ruler was called the damel-teen reflecting the union of the two kingdoms. “It is believed that Sereer speakers migrated from Middle Senegal Valley in the Southern margins of the Sahara desert before settling in Bawol, around the modern towns of Thies, Sinig and Saalum.” [1] “The Wolof kingdoms of Bawol and Jolof abutted the Seereer kingdoms of Saalum to the south, but there were also pockets of Seereer living within the Wolof kingdoms. Wolof political, cultural, and linguistic influence on the Seereer is widely attested in the historical literature, so it is highly probable that Wolof was first used as a lingua franca in contact between these two people. [2]

[1]: (Thiaw 2013, 97) Thiaw, Ibrahima. 2013. ‘From the Senegal River to Siin: The Archaeology of Sereer Migrations in North-Western Senegambia. In Migration and Membership Regimes in Global and Historical Perspectives. Edited by Ulbe Bosma. Leiden: Brill. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Q2ZFJKTJ/collection

[2]: (McLaughlin, 2008, 92) McLaughlin, Fiona. 2008. ‘Senegal: The Emergence of a National Lingua Franca’. In Language and National Identity in Africa. Edited by Andrew Simpson. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/search/McLaughlin/titleCreatorYear/items/7VBFQ96V/item-list


Religion
Religious Tradition:
Wolof Religion

"Accounts from the late-fifteenth to early-nineteenth centuries generally agree that the strictest practitioners of Islam among the Wolof were the clergy or marabouts (serin in Wolof), and that most of the nobility and commoners were lax in, if not indifferent to, Islamic practices." [1]

[1]: (Charles 1977: 18-19) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/SU25S5BX/items/NRGZDV3Z/collection



Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Hierarchical Complexity
Settlement Hierarchy:
[3 to 4]

levels.1.Royal capital - “Fifty kilometres to its north, Lambaye was the capital of the Kingdom of Baol from the mid-sixteenth to the late nineteenth century.” [1] :2. Secondary political centers ::“ Beyond these royal capital, secondary political centers developed, such as Kaba in Baol. This village was crossed by one of the ancient slave routes that started in Portudal, the principal trading point for the area, and ended at Lambaye, the chief town of the kingdom.” [2] ::3. Lesser towns (inferred) :::4. Villages (inferred)

[1]: (Bigon and Ross 2020, 42) Bigon, Liora and Ross, Eric. 2020. Grid Planning in the Urban Design Practices of Senegal. London: Springer. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/MM67I638/collection

[2]: (Gueye 2003, 54) Gueye, Adama. 2003. ‘The Impact of the Slave Trade on Cayor and Baol: Mutations in Habitat and Land Occupancy’ In Fighting the Slave Trade: West African Strategies. Edited by Sylviane A. Diouf. Athens: Ohio University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/RBB5G77X/collection


Professions
Bureaucracy Characteristics
Law
Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Market:
present

The following quotes suggests that markets were likely present. “All three capitals: Kahone, Diakhao, and Lambaye, were established in the mid-sixteenth century when the fertile coastal provinces of the Empire of Jolof- an inland empire established in the thirteenth century-gained independence […] They prospered as independent kingdoms during the mercantilist era and, together, constituted the ‘Peanut Basin’ that developed during the colonial era. They maintained trade relations with the European and Eura-african merchants who frequented their port cities, and diplomatic relations with the Dutch, French and English/British chartered companies that claimed to monopolize trade along their coasts.” [1]

[1]: (Bigon and Ross 2020, 42) Bigon, Liora and Ross, Eric. 2020. Grid Planning in the Urban Design Practices of Senegal. London: Springer. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/MM67I638/collection


Communal Building:
present

Mosques. “In their heyday as royal capitals [Kahone (Saloum), Diakhao (Sine), and Lambaye (Baol)] these towns were not predominantly Muslim. Muslims at court would have lived, and built their mosque, in a peripheral neighbourhood, not on the central square.” [1]

[1]: (Bigon and Ross 2020, 42) Bigon, Liora and Ross, Eric. 2020. Grid Planning in the Urban Design Practices of Senegal. London: Springer. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/MM67I638/collection


Utilitarian Public Building:
present

The following quotes suggests that markets were likely present. “All three capitals: Kahone, Diakhao, and Lambaye, were established in the mid-sixteenth century when the fertile coastal provinces of the Empire of Jolof- an inland empire established in the thirteenth century-gained independence […] They prospered as independent kingdoms during the mercantilist era and, together, constituted the ‘Peanut Basin’ that developed during the colonial era. They maintained trade relations with the European and Eura-african merchants who frequented their port cities, and diplomatic relations with the Dutch, French and English/British chartered companies that claimed to monopolize trade along their coasts.” [1]

[1]: (Bigon and Ross 2020, 42) Bigon, Liora and Ross, Eric. 2020. Grid Planning in the Urban Design Practices of Senegal. London: Springer. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/MM67I638/collection


Transport Infrastructure
Road:
present

The following quote discusses ancient slave routes through the Kingdom of Baol. “Beyond these royal capital, secondary political centers developed, such as Kaba in Baol. This village was crossed by one of the ancient slave routes that started in Portudal, the principal trading point for the area, and ended at Lambaye, the chief town of the kingdom. Kaba reached its apogee under the rule of the Guedj. The fara kaba, of slave origin, commander of the armies of Baol, lived there.” [1]

[1]: (Gueye 2003, 54) Gueye, Adama. 2003. ‘The Impact of the Slave Trade on Cayor and Baol: Mutations in Habitat and Land Occupancy’ In Fighting the Slave Trade: West African Strategies. Edited by Sylviane A. Diouf. Athens: Ohio University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/RBB5G77X/collection


Port:
present

“All three capitals: Kahone, Diakhao, and Lambaye, were established in the mid-sixteenth century when the fertile coastal provinces of the Empire of Jolof- an inland empire established in the thirteenth century-gained independence […] They prospered as independent kingdoms during the mercantilist era and, together, constituted the ‘Peanut Basin’ that developed during the colonial era. They maintained trade relations with the European and Eura-african merchants who frequented their port cities, and diplomatic relations with the Dutch, French and English/British chartered companies that claimed to monopolize trade along their coasts.” [1]

[1]: (Bigon and Ross 2020, 42) Bigon, Liora and Ross, Eric. 2020. Grid Planning in the Urban Design Practices of Senegal. London: Springer. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/MM67I638/collection


Special-purpose Sites
Trading Emporia:
present

The following quote suggests that trading emporia may also have been present “All three capitals: Kahone, Diakhao, and Lambaye, were established in the mid-sixteenth century when the fertile coastal provinces of the Empire of Jolof- an inland empire established in the thirteenth century-gained independence […] They prospered as independent kingdoms during the mercantilist era and, together, constituted the ‘Peanut Basin’ that developed during the colonial era. They maintained trade relations with the European and Eura-african merchants who frequented their port cities, and diplomatic relations with the Dutch, French and English/British chartered companies that claimed to monopolize trade along their coasts.” [1]

[1]: (Bigon and Ross 2020, 42) Bigon, Liora and Ross, Eric. 2020. Grid Planning in the Urban Design Practices of Senegal. London: Springer. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/MM67I638/collection


Special Purpose Site:
present

Ceremonial and burial sites. “Burials of important people such as lamaan (lineage chief), saltigue (rainmaker) and kumax (leader of the male initiation society) involved several villages and ages, resulting in impressive earthen tumuli several metres high. The deceased was buried with his or her utilitarian possessions, and offerings were deposited on top of the graves.” [1] “Ethnographic and ethnohistorical literature indicate that Sereer, Wolof, and Mande speakers practiced tumuli burials until the 16th and 17th centuries, but only the Sereer continued to do so in more recent historical periods.” [2] The following quote suggests that trading emporia may also have been present “All three capitals: Kahone, Diakhao, and Lambaye, were established in the mid-sixteenth century when the fertile coastal provinces of the Empire of Jolof- an inland empire established in the thirteenth century-gained independence […] They prospered as independent kingdoms during the mercantilist era and, together, constituted the ‘Peanut Basin’ that developed during the colonial era. They maintained trade relations with the European and Eura-african merchants who frequented their port cities, and diplomatic relations with the Dutch, French and English/British chartered companies that claimed to monopolize trade along their coasts.” [3]

[1]: (Thiaw 2013, 100) Thiaw, Ibrahima. 2013. ‘From the Senegal River to Siin: The Archaeology of Sereer Migrations in North-Western Senegambia. In Migration and Membership Regimes in Global and Historical Perspectives. Edited by Ulbe Bosma. Leiden: Brill. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Q2ZFJKTJ/collection

[2]: (Thiaw 2013, 102) Thiaw, Ibrahima. 2013. ‘From the Senegal River to Siin: The Archaeology of Sereer Migrations in North-Western Senegambia. In Migration and Membership Regimes in Global and Historical Perspectives. Edited by Ulbe Bosma. Leiden: Brill. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Q2ZFJKTJ/collection

[3]: (Bigon and Ross 2020, 42) Bigon, Liora and Ross, Eric. 2020. Grid Planning in the Urban Design Practices of Senegal. London: Springer. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/MM67I638/collection


Ceremonial Site:
present

“Burials of important people such as lamaan (lineage chief), saltigue (rainmaker) and kumax (leader of the male initiation society) involved several villages and ages, resulting in impressive earthen tumuli several metres high. The deceased was buried with his or her utilitarian possessions, and offerings were deposited on top of the graves.” [1] “Ethnographic and ethnohistorical literature indicate that Sereer, Wolof, and Mande speakers practiced tumuli burials until the 16th and 17th centuries, but only the Sereer continued to do so in more recent historical periods.” [2]

[1]: (Thiaw 2013, 100) Thiaw, Ibrahima. 2013. ‘From the Senegal River to Siin: The Archaeology of Sereer Migrations in North-Western Senegambia. In Migration and Membership Regimes in Global and Historical Perspectives. Edited by Ulbe Bosma. Leiden: Brill. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Q2ZFJKTJ/collection

[2]: (Thiaw 2013, 102) Thiaw, Ibrahima. 2013. ‘From the Senegal River to Siin: The Archaeology of Sereer Migrations in North-Western Senegambia. In Migration and Membership Regimes in Global and Historical Perspectives. Edited by Ulbe Bosma. Leiden: Brill. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Q2ZFJKTJ/collection


Burial Site:
present

“Burials of important people such as lamaan (lineage chief), saltigue (rainmaker) and kumax (leader of the male initiation society) involved several villages and ages, resulting in impressive earthen tumuli several metres high. The deceased was buried with his or her utilitarian possessions, and offerings were deposited on top of the graves.” [1] “Ethnographic and ethnohistorical literature indicate that Sereer, Wolof, and Mande speakers practiced tumuli burials until the 16th and 17th centuries, but only the Sereer continued to do so in more recent historical periods.” [2]

[1]: (Thiaw 2013, 100) Thiaw, Ibrahima. 2013. ‘From the Senegal River to Siin: The Archaeology of Sereer Migrations in North-Western Senegambia. In Migration and Membership Regimes in Global and Historical Perspectives. Edited by Ulbe Bosma. Leiden: Brill. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Q2ZFJKTJ/collection

[2]: (Thiaw 2013, 102) Thiaw, Ibrahima. 2013. ‘From the Senegal River to Siin: The Archaeology of Sereer Migrations in North-Western Senegambia. In Migration and Membership Regimes in Global and Historical Perspectives. Edited by Ulbe Bosma. Leiden: Brill. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Q2ZFJKTJ/collection


Information / Writing System
Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Sacred Text:
present

Quran. “In their heyday as royal capitals [Kahone (Saloum), Diakhao (Sine), and Lambaye (Baol)] these towns were not predominantly Muslim. Muslims at court would have lived, and built their mosque, in a peripheral neighbourhood, not on the central square.” [1]

[1]: (Bigon and Ross 2020, 42) Bigon, Liora and Ross, Eric. 2020. Grid Planning in the Urban Design Practices of Senegal. London: Springer. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/MM67I638/collection


Religious Literature:
present

The following quote suggests that Islamic religious literature was likely present. “In their heyday as royal capitals [Kahone (Saloum), Diakhao (Sine), and Lambaye (Baol)] these towns were not predominantly Muslim. Muslims at court would have lived, and built their mosque, in a peripheral neighbourhood, not on the central square.” [1]

[1]: (Bigon and Ross 2020, 42) Bigon, Liora and Ross, Eric. 2020. Grid Planning in the Urban Design Practices of Senegal. London: Springer. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/MM67I638/collection


Calendar:
present

“The twelve months of the Islamic calendar, in order are as follows (1) Muharram; (2) Safar; (3) Rab’I al-Awwal; (4) Rab’i al-Akhir (or al-Thani); (5) Jumada ‘l-Ula; (6) Jumada ‘l-Akhira; (7) Rajab (8) Sha’ban; (9) Ramadan; (10) Shawwal; (11) Dhu’-Qa’da and (12) Dhu ‘l Hijja.” [1]

[1]: (Hanne 2006, 196) Hanne, Eric. 2006. ‘Dates and Calendars’ In Medieval Islamic Civilizations: A-K, Index. By Josef W. Meri. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Dates%20and%20Calendars/titleCreatorYear/items/8BDKDQRX/item-list


Information / Money
Token:
present

Cowry shells. “It was not until the beginning of the fourteenth century that cowrie shells were definitely recorded as being used as money in West Africa.” [1] “Cowry shells (mollusks of the species Cypriaea Moneta and annulus) originated in the Indian Ocean and were brought to West Africa in European ships, often after passing through auctions in Amsterdam or London. Jon Hogendorn and M. Johnson (1986) provide a thorough account of this history explaining the large volume of shells brough to West Africa and the cycles of inflation that followed. As they moved to the interior, the shells crossed several linguistic and cultural boundaries. In a vast zone the cowry coexisted not only with gold dust and imported silver coins but also with salt bars, brass in rods or in heavy horseshoe shapes referred to as manillas, locally produced iron and cloth currencies, beads, and other means of payment.” [2]

[1]: (Yang 2019, 165) Yang, Bin. 2019. Cowrie Shells and Cowrie Money: A Global History. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Yang/titleCreatorYear/items/I5DXF22V/item-list

[2]: (Saul 2004, 73) Saul, Mahir. 2004. ‘Money in Colonial Transition: Cowries and Francs in West Africa’ American Anthropologist. Vol 106:1. Pp 71-84. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/FKJJ3H49/collection


Foreign Coin:
present

The following quote suggests that French coins were present in the Kingdom of Baol. “French commercial houses became so important to the Gambian trade that as early as 1843 the, French five-franc piece, called the ‘dollar’ or the ‘gourde’ was recognized as legal tender in the Gambia.” [1] The following quote suggests that this was likely true beginning in the Early Modern period: “All three capitals: Kahone, Diakhao, and Lambaye, were established in the mid-sixteenth century when the fertile coastal provinces of the Empire of Jolof- an inland empire established in the thirteenth century-gained independence […] They prospered as independent kingdoms during the mercantilist era and, together, constituted the ‘Peanut Basin’ that developed during the colonial era. They maintained trade relations with the European and Eura-african merchants who frequented their port cities, and diplomatic relations with the Dutch, French and English/British chartered companies that claimed to monopolize trade along their coasts.” [2]

[1]: (Klein 2009, 912) Klein, Martin. 2009. ‘Slaves, Gum, and Peanuts: Adaptation to the End of the Slave Trade in Senegal, 1817-48.’ In The William and Mary Quarterly. Vol. 66:4 Pp. 895-914. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZVA4XV6B/collection

[2]: (Bigon and Ross 2020, 42) Bigon, Liora and Ross, Eric. 2020. Grid Planning in the Urban Design Practices of Senegal. London: Springer. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/MM67I638/collection


Article:
present

“The anklet, bangle, or torque money of the West African equatorial coast, the manilla applied iron, brass, or copper to a common form of personal adornment that doubled as currency facilitating the slave trade. From prehistoric times, natives of Zaire north to Senegal collected portable wealth in heavy anklets, bracelets, and collars that served as highly visible savings accounts rather than everyday shopping cash.” [1] “The origin of manillas is not well documented. Historical accounts from Western Sudan mention rings as a medium of exchange as early as the eleventh century, and some archaeological discoveries from tropical West Africa, include a few copper rings dating between the ninth and thirteenth centuries.” [2]

[1]: (Snodgrass 2019, 198) Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. Coins and Currency: An Historical Encyclopedia. Second Edition. Jefferson: McFarland Publishers. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/F5SC74DA/library

[2]: (Bisson 2000, 114) Bisson, Michael S. et al. 2000. Ancient African Metallurgy: The Sociocultural Context. Walnut Creek: Alta Mira Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/DKFA9J3I/collection


Information / Postal System
Information / Measurement System
Time Measurement System:
present

Islamic calendar. “The twelve months of the Islamic calendar, in order are as follows (1) Muharram; (2) Safar; (3) Rab’I al-Awwal; (4) Rab’i al-Akhir (or al-Thani); (5) Jumada ‘l-Ula; (6) Jumada ‘l-Akhira; (7) Rajab (8) Sha’ban; (9) Ramadan; (10) Shawwal; (11) Dhu’-Qa’da and (12) Dhu ‘l Hijja.” [1]

[1]: (Hanne 2006, 196) Hanne, Eric. 2006. ‘Dates and Calendars’ In Medieval Islamic Civilizations: A-K, Index. By Josef W. Meri. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Dates%20and%20Calendars/titleCreatorYear/items/8BDKDQRX/item-list



Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
Military use of Metals
Projectiles
Handheld weapons
Animals used in warfare
Armor
Naval technology

Human Sacrifice Data
Human Sacrifice is the deliberate and ritualized killing of a person to please or placate supernatural entities (including gods, spirits, and ancestors) or gain other supernatural benefits.
- Nothing coded yet.
- Nothing coded yet.
Power Transitions