In the race to colonize Africa, France faced several armed struggles by native Africans. In order to deal with them large colonies were divided into smaller ones and those divisions were not able to be undone post independence. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
Todays stamp features a African Hausa tribal chief. The decade before the colony had been broken off from French West Africa to better control a Bani rebellion. The rebellion nearly succeeded and perhaps showing a tribe that didn’t rush to join the rebellion helped justify the French position. There is also a big dose of National Georgraphic style recording of the exotic in the far flung empire for those at home in France.
Todays stamp is issue A5, a one Centime stamp issued by the French Colony of Upper Volta in 1928. It was part of a 23 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth forty cents whether it was mint or used. In 1932 the colony was reintegrated into French West Africa, so the stamp did not have as long a run as some other similar French colonial issues.
France sought to bring under control interior areas of Africa adjacent to their already existent coastal trading posts. This was done in the hope of reducing tribal raids on the trading posts, economic development for the benefit of France and the bringing of civilization. At this point there was some hope of Africans resisting. The tribes had been trading with the colonials for more modern weapons and had large armies. The colonials presence was tiny in comparison. The biggest threat against the colonial push inland was Samori Toure’, the leader of then Wassoulou Empire. He was a Sunni Muslim. This made it difficult for him to form an effective alliance with other tribes to form a united front in West Africa against the encroaching French and British. Further hobbling his efforts was that much of the infantry force of his army were themselves slaves of the Wassaolou Empire have been taken during the still ongoing slave raids. The army proved no match for the much smaller French Army. Toure’ signed a series of treaties ceding territory to France. During one of the treaty signings Toure’ was described by Malian griot Massa Maken Diabati has a hyena with an empty stomach. Toure’ eventually had no more land to give up and was captured by the French and sent into exile in Gabon.
During World War I in 1916, the Bani tribe again rebelled hoping to take advantage of Frances distraction. The Bani were able to put together an armed force of 15,000 troops, three times what the French could muster. Again though the French were able to defeat the Bani, though it took 2 years. After this France decided to break apart French West Africa into a series of smaller colonies for more direct control. Upper Volta was a landlocked area along the upper Volta River. It was very poor with bad roads and few railroads. The main industry was cotton plantations but these were quite unproductive without slavery. In the 1930s, Upper Volta was reintegrated with French West Africa.
Post World War II, the area of French West Africa was again subdivided. This was with an eye toward establishing some local government leading toward independence. As with Wassoulou leader Toure’, the Africans were not able to unite for progress and independence. Upper Volta was granted independence in 1960 and stayed desperately poor with one party rule. The first President spend more than half of each year at his villa in the south of France. In 1984, the country changed it’s name to Burkini Faso, which means the land of incorruptible people. I guess it is nice to imagine one’s ideal self. Over time since independence, there have been many schemes to unite the many small countries in the area. None have progressed and it probably wouldn’t have worked anyway. If the leaders have proved incapable of running a small, less diverse country, one can imagine the mess that would be made of a big one.
Well my drink is empty and I will open the conversation in the below comment section. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.