Abdul Injai or Abdoul Ndaiye was a

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

ese

mercenary A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...

in colonial

Portuguese Guinea Portuguese Guinea (), called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a Portuguese overseas province in West Africa from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as G ...

at the turn of the 20th century.

Alliance with Portugal

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Wolof Wolof or Wollof may refer to: * Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...

, Abdul Injai initially came to notice while assisting in the punitive military missions of Portuguese colonialists Oliveira Musanty and Teixeira Pinto, from 1905 to 1915. This era was the beginning of a Portuguese campaign against the

animist Animism (from meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork, and in ...

tribes of the interior, with the help of the indigenous coastal

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

population. It would not be until 1936 that areas like the Bijagos Islands would be under complete government control. Tenuous alliances, like those between Abdul Injai and the Portuguese during the

Scramble for Africa The Scramble for Africa was the invasion, conquest, and colonialism, colonisation of most of Africa by seven Western European powers driven by the Second Industrial Revolution during the late 19th century and early 20th century in the era of ...

, reflect the overwhelming tendency for

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an colonial powers to attempt to divide native African populations based on religious affiliations - particularly the idea that, although racially inferior to Europeans, Muslim Africans possessed higher levels of education and culture and were preferential associates compared to followers of animist or tribal religions. An outraged Portuguese lawyer later published a damning report on the atrocities committed by African mercenaries under the command of Abdul Injai and Pinto:

"Numerous bands, in which were also found the old, the crippled, women and children, fled, terrorized in the face of the triumphant march of the force of the irregulars he mercenaries And in the disorderly flight, numerous natives, men, women, old people, children and the crippled, perished, drowned in the river, and ... mercilessly killed by the same irregulars. Then followed assaults on the tabancas illages these being sacked and burned; their undefended inhabitants were slaughtered; the fields were devastated totally destroyed.... Today, the rich and extensive territory inhabited by Pepels is in the greatest desolation and misery."

Having assisted the Portuguese in the conquest of several native groups from 1914-1915, Injai began to consolidate his power in the

Oio region Oio (historically WoyeBühnen, Stephan (1992). ''Place Names as an Historical Source: An Introduction with Examples from Southern Senegambia and Germany.'' History in Africa, 19, 45-101. doi:10.2307/3171995. (UR(14-06-2021))) is a region in Guine ...

, where Portuguese influence was limited, allowing for him to do as he pleased and act independent of the government. Eventually, the people of Oio paid more attention to the demands of Injai then the government, who terrorized the locals. His mercenary Senegalese army stayed independent there for four years, not only threatening the Portuguese and Oio locals, but also the French administration in Senegal, who feared a return of the mercenary army would lead to conflict in Senegal.

Downfall and Conflict with the Portuguese

In 1919, Injai demanded the Portuguese government to disarm several northern provinces, which they refused. Tensions continued to rise as Injai's army sabotaged Portuguese control by cutting telegraph wires and harassing Portuguese officials. The colonial governor dispatched all available troops to Mansaba, as well as several armed boats upriver, to destroy Injai's army. From August 1-2, colonial forces engaged with the mercenary army, and after losing most of his soldiers, Abdul Injai surrendered to Portugal. He was deported to

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

and received regular pensions from the government until he died several years later.

Notes

People of French West Africa Wolof people Year of birth missing Year of death missing Senegalese Muslims Senegalese mercenaries 20th-century Portuguese military personnel {{Senegal-bio-stub Mass murderers War criminals