Banamba is the capital of Banamba Cercle, one of the seven Cercles of the

Koulikoro Region Koulikoro Region ( Bambara: ߞߎߟߌߞߏߙߏ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Kulikoro Dineja) is a region in western Mali. It is the second administrative area of Mali and covers an area of 90,120 km2. Its capital is the city of Koulikoro. Geography The ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. Its estimated 2008 population is 7000. The town lies due north of the regional capital of

Koulikoro Koulikoro ( Bambara: ߞߎߟߌߞߏߙߏ tr. Kulikoro) is a town and urban commune in Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in A ...

, and is connected by a 40 km all-weather road via the town of Sirakorola, about halfway between the two. It is the location of the Lycée Franco-Arabe de Banamba.

History

Banamba was founded by Marka people from Sokolo in the 1840s, but remained a small, unimportant village in the insecure frontier region between the

Bamana Empire Bambara or Bambarra may refer to: * Bambara people, an ethnic group, primarily in Mali ** Bambara language, their language, a Manding language ** Bamana Empire, a state that flourished in present-day Mali (1640s–1861) * ''Bambara'' (beetle), a ...

and Kaarta up until the 1860s.Roberts, Richard, and Martin A. Klein. “The Banamba Slave Exodus of 1905 and the Decline of Slavery in the Western Sudan.” The Journal of African History, vol. 21, no. 3, 1980, pp. 375–94. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/181190. Accessed 23 Dec. 2023. The

Toucouleur Empire The Tukulor Empire (; ; ; also known as the Tijaniyya Jihad state or the Segu Tukulor or the Tidjaniya Caliphate or the Umarian State) (1861–1890) was an Islamic state in the mid-nineteenth century founded by Elhadj Oumar Foutiyou Tall of the ...

's conquest of the middle

Niger river The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...

valley both destabilized the traditional riverine trade routes and opened up a new east-west axis linking Segou with

Nioro du Sahel Nioro du Sahel (often referred to as simply Nioro) is a town and urban commune in the Kayes Region of western Mali, 241 km from the city of Kayes. It is located 275 miles (by road) north-west of the Malian capital Bamako. As of 1998, the co ...

. Banamba was a key center on this new route, and became one of the most important trade towns in the region by the late 1870s. By the 1890s, it was the primary entrepot for the slave trade towards the upper

Senegal river The Senegal River ( or "Senegal" - compound of the Serer term "Seen" or "Sene" or "Sen" (from Roog Seen, Supreme Deity in Serer religion) and "O Gal" (meaning "body of water")); , , , ) is a river in West Africa; much of its length mark ...

valley, as well as an important agricultural center. In July 1904 the Dakar-Niger railway reached

Bamako Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

. Improved access to foreign markets pushed Marka plantation owners around Banamba to intensify grain production by overworking their slaves. In March 1905 slaves began to leave their masters in droves, often returning to homes in the

Sikasso Sikasso ( Bambara: ߛߌߞߊߛߏ tr. Sikaso) is a city in the south of Mali and the capital of the Sikasso Cercle and the Sikasso Region. It is Mali's second largest city with 225,753 residents in the 2009 census. History Sikasso was a small ...

and Bougouni cercles. Masters responded by holding slave women and children hostage in Banamba itself. The French governor Fawtier negotiated a compromise, but it only held until the next year. By that time, the colonial government had formally outlawed slavery, and defended the slaves' right to leave. The exodus begun in Banamba spread throughout the region, with hundreds of thousands of slaves leaving their masters.

Administrative structure

Banamba town is the administrative center of Banamba Cercle, which contains nine Communes, including Banamba. The Commune of Banamba contains not only the town itself, but is the administrative center for the following urban ''Quarters'' and rural villages:La Délégation Générale aux Elections: Mali. REGION DE KOULIKORO - CERCLE DE BANAMBA
*Badoucourebougou *Bakaribougou *Bamarobougou *Banamba *Bougounina *Dankolo *Diangalambougou *Diassani *Diatouroubougou *Fadabougou *Falembougou *Galo *Galo-Marka *Gana *Kassela *Kolondialan *Kouna *Madina *N'galamadiby *N'ganou *N'ganouba *Ouleny-Marka *Ouleny-Peulh *Sabalibougou *Sinzena *Tiontala *Tomba *Zambougou

References

Falling Rain .com. {{Communes of the Koulikoro Region Communes of Koulikoro Region Marka trade towns