Ivana Elbl - The Horse in Fifteenth-Century Senegambia

Board of Trustees, Boston University
The Horse in Fifteenth-Century Senegambia Author(s): Ivana Elbl Source: The International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 24, No. 1 (1991), pp. 85110 Published by: Boston University African Studies Center Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/220094 . Accessed: 23/09/2013 15:41
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The International Jorwnalof African Historical Studies, Volume 24, No. 1 (1991)
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THE HORSE IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SENEGAMBIA*

By Ivana Elbl horsessuppliedby the Portuguese, Horses, and in particular may well have played the role of a catalyst in the political changes taking place in Senegambiain the fifteenthand sixteenthcenturies. It has been suggestedthatthe overseassupplyof horsesthrough the Atlantictrademaynot only havechangedthe character of warfare in the region,but thatit also resultedin a disruption of the existingbalanceof power andin the declineof theJolofEmpire, themainpoliticalbodyin the area. The supply of horses was first linked to the downfall of Jolof by Jean Boulegue, in his Senegambia.1Bouleguewas also the first to pioneeringthesis on fifteenth-century out a connection the between point politicalfortunesof Senegalesestates and their access to European tradegoods.Recently,developingthis hypothesisfurther, he has link and the a between acces to horses suggested pre-European strengthof the northern and tied their to a redistribution of supplyin weakening Senegalesestates, favour of Kajoor, Siin and Saalum.2 In this, Boulegue is not alone:3Philip D. and Boubacar also consideredhorses and their JeanSuret-Canale, Curtin,4 Barry,5
*I would like to express my gratitudeto the Social Sciences and HumanitiesResearch Council of Canada, whose generous support in the form of doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships made possible much of the researchfor this article. Software limitations at the journal made it necessary to omit most Arabic accents and to replace some old Portuguese accents by letter equivalents; interventions are marked by square brackets,e.g. nenhuu[m]. 1 J. Boulegue, "La Senegambie du milieu du XVe siecle au debut du XVIIe siecle" (These, 3eme cycle, Universite de Paris, 1969), 203-204. 2 J. Boulegue, Le GrandJolof (XIIe-XVIe siecle) (Paris, 1987), 75, 153, 155, 162, 166.
3 A critical synthesis of such views is found in Robin Law, The Horse in West African History: TheRole of the Horse in the Societies of Pre-colonial WestAfrica (London, 1980), 178. 4 In 1975, Philip Curtinmentionedaccess to remountsas one of the contributingfactors in the destabilizationof Jolof (EconomicChangein PrecolonialAfrica:Senegambiain the Era of the Slave Trade(Madison, 1975), 11). The observationwas only a marginal remark,but is frequentlyquotedby otherscholarsand thereforehas hadconsiderable impact. 5 Suret-Canaleand Barryconsideredthe tradein horses an aspect of the negative impact of the and B. Barry,"The Western Atlantic Portuguesepresence on Senegambianhistory (J. Suret-Canale Coast to 1800," in J.F.A. Ajayi and M. Crowder,eds., History of West Africa, 2nd ed. (London, 1976), I, 458, 462-63). Suret-Canalehad presenteda similar idea alreadyin the first edition of the History of WestAfrica, where he mentionedhorses as one of the articles of the generally damaging Portuguese trade that was "inevitably"linked to "the empire's downfall" (J. Suret-Canale, "The
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IVANA ELBL
overseas supply importantfor shifts in the Senegambian balance of power during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The period in question certainly saw a numberof significant political changes in Senegambia: the decline and eventual disintegrationof the Jolof empire, the rise to power of the coastal states, especially Kajoor and Siin, and finally the ascendancy of Fuuta Tooro and Kaabu as regional powers. How many of these changes, however, can be tied in with modalities of access to horses or, for that matter, with the Portuguese horse trade? The answer is contingent on an examination of three issues: the historical role of horses in western West Africa, the effect of Portuguese imports, and finally, the specific role of horses in political changes within Senegambia. Access to horses could have played a major socio-political role if a rise can be documented in the importance of horses in the social or military sphere, if this rise was directly related to major historical processes of the time, and if the supply of horses was unevenly distributed. Under such conditions, the Portuguese horse trade may have been the catalyst conceptualized by Boul6gue and others, always providing that its volume was sufficiently large, that it favoured certain areas over others, and that the disadvantaged areas did not have access to alternative supply. Only if all these conditions are met can we consider Boulegue's thesis valid. The Historical Role of Horses in Western Africa
The concept of the horse as an instrumentalfactor in political and social processes in West Africa, especially in state formation, enjoys wide acceptance. Its principal advocates include John D. Fage, Roland Oliver, and Nehemiah Levtzion, whose views are the more influential for being found in widely read surveys.6 Oral history lends significant weight to this interpretation, for many legends do refer to small groups of stranger horsemen as founders of states and cultural heros.7 Horses came WesternAtlanticCoast,"in J.F.A.AjayiandM. Crowder, eds., Historyof WestAfrica,1st ed. (London, 1971),I, 389, 394). 6 J.D. Fage,A History 1978),69. See alsoJ.D.Fage,A Historyof West of Africa(London, 1969),8; R. OliverandJ.D.Fage,A Short History of Africa(Harmondsworth, Africa(Cambridge, 1970), 70; R. Oliver and B.M. Fagan,Africa in the Iron Age, c. 500 B.C. to A.D. 1400 Ancient Ghana andMali(London, 1975),67-8;N. Levtzion, 1973),14;N. Levtzion, (Cambridge, in J.F.A.AjayiandM. Crowder, Sudan to 1500," "TheEarlyStatesin theWestern eds.,History of in R. Oliver, "TheWestern Sudan andMaghrib," WestAfrica(London,1976),120;N. Levtzion, ed., The Cambridge 1977),vol. 3, 386-7. Fora reviewof these Historyof Africa(Cambridge, see Law,TheHorse,181-82. opinions 7 For a reviewsee OliverandFagan, Africain the IronAge, 67-68, 181-83;JackGoody, Tradition andtheStatein Africa(London, andLower 1971),58-69;J.D.Fage,"Upper Technology, in R. Oliver,Cambridge Guinea," 1977),III,477-78;J.D. Fage,A Historyof Africa(Cambridge, IvorWilks,"TheMossiandAkanStates,1600-1800," of Africa,63-67,99-100, 105-107; History
THE HORSE IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SENEGAMBIA
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to represent an important factor in West African political life, both as instruments of mobility for troops and as symbols of political and military power. As Fage put it, their [the newcomers'] advent must have meant a considerable enlargement of the scale of political organization, and perhaps too a more precise institutionalization of its modes of operation. Their possession of horses and their access to regular supplies of such animals in a land in which they could be bred only with considerable difficulty, must have enabled them ot exert power over appreciably greaterdistances than earlier rulers.8 The introduction of horses could significantly upset or alter the standing balance of power, even though the establishment of cavalry in itself did not necessarily guaranteedecisive military advantage.9 Moreover, in many parts of West Africa, environmental conditions and in some cases settlement patterns limited substantially both the employment of cavalry and horse-keeping in general.10 Fortified, walled settlements and difficult terrain represented a formidable obstacle for cavalry even where other environmental factors happened to be favourable.11 However, the most serious obstacle to horse-keeping were diseases spread by the tse-tse fly.12 The main health hazard to the horse in West Africa is trypanosomiasis. Law mentions two different vectors of this disease (which exists in multiple forms): Trypanosoma brucei and Trypanosoma vivax. Trypanosoma brucei is carried mostly by the fly Glossina morsitans, and Trypanosoma vivax by Glossina palpalis and Glossina longipalis. Trypanosoma brucei, usually fatal to horses, induces fever and a progressive swelling of the belly, scrotum and hind parts of the animal. Given the incidence of its fly carrier, it is the disease of the savanna. Trypanosoma vivax, on the other hand, induces a chronic illness with symptoms of recurrent fever, lethargy, and overall deterioration. It is in AjayiandCrowder, historical heroesare eds., Historyof WestAfrica,I, 349. In Senegambia, in association horses withtheir Economic (Curtin, 221). veryoftenremembered Change,
8 J.D. Fage, A History of Africa (London, 1978), 69. See also Curtin, Economic Change,
andalsonote3. 221;Law,TheHorse,184-196; 9 SeeFisher, "'He withFierceness in theCentral Swalloweth theGround andRage': TheHorse Part1, "ItsIntroduction," Journal Sudan," of African History13 (1972):367-73;andPart2, "Its 14 (1973):357-60; J.Fisher, "The and Eastern Use,"Journal ofAfrican History Humphrey Maghrib in R. Oliver, theCentral Sudan," ed., Cambridge 306-310; 1977),III, History of Africa(Cambridge, andR. Law,TheHorse,Chs.5 and7. 10 See Law,TheHorse,Ch.5.
11 Ibid., 136-40.
12 See Law,TheHorse,76-78;Curtin, Economic 222. Change,
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characteristic for the border zone between the savanna and the forest, and in riverine areas.13 In Senegambia, with the possible exception of coastal swamps and heavily forested areas, the terrainwas quite suited to cavalry warfare, but horse breeding was difficult14 and the toll exacted by Trypanosoma brucei was high, especially in the case of imported mounts. As Cadamosto observed,15 Li caualli in questo paexe sono molto apresiadiperche li hano con grandissima difficultade che li vien menadi per terrade queste barbarienostre... e ancho perche non pono viuer molto per li gran caldi ... e si se Ingrassano tanto che per forza moreno de vna malatia che i non pono pisar e crepano. [Horses are much valued in this land because they are acquired with the greatest of difficulty, being brought overland from our Barbary ... and also because they cannot live through the great heat... and they grow so fat that they inevitably die of a disease thatprevents them from urinating] The quality of stock, as elsewhere in West Africa, decreased with each generation,16 and the life expectancy was low.17 Horse owners had therefore to depend to a great degree on imports from regions favourable to horse breeding. Senegambia was quite fortunate in this respect, because of its proximity to the horse-breeding areas of Mauritania,18 and especially because the western trans-Saharanroutes offered well13Law,TheHorse,77. 14 Theproblems to Epstein, withbreeding fromboththeenvironment and resulted, according Animals TheOrigin lackof skill (H.Epstein, of Africa(NewYork,1971),II, 446of theDomestic factor andthelackof mares Economic stressed theenvironment 48, 472). Curtin (Curtin, Change, whenhe declares Femandes theenvironmental summarily, 222). Valentim theory speaking supports nacee[m]Guynee that: "Cauallo aboutSenegambia, ne[m]podealli viuer" [No horseis nenhuu[m] ed. A. V. Fernandes, "Valentim or canlive there]. either bornin Guinea O Manuscrito Fernandes," Bairo(Lisbon, 1940),80. 15Viagens deSintra 47. deLu(sde Cadamosto e dePedro (Lisbon, 1948), 16 Epstein, bothwiththetestimony of the TheOrigin,II,463. Epstein's is consistent theory whichin Senegambia andneighboring sources andthemorerecent regions processes, earlywritten in suchspecificbreeds theRiverHorse of Senegal, theFoutank6 as theSahelHorse, resulted Horse, of varieties of theBarb) andwidespread andtheB616dougou/Banamba Horse (allWestAfrican <Pony andNigerrivers TheOrigin, theSouth>>, theupper 446-48,472). livingbetween (Epstein, Senegal 17 See notes14 and15,above. 18Inthemorerecent of stockimported constituted themajority Mauritania-bred horses period, whether this was thecase Economic to Senegal(Curtin, is, however, 222). Thequestion Change, the scarcity of horses in the fifteenth sources mention already century.EarlyArabandEuropean andeds., andJ.F.P. trans. theSanhaja al-Istibsar" [c. 1135],in N. Levtzion ("Kitab Hopkins, among 1981], 144; Cadamosto, for WestAfrican History[Cambridge, Corpusof EarlyArabicSources
89
established access to horses bred in Morocco. The imports of horses from North Africa, principally from western Morocco, to Senegambia are mentioned at some length by all early European sources.19 The presence of horses in Senegambia and the neighboring areas is well documented prior to contact with the Portuguese. The earliest Arab sources even mention horses as important status symbols in ancient Ghana and, later on, in the Takrur,20suggesting that horses were introducedinto westernmost Africa well before the growth of Manding influence in that area in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Mali, whose power in the late thirteenth and in the fourteenth centuries reached, at least nominally, to Senegambia, the Guinea Rivers, and Fuuta Jaloo,21 already possessed a large body of elite cavalry, consisting mostly of noble commanders and their retinue.22
Viagens, 25; Ferandes, O Manuscrito,47-48, 55). However, the presence of horse herds in Jara
in southern Mauritania climate 47) andtheimproving (Ferandes,OManuscrito, (O.de Puigaudeau, "Artset coutumes des Maures. I - L'Habitation [suite],5. Notice sur Chap.II, Vie mattrielle, - Tamuda, des principales villes anciennes," 9, fasc. 3 [1968],369-70), quelques-unes Hesp6ris indicateat least a possibilityof using the southern as a convalescence areafor the pasturages horses across Moroccan thedesert andeventually asbreeding transported grounds. 19 Cadamosto thatthe"Arabs" (1455)reported merchants) (Sanhaja manyBarbary brought horsesandothermerchandise to sell in thelandof theblacks(Viagens,17, 29) andthatthehorses wereordered fromanddistributed of Sanhaja traders/clerics throughout Senegambia by a network Pacheco Pereira theareaaround Safias themainsource (Ibid.,29, 30, 39). Duarte (1480s)stressed of horsesdestined for Senegambia Esmeraldo de SituOrbis, ed. A.E.da Silva Pereira, (D. Pacheco Dias [Lisbon,1905, reprint1975], 59). Fernandes (1507-1508),similarlyto PachecoPereira, identifiedSafi as the mainsourceregionof horsesimported to Senegambia acrossthe Sahara
(Ferandes, O Manuscrito,47).
20 al-Bakri (c. 1068),theKitabal-Istibsar (1135),al-Idrisi (c. 1154)andIbnSa'id(1269)all in ancient mention horsesas an important Ghana "Kitab al-masalik (al-Bakri, royalstatussymbol in LevtzionandHopkins, wa-'l-mamalik," al-Istibsar," Ibid., 147; al-Idrisi, Corpus,80; "Kitab fi ikhtiraq "Nuzhat bastal-ard fi'l-tulwa-'l-'ard," Ibid.,110;IbnSa'id,"Kitab al-mushtaq al-afaq," A century accounts arethose of al-Bakri andal-Idrisi. Ibid.,186. Themostoriginal and,unlike apart theothertwo sources, written of eachother, well theceremonial independently theyreflect usageat theGhana court. IbnSa'id(1269)provides alsoa specificreference to Takrur (Fuuta Tooro)(Ibn bastal-ard," Sa'id,"Kitab Ibid.,185). 21 See Levtzion,"TheEarlyStates,"I, 117; and also al-'Umari, "Masalik in al-absar," andHopkins, Levtzion 261. Corpus, 22 According to al-'Umari of Mali]armynumbers "His[theruler's about (c. 1337-1338), mounted on horses andtheremainder without 100,000,of whomabout10,000arecavalry infantry horsesor othermounts. ... Thepeopleof thiskingdom ridewithArabsaddles of andin respect of theirhorsemanship mostfeatures resemble buttheymount theirhorses withtherightfoot, Arabs, to everybody else"(al-'Umari, "Masalik al-absar," 266).IbnBattuta (1352-1353) contrary reported thateachfarba(provincial hadmounted andinfantry retinue andprovided a commander) military valuable of theMalian as mounted archers: hasa quiver "Eachfarari description cavalry suspended betweenhis shoulder bladesanda bow in his handandridesa horse" in "Rihla," (IbnBattuta,
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The antiquity of Senegalese horsemanship and its connection with North African horse supply are supported by linguistic evidence. As Law argued, in all major Senegalese languages, Wolof, Sereer, and Pulaar, the word "horse" is derived from an Arabic root.23 The Senegambian horse-owning traditionwas strong enough to influence even the languages of the peoples living south of the Cassamance River, such as the Landuma and the Balante, who also use derivatives from the Arabic,24 whereas coastal areas that became integrated into broader trading networks through subsequent contact with the Manding - e.g. Sierra Leone, Grain Coast and Ivory Coast - derive their words for "horse"from the Mande root.25 The predominance of the Arabic root in Senegambia may also serve as evidence of the reliance on North African supply, whereas the interior of Western Sudan relied originally more on local small-sized breeds (horses smaller than 140 cm in height), adjusted to the West African environment. Law suggested that the "ponies" of the Western Sudan were autochthonousto West Africa, but unsuitable for mounted warfare. According to him, the build-up of cavalry in Mali became possible only after large-scale imports of full-size horses had begun in the fourteenth-century, Levtzion andHopkins, thatthegrowth of thecavalry forcein Mali 290-91).Lawsuggested Corpus, recentfourteenth-century was a relatively fromMansa Musa's to development resulting pilgrimage Mecca(Law,TheHorse,28 and 121). Thisdoesnotappear on several First,it plausible grounds. in less thentwentyyears to builda sizeable on imported wouldhavebeendifficult mounts cavalry Mansa Musa's thatpassedbetween andal-'Umari's R. Wright's pilgrimage report.Second,Donald research was instrumental at the timeof its foundation suggeststhatcavalry already by Sundjata
(Donald R. Wright, The Early History of Niumi: Settlementand Foundationof a MandinkaState on
the GambiaRiver [Athens,Ohio, 1977], 12). Third,the use of cavalryin westernSudanwas in the twelfthcentury heralded "he[therulerof Ghana] has a corpsof army by al-Idrisi: already " (al-Idrisi, in Levtzion commanders whocomeon horseback... "Nuzhat andHopkins, al-mushtaq,"
Corpus, 110).
23 WoloffarsandSereer fromtheArabic pis areverylikelyderived faras forhorse,as Law wordforhorse,is less clear. (Law,TheHorse,6-7).Theetymology suggested ofputu,thePulaar 24 Horseisfalas in Balante andafalatsin Landuma, bothclearly derived fromtheWoloffars
(Ibid., 6).
25 Thewordfor horsein Soninke is si, in Malinke andBambara so, in Sususona, in Bulom andTemneasoe, in VaiandKisiandGrebo so, andin Krusou(Ibid.,6). Interestingly enough,the in a number Mande rootcanalso be distinguished of Lower Guinea thusso in Eweand languages: andesi in Edo(Ibid.). Fon,esinin Yoruba
91
following the pilgrimageof MansaMusa.26Epstein,however,suggests, thatWest of Barband Dongola full-sized Africanponies were a productof the naturalization breeds that crossed the Saharaat differentpoints in time and became gradually conditions:27 dwarfedas a resultof unfavorable As these breeds are of very differentracial types, either oriental,Barb or andDongola,Oriental andBarb,or Dongola Dongola,or combiningOriental theirsmallsize maybe attributed andBarbfeatures, to solely to the adaptation an inferior environmentin which cattle, sheep and goats have likewise becomedwarfed. Law considered this theoryinsufficiently butit is consistent supported by evidence,28 with morerecentprocesseswhich,in Senegambia andthe neigboring regions,led to the appearanceof such specific breeds as the Sahel Horse, the River Horse of Horseandthe B61ldougou/Banamba Horse(all West African Senegal,the Foutank6 varietiesof the Barb),and the widespread "Ponyof the South,"extantbetweenthe upperSenegalandNigerrivers.29 Moreover,the early spreadand subsequentregressive breed evolution of North African horses in the western Sudan is attested through the historically documented local breeds.The earliestreferenceto the presenceof manysmall-sized such a breedin the westernSahel is thatof al-Bakriin 1068.30 Around1269, Ibn thatthe horsesin the Takrur Sa'idreported (Fuuta Tooro)"areshortandnot swift."31 In the early fourteenthcentury,small local breedsseem to have been spreadwell the entirewesternsavannaas far as the easternbranchof the Niger, and throughout wereusedextensivelyfor mounted warfare by Mossiraiders.32 The most striking characterization of localWestAfricanbreedsis provided by
al-'Umari (1337-1338):33
26 Law,TheHorse,24-29, 121-22. 27 Epstein, TheOrigin, II,463. 28 Law,TheHorse,3-4, 24-27. 29 Epstein, TheOrigin, 446-48,472. 30 al-Bakri, "Kitab 81. al-Masalik," 31 IbnSa'id,"Kitab bastal-ard,"185. 32 al-'Umari's of themounted archers horses that Mali,riding description periodically attacking were"cross-bred withslit noses" "Masalik referred to the al-absar," Ibid.,268)probably (al-'Umari, of theTatar-like Mossi.Fortheidentification withMossi,see Levtzion, attackers Ancient Ghana and
Mali, 87.
33 al-'Umari, "Masalik 263. al-absar," Corpus,
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They [people of Mali] have horses which are a variety of the Tatarcross-breed (...), and mules, but they are all very small and such is the case with all their domestic animals, cows, sheep, donkeys - none is found but ill-formed and small-framed. Al-'Umari's description agrees well with Epstein's thesis on the dwarfing of domestic animals in African conditions.34 Epstein's argument receives additional support from the fact that small horse breeds of the western Sudan display definite Barb features35 suggesting beyond serious doubt a North African ancestry. The Barb was the most common riding horse bred in North Africa. It was distinguished from the more valued Arab by the shape of its head and certain elements of body construction.36 Arabs, however, were traceable in a number of Maghribi breeds.37 The Barbs were taller, sturdier and more enduring than the Arabs and as such were preferred by some North African breeders.38The famous Spanish relative of the Barb was brought to perfection in the sixteenth century, but already in the fifteenth century Spanish horses enjoyed high reputation.39 Although Senegambia seems to have relied mostly on the North African and eventually Mauritaniansupply of fullbred horses,40 local stock was also available.41 The Manding, who began to penetrate into the Gambia River basin in the late
34 Epstein, TheOrigin, II,463. 35Ibid.,467. 36 Foranextensive of Barbs anddiscussion seeIbid.,438-50. description 37 See Ibid.,441-45. The Arabinfluence in horsesbredin eastern is quitestrong Morocco fromSafiin Senegal. Lawsuggested that thepopularity of horses (Ibid.,444-45).Thismayexplain in the late stagesof the Arabwerebredin theTagant areawheretheywerebrought thoroughbred intotheMaghrib Arab whichhedatesto thesixteenth (Law,TheHorse,24, and century. penetration sectionon "Horse IbnKhaldun andtheearlyPortuguese sources that indicate, however, Breeding"). theseArabtribes, andal-Berabish tribal to the (theD'wiHassan al-'Udaya namely family belonging in Mauritania werealready of thePortuguese. before thearrival (IbnKhaldun, present Ma'qilgroup)
Kitab al-'ibar. Histoire des Berberes, new ed. P. Casanova(Paris, 1925-26), II, 280; Fernandes,O
between Morocco andMauritania andalsobetween Tuatand Manuscrito, 47-48) Theynomadized Timbuktu Kitabal-'ibar,II, 280)andcontrolled trade routesleading south(IbnKhaldun, through central usedto import horses to Senegal andMali(Fernandes, Mauritania, O Manuscrito, 48). It is in Tagant wasbasedon Moroccan thuspossiblethatthe horsebreeding stockandconstituted an offshoot of thetrans-Saharan horse trade. 38 Epstein, TheOrigin, II,439.
39 Ibid., 526. 40 Cadamosto,Viagens, 17, 47; PachecoPereira,Esmeraldo,59; Fernandes,O Manuscrito,47,
65. 41 IbnSa'id,"Kitab "0 Manuscrito," bastal-ard," 65. 185;Fernandes,
93
thirteenth century, rode both imported horses and small, sturdy Sudanese breeds,42 whose presence is documented in the Manding homeland on the upper Senegal and Niger.43 The emphasis on horsemanship in Manding legends indicates that the Gambian Manding brought with them the tradition of a mounted noble warrior as opposed to a commoner infantryman.44 D.R. Wright traced this tradition back to the times of Sundiata.45 In the 1330s Mali possessed a large cavalry, mounted, according to al-'Umari, exclusively on imported "Arab"horses, procured by the ruler of Mali at substantial cost and distributed among his military commanders, officials, and chiefs.46 This would suggest a heavy reliance on the trans-Saharan supply. Later, however, Leo Africanus reported that in the Niger Bend both small local breeds and imported "good" horses were used for riding as well as for combat.47 In the fifteenth-century Senegambia, especially among non-Manding peoples imported horses appear to have formed the majority of the riding stock,48 but according to Fernandes,49some horses were also bred locally in Jolof: ... dos quaes cauallos n[em] nage[m] nesta prouincia se n[em] muy poucos, os outros traz os christaos e mouros do sertao [of these horses but a few are born in this province, the others are brought by the Christians and the Moors from the bush] The provenance of horses is often indicative of the way horses were employed. Among the Manding, who used both imported and local breeds, the use of horses in warfare was well- and long-established. They obviously had enough replaceable stock to risk horses in battle. In Senegal itself, the question is not so clear. As Law argued, the presence of horses in itself does not indicate that they were 42 al-'Umari, was awareof the local horsesin the "Masalik al-absar," 263, 266; Fernandes thattheManding hinterland O Manuscrito, 75), buthe alsomentioned (Fernandes, bought Manding horsesat Kantor (Ibid.,79), andthestockbredin theCapeVerde (Ibid.)andelsewhere Portuguese
Islands(Ibid., 77). 43 Fernandes,O Manuscrito,75.
44 Forthesocialandmilitary in Malisee al-'Umari, roleof horses "Masalik al-absar," Corpus, 265-66;andIbnBattuta, "Rihla," Ibid.,290.
45 Wright, The Early History, 12. 46 al-'Umari, "Masalikal-absar," 266. 47 Law, The Horse, 29. 48 Cadamosto, Viagens, 17, 47; Fernandes,O Manuscrito,47, 65. 49 Fernandes,O Manuscrito,65.
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used for cavalrypurposes.50He believedthatin Senegambia horses were used for of warfareonly afterthe arrival the Portuguese who were able to supplyhorses in sufficient numbers.51 But, if the scarcityof NorthAfrican horses was the main reason for not using them in warfare,why did Wolof warriorsnot resortto using local mounts,whetherimported fromthe westernSudanor bredlocally?52 Contacts with both Mauritania and Mali would suggest that military applications of were known in Senegambiawell before the opening of the Atlantic horsemanship trade. Yet it seems thatin Senegal,at the timeof thePortuguese horseswere arrival, rathersymbols of power andprestigethaneffective implements of warfare. Such a function was quite commonin otherWest Africanareasborderingon horse-using regions.53 The ceremonial and prestige-enhancing function of horses was documented (c. 1068),who statedthatthe ruler alreadyin ancientGhanaby al-Bakri of Ghanawould paradedaily through the capitalon horseback to hearsupplicants.54 The Kitab al-Istibsar (c. 1135) specifies thatthe rulerof Ghanaowned ten richly caparisonedhorses,55but al-Idrisisuggests a much stronger presenceof horses in Ghana: not only the rulerbutalso his commanders andprincipal in noblesparticipated courtceremonieson horseback.56 Horseswere an integralfeatureof ceremoniesat the courtof Mali.57Bothal-'Umari andIbnBattuta specifythatnot only the rulerbut also his retinue,military commanders andtheirretinue, wereall mounted.58 In fifteenth-centurySenegambia,ownership of horses and the ability to appearon horsebackin public carriedwith it at least as much social prestigeas in ancientGhanaandMali.59According to Ferandes, horseswere boughtnot so much for war as for honor.60 Even horsetailsconveyedprestigebecausethey attestedto
50 Law,TheHorse,28, 52-53, 120-121, Ch.7 passim. 51 Ibid.,52-53. 52 Inthesixteenth-century, themiddle a major horse even area, Senegal valleybecame breeding thestockinevitably suffered theregressive effectcaused though by localenvironment. 53 See Law,TheHorse,164-69;192-96. 54 al-Bakri, "Kitab 80. al-masalik," 55 "Kitab 147. al-Istibsar," 56 al-Idrisi, "Nuzhat 10. al-mustaq,"1 57 al-'Umari, "Masalik 290. 265;andIbnBattuta, al-absar," "Rihla," 58 Ibid.,265-66,290. 59 Cadamosto, O Manuscrito, 29, 47; Fernandes, 65, 69, 79. Viagens, 60 Fernandes, 69: "E n[em]mercatatoos cauallosperaa guerra O Manuscrito, come por honrra" thehorses so much forwaras forhonor]. [andtheydo nottrade
95
previous horse ownership.61 Horses were a mark of power for local notables and noblemen,62 partly because of the difficulty and expense involved in the procurement of imported animals.63 Horses also constituted one of the expected gifts between a vassal and his overlord. According to Suret-Canale, the tribute due to the Buurba Jolof from the heads of major Senegalese states (Waalo, Kajoor, Bawol, Siin, Saalum), and levied four times a year at the occasion of major animist festivals, required among other things two fine horses from each ruler.64 The early European evidence, however, suggests a more extensive network of tributaries.65 All major Senegalese dignitaries strove to maintain a mounted retinue,66 and it was also customary to provide distinguished guests with temporary mounts.67 In the final analysis, the Senegalese pattern of power relations involving horses and the employment of the horse as a power symbol appear to have been consistent with patterns prevalent in the western Sudan, mirroring the ceremonial design described by al-'Umari and Ibn Battuta in Mali.68 In Gambia, the traditional Manding emphasis on horsemanship became even more pronounced after their arrival to the region. Among the "Nyancho" elite segments that came to rule Kaabu and other states in Senegambia, horsemanship
61 Fernandes indicates os rabosdellese os t[em]pe[m]durados em suas that"todosaguarda suasmolheres emas maospordizerq[uelseu vama algu[m]a festaeuaos ditosrabos casas.E quado their tailsandhangthemupin temtirado tatoscauallos"[theyall preserve marido (thedeadhorses') themin their to showthattheirhusband arms theirhousesandwhenthereis a feasttheirwivescarny thatthe tails O Manuscrito, hadownedso and so manyhorses](Fernandes, 69). Law suggested butalsoas decorative andmagical hadvaluenotonlyas a proofsof pasthorseownership, probably context it wouldappear thattheyfunctioned objects(Law,TheHorse,169),butin theSenegambian notas a decoration ora toolof magic. as a prestige symbol, primarily 62 Fernandes, OManuscrito, 65. 63 "Licaualli in questo li hanocongrandissima dificultade. paexesonomoltoapresiadi perche in thislandaremuchvalued nonponoviuermolto..." [Horses because .. e anchoperche theyare forlong... ] (Cadamosto, withthegreatest andalsobecause survive obtained difficulty theycannot 47). Viagens, 64 Suret-Canale, 'TheWestern Atlantic Coast,"393. 65 Cadamosto "Tostayon goodterms withhim[thebuurba], thelordsof theland[not related, of subject of horses, states]makehimeachyearpresents equestrian onlyrulers equipment...etc." (Cadamosto, 29). Viagens, 66 The Damelof Kajoor,for example,came to welcomeCadamosto at the sea shoreon with15horsemen and150retinue on foot(Cadamosto, members horseback, 34). Viagens, 67 Ibid.,35. 68 See note44 above.
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constituted an integral part of the concept of keya (manliness) and a prerequisite for
leadership.69 politicalandmilitary
But to what degree were horses also used in Senegambian warfare? According to Cadamosto, wars and skirmishes were frequent and violent, but invariably fought on foot because of the scarcity of horses.70 This information was later confirmed by Ferandes, who claimed that in Senegal wars were fought on foot, for "they do not have horses because these cannot live there."71 The weapons that Cadamosto, and later Fernandes, described - a number of throwing spears carried by each warrior, daggers, bows and arrows, and large shields - seem to have been more appropriate for foot soldiers than for horse riders.72 It should be noted, however, that in the sixteenth century, when cavalry warfare became undisputedly commonplace in Senegambia, the same weapons came to be used by both mounted and infantry forces, except for a long thrustingspear that complemented the arsenal of the cavalryman.73 Yet, despite all this, Cadamosto also seems to imply that Jolof possessed mounted forces already before the mid-fifteenth century, when he relates that the stateless Seerer managed to escape Jolof domination partly because the terrainof their country prevented the access to it by mounted forces: And it has happened many times that some of the kings of Senega from among the above mentioned blacks attacked them with war in the past, seeking to subjugate them, but were always worsted by these two peoples, because of their poisoned weapons and also because of their rugged terrain, impossible to penetrate except onfoot (emphasis added) and through narrow passes.74
69 Wright, The Early History of Niumi, 29-30.
70 "These lordsfightmuchamongthemselves andwiththeneighboring countries. Theyfight on footbecause as thesecannot stand theclimate. theyhavetoo few horses Theyhaveno armour.. shields.... Theirwarsareverydeadly as theyhaveno armour to protect them. ., onlylargeround andprefer to be killedrather than to flee"(Cadamosto, 32). Theyareferocious Viagens, 71 Femandes, 73. WhatFernandes meantwas thathorsesweretoo O Manuscrito, probably to riskin battlebecausehe mentioned earlier thatthe buurbaof Jolofcontrolled a large precious
mountedforce (Ibid., 65).
72 Cadamosto, 66. 32;Femandes, O Manuscrito, Viagens, Brevedos Rios de Guind 73 A. Alvaresde Almada, "Tratado do CaboVerde: des do Rio de de negrosque hd na ditacostae de seus Sanagi atdos baixosde SantaAna,de todasas nacOes in Br6sio, Monumenta Missionaria 2a s6rie, costumes, armas, trajos, juramentos, guerras," Africana,
(Lisbon, 1958), III, 241-42.
74 "Et6achatudo molt fiadeche algunj Re de Senega li ha de negriantediti pertempipassadi fatoguera et ali uogiodo e sempreo daqueste do generatione si perle sonoste malmenadi subiugar
97
One possible explanation is that while the actual fighting was done on foot, horses were an important instrument of mobility for armed forces already at the time of the European arrival. According to Law, this situation was quite common in West Africa.75 Apart from the horse's role as prestige symbol, mobility was quite likely the chief advantage afforded to the owner. Mobility would undeniably have been importantfor the itinerantnobles and their retinues.76 Cadamosto supplies, however, much better evidence of the use of horses in battle, when describing the amulets (gris-gris) that were supposed to protect the animals in combat: "e tien per fede che per portar quella ligadura adosso zoe al colo/vadano piu securj li cauali In bataglia (emphasis added) [and they believe that wearing such amulet on the heads, i.e. on the neck, the horses will ride more safely in battle].77 It is therefore possible to conclude that, while they primarily constituted status symbols, horses were used as mounts in Senegambian warfare at the time of the Portuguese arrival. Their cavalry function, however, was significantly limited by military, logistical and safety considerations. The relatively safe, hit-and-collect slave raids, which represented both a major source of income78 and a favorite dry-season activity of the Senegambian nobility,79 would have much benefited from the added speed conferred by horses, without greatly endangering the mounts. Resistance to raiders was either minimal, especially if the target was a village inhabited by marketable slaves (jaam-sayor),80 or feeble if the defenders did not possess comparable military capacity or did not enjoy the protection of terrain.Law suggested that cavalry attacks were particularlydevastating where the mounted forces of centralized states attacked fragmented and horseless peoples.81 This is consistent with Wright's view that the invading Manding warriors sarteaunenade che vxanosi etiamperel paexeforteche no li ponointrar saulopedonje perstreti
passi" (Cadamosto,Viagens, 52). 75 Law, The Horse, 136.
76 Cadamosto, 29-30. Viagens,

77 bid.,47. 78 Ibid., 29, 36, 47; Fernandes,O Manuscrito,65, 69.
79 TheManding andNyancho calledtheseraidssoo-boli(horse-running). TheEarly Wright,

History of Niumi, 30.
80 Fernandes thatin orderto pay for horses,the buyingSenegalese noblewould suggested attack thefirstvillageat hand(Fernandes, O Manuscrito, thereference is tojaam69). Obviously, chiefs was not strongenoughto allow sayorvillages,becausethe politicalpowerof Senegalese sustained of thefreepopulation. terrorizing
81 Law, The Horse, 179.
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and later the Nyancho emanating from Kaabu representedan overpowering force visi-vis the coastal autochthonous population.82 This advantage was not absolute, however, as is suggested by the case of the Seerer and other coastal peoples living in an environment or in settlements (such as fortified villages) that placed constraints on mounted warfare. In both its military and socio-political aspects, the possession of horses greatly enhanced the status and power of the owners. The political and social processes that, according to Goody, were determined by control over the "means of destruction"83 (in this case horses) appear to have been in operation in fifteenthcentury Senegambia, just as in the western Sudan, well before the arrival of the Portuguese. The difference between Senegambia and other parts of West Africa was, however, that in the former the access to horses was certainly not limited to the central power.84 The high cost of horses combined with the limited resources of the buurba of Jolof cannot but have limited his possibilities of control over the distribution of horses in areas owing allegiance to him, not to mention the fact that he obviously was himself a recipient of horses through tribute and gifts,85 and the donors therefore had to have had access to horse markets. At the time of the Portuguese arrival,all local chiefs seemed to have had good access to supplies of horses, providing they could pay the price.86 Sanhaja clerics and traders moved freely through Jolof and its satellites, ready to mediate the transactions.87 The price went up, presumably, with geographical distance, putting the less accessible areas at relative disadvantage, but on the whole the price of horses in Fuuta Tooro (14 to 15 slaves for 1 horse), did not differ that much from the price of horses in Siin, or in the Guinea Rivers for that matter.88 By following the demand 82 Wright, TheEarlyIistory of Niumi,130. 83 See Goody,Technology, andtheState, Tradition 42-43. 84 On themonopoly of thecentral on thehorsesupplysee Law'sdiscussion political powers TheHorse, 61ff. Itappears thatin fourteenth-century of "ThePoliticsof theHorse Maliand Trade," in sixteenth-century anddistributed horses Bomu,theruler (Ibid.,61). Thefact, purchased centrally thatthemansausedto purchase horsesfordistribution by al-'Umari', reported imported amonghis doesnot,by itself,preclude in "Masalik al-absar," (al-'Umari, armycommanders, private purchases andHopkins, Levtzion 266). Corpus, 85 See notes64 and65 above. 86 Cadamosto, ed., As Viagensdos Descubrimentos 29, 34-35; D. Gomesin J.M.Garcia, Pereira, O Manuscrito, Esmeraldo, 79, 82, 85, 89, 91; Fernandes, (Lisbon,1983),45-46;Pacheco 65, 69, 75, 77, 79, 87. 87 Cadamosto, 65. O Manuscrito, 29,35-37,47; Fernandes, Viagens, 88 Cadamosto, O 79, 85, 91; Fernandes, Esmeraldo, Viagens,17 and47; PachecoPereira, 87. Manuscrito,
99
andtheirpersonalcontacts,the Sanhaja traders to keep the region obviouslymanaged moreor less evenly coveredbutundersupplied, possiblyin orderto keeppricesup. The Effect of Imports from Portugal The opening of the Portuguese horse trade certainly introduced a competitive complementto the existing supply. In the 1450s, at 12 to 15 slaves per horse,89the thoseof themountssuppliedby the Sanhaja.They Portuguese pricesnearlymatched 6 to to 8 slaves per horse by 1460,90and eventually however, quickly dropped, of the sixteenth at thatlevel well intothe beginning stabilized century.91 not horse did The Portuguese trade displacethatof the Sanhaja,as has been suggested.92 Femandesclearlyproves that,aftersixty years of Portuguesecoastal competition, the Sanhaja continued to supply mounts from eastern Morocco In his sectionon Mauritania, the fifteenthandearlysixteenth centuries.93 throughout of the trans-Saharan he includes the following description horse trade,obtainedat firsthandfromJoaoRodriguez: Estes Azenegues vam por terraa 1!affymq[ue] sera 200 legoas e mais e co[m]racauallose os leua a Gyloffados negros,e resgataos por scrauos. E estes negrostraze[m]a Arguya ve[n]deraos christaospor trigo ou vestir. E delles leua a lugaresde mourose os da porcauallos.... to Safi whichis over200 leaguesdistantandbuy [TheseSanhaja go overland horsesandtakethemto the Jolof of the Blacksandexchangethemfor slaves. for wheator cloths.And These slavestheytaketo Arguimto sell to Christians some of these things(slaves, wheat,cloths) they then take to the Moors and give them for horses... .]94 undisturbed. circuitobviouslycontinued Horsetradealongthe westerntrans-Saharan Arabs("Moorsof "Lodea") Walata,underthe controlof the al-'Udaya(Femandes's horseentrepot. Lodea') actedas an improtant 89Cadamosto, 17and 47. Viagens,
90 Gomes,As Viagens, 45-46. 91 Pacheco OManuscrito, Pereira, Esmeraldo, 79, 82, 85, 91;Fernandes, 77, 87. 92 See forexample Law,TheHorse,49, 52.
93Fernandes, 47 and considered Ferandes's OManuscrito, (Law, 65).Law "ambiguous" report os christaos butherefers tothestatement that "osoutros The Horse, [cauallos] traze[m] 48-49), only e mouros de sertao... [theother andby theMoors of the arebrought (horses) bytheChristians bush" onMauritania OManuscrito, 65),nottothepassage 47-48). (Femandes, (Ibid., 94Ibid., 47-48.
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The reason why the Portuguese proved unable to push the Sanhaja out of the market was, apartfrom relative quantity of supply, also the quality and state of health of the animals. Whereas the Sanhaja sold well-bred beasts, well-rested and seasoned during the winterage in Mauritania, the quality of the horses sold by the Portuguese was quite uneven. While some horses were of fine stock,95 for example the Spanish horses sold by Cadamosto,96 or the Barbs imported specifically for the Senegambian market by the Portuguese Crown from Morocco,97 others were decidedly poor specimens. Duarte Pacheco Pereira repeatedly refers to the poor quality of the horses sold by the Portuguese in Senegambia.98 The worsening quality of the Portuguese supply in the 1460s and 1470s might have to do with the horse-selling rush in Portugal that made it necessary for the Portuguese Crown to regulate the sisa (5 percent export sales tax) on horses bought in regional markets in the interior of Portugal.99 The animals also suffered considerably during the sea voyage. Sea transport of horses represented a serious problem well into the eighteenth century. Horses had to be kept in narrow compartments below decks and their movement had to be restricted to a minimum to prevent injury. The critical moment was the loading and unloading of the animals, in particular the latter. While regular quay facilities were generally available at the home port, the unloading in African conditions, in the absence of piers, jetties and mechanical devices, was extremely peculiar. Often the ship had to be careened and the horses lifted and swung overboard using the yardarms. On the whole it should not be surprising that the animals often fell victim to illness or injury.100 The willingness of Jelen, the ill-fated bumi (Bemoim) of Jolof, to accept tails as proof of lading and pay for horses that died in transit, should
95 In 1470,forexample, a royalherald his warhorseto Guinea. obtained a licenceto export (O

Livro de Recebimentos de 1470 da Chancelaria da Cdmara (Lisbon, 1974), 88). Late medieval
horseswere expensive,very fine, stronganimals, bredto gathermaximum charger speed with overshort burden distances.Thischaracteristic lowered theanimal's maximum mighthaveactually wheremobility valuein Guinea, andlightcavalry werecalledfor. applications 96 Cadamosto, He to sell his 7 horses for 100 slaves,c. 14 slavesper 34. was able Viagens,
horse (Ibid., 34-35). 97 Pacheco Pereira,Esmeraldo,59.
98 See for example Pacheco 82: "porumcavallode poucavalia"[fora Pereira, Esmeraldo, horseof littlevalue]), 91:"ainda quenaosejaboo"[evenif it werenotgood].
99 J.M. Silva Marques,ed., Descobrimentos Portugueses: Documentos para a sua hist6ria
(Lisbon,1971),III,doc. 14. 100I wouldlike to thank his unpublished on this subject Martin M. Elblforsharing research is a partof a broader withme. Thisresearch andshould be madeavailable withinthe next project in thelatemiddle fewyearsin theformof a monograph on trans-Saharan trade ages.
101
be seen as a recognition of the high risk taken by merchants transporting large shipments of horses, rather than as a surrenderto Portuguese intimidation.101 Because in Senegambia prestige was assigned both to actual ownership and to mere evidence of it, there seems to have been enough demand to accommodate both extremes of the quality range through the price mechanism. A fine horse could fetch as many as thirty slaves.102 Those on the brink of death, bought merely for their tails and skins, sold, of course, for much less. The quality of the Portuguese supply was probably further compromised by the stock bred in the Cape Verde Islands. While certainly a success,103 Cape Verde horse breeding could not escape the negative trends that plagued the descendants of imported horses in West Africa, especially the decrease in size. On the other hand, the sturdiness and endurance of such horses made them acceptable to Manding and Manding-influenced warriors, whose horsemanship tradition had long become adjusted to the local Sudanese breeds. The impact that the Portuguese horse trade may have had on Senegambia depends not only on how commonplace horses were at the time of the Portuguese arrival, but also on the volume of the Portuguese shipments. The volume of the Portuguese horse trade is often strongly exaggerated. By quoting Fernandes's claim that Jolof possessed an army of 8,000 cavalrymen by the end of the fifteenth-century while elsewhere stressing the former infantry nature of Jolof warfare, J. Boul6gue, Robin Law, and others tacitly imply that it was the Portuguese exports that allowed Jolof to change its military tactics and build a large cavalry force within half a century.104 Fernandes' figure of 8,000 cavalrymen could in itself be accepted as reasonable, given Smith's finding that pre-colonial African armies effectively tended to be larger than their contemporary European counterparts.105 What is unrealistic, however, is that a cavalry body of this size could have been supported over five decades mostly from Portuguese imports, a condition without which the claim that the
101 Joao de Barros,Asia: PrimeiraDecada, ed. H. Cidadeand M. M6ris (Lisbon, 1945), 100.
102J. Miinzer, "DeInventione videlicet Africae maritimae et occidentalis geneeperInfantem in Brasio, Heirichum Monumenta Missionaria 2a sdrie, I, 235-36. Portugaliae," Africana, 103Large-scale in the 1470swhenthesettlers on theCapeVerde were Islands started breeding to the Guinea (See Silva Marques, forbiddenfor a while to export importedcommodities
MonumentaMissionaria Africana, 2a serie, II, Descobrimentos Portugueses, III, doc. 81; Braisio,
an important trade with doc. 15, 42). In the 1510slocallybredhorsesformed partof the Santiago themainland. See Ivana Trade withWestAfrica,1440-1521" Elbl,"ThePortuguese (Ph.D.thesis, of Toronto, 1986),407. University 104Boulegue, Le Grand 52-53. Jolof,72-77;Law,TheHorse, 105 R.S. Smith,Warfareand Diplomacy in Pre-Colonial WestAfrica(London,1976),63. sourcesis acceptable Boulegueexplicitlyagreesthatthecavalry strength givenby thePortuguese LeGrand Jolof,73). (Boul6gue,
102
IVANA ELBL
political change in Senegambiadependedon access to the Portuguesesupply of horses would not make much sense.106 Let us presume,for a moment, that the in fifteenth-century Portuguese playeda key role in the cavalrybuild-up Senegambia. Whatwouldbe the logistics of supplying 8,000 horses? The capacityof the Portuguese supplywas limited. Portuguese ships seem to have seldom carriedmore thanseven to ten horses,due to the size of the ships and livestock.107On-thisassumption,to supply 8,000 the problemswith transporting 800 expeditions, horsesto Jolof wouldhaverequired andwe have to takefurther into account that not all ships that sailed from Portugalcarriedhorses on board. The turnoverwould also have called for a paymentof at least 56,000 slaves.108 Over a fifty-yearperiod, this would have meantabout 1,120 slaves and 160 horses a year. This may appearfeasible, but the catchis thatthe horsesdid not live for fifty years. horsesin the Gulf of Guineain fact might not survivefor Accordingto Fernandes, more than a year.109 Modem veterinaryprognosisfor horses exposed to coastal without medicalcarerangesfromfive to ten years.110 West Africanconditions proper horsesvery short,but the possibilities Not only was the life expectancyof imported of local breedingwere seriouslylimitedas well.1ll As a result,horsesmay have had would possibly to be replacedevery five years.112Thatimpliesthatthe Portuguese have had to supply as many as 80,000 horsesand buy 560,000 slaves over the first half a centuryof the trade(11,200 slavesperyear),figuresthatfarexceed the known volumeof the earlytrade. Even if the replacement that periodwereas long as ten years,the proposition the Portuguese were responsible for most the cavalrybuild-upin Senegambia would still remain unrealistic. Accordingto Pacheco Pereira,in the last quarterof the morethan400 slavesa year,andoften as few fifteenthcenturyJolof seldomexported 106 Accessto thePortuguese of horses is thecoreof Boulegue's See supply argument.
Le Grand Jolof,153, 155, 162,166. Boulegue,
107Cadamosto, AsViagens, 45-46.Seealsonote100above. 34;Gomes, Viagens, 108Atanaverage of seven slaves horse. price per 123. dieof fatness]. OManuscrito, Fernandes,
109 "Cauallos os leuSla no viuemaisq[ue]huu[m] de anoe dize[m]q[ue]morre[m] quando do notlive morethanone year,andit is saidthatthey whentheyaretaken there, [Horses, gordura"
110 I would like to thankto Dr. H. Bastian,director of the BastianVeterinary Hospital, for herexpertopinion.The hospital servicesto several Ontario, Canada, Peterborough, provides renowned stables. nationally 111Cadamosto, 47;Fernandes, 65, 66, 80. O Manuscrito, Viagens, 112 Law suggests that apart from trypanosomiasis, horses' lives were shortenedby diet andpremature concurs (Law,TheHorse,73, 77-78, 83). Cadamosto inappropriate mounting thediet(Cadamosto, 47). Viagens, concerning
103
as 200.113 If all these slaves were sold for horses, Jolof would have imported between thirty and sixty horses each year. This figure is consistent with the number of horses obtained for export by the Guinea House, the Portuguese Crown agency for the African trade, between 1494 and 1497: c. fifty-five horses a year. l4 This figure of course does not take into consideration the activity of private traders who often imported substantially more slaves than the Crown. Thus "Jolof' people formed the majority of the black slaves imported to Valencia, mostly through Portuguese channels, between 1490 and 1512.115 This, however, may refer to the ethnic denominator of Wolof rather than to denizenship in Jolof. The Wolof constituted the key segment of population in regions north of Cape Verde, and many Wolof slaves could have been bought in markets outside of Jolof. However, even if as many as 1,200 slaves were exchanged for horses each year, the volume of horse imports would be still too small to have made possible the rapid growth of cavalry forces in Senegambia. It is not only possible that Jolof and other Senegambian states not continued to purchase horses brought in from Mauretanian channels but, as cavalry warfare became more and more common, in the course of the sixteenth centyry they came to rely heavily on the interregional and regional horse supply networks of Western Sudan.116 The Sanhaja continued to function as suppliers of horses117 and, apart from a quite lively Atlantic trade in European mounts and horses bred in the Cape Verde Islands,118there existed an extensive interregionalhorse trade.119 Given its limited volume, the Portuguese horse supply could have had a serious impact on the political and military balance of power in the region only had it been unevenly distributed, or had Portuguese commercial policies inherently or even deliberately favored certain Senegambian states over others. From the beginning of the trade, however, the Portuguese trading activities spanned the entire Senegambian and Guinea Rivers coast, as far as the Beafada country, reaching also up the Gambia 113Pacheco 79. Pereira, Esmeraldo, 114 Archivo Nacional daTorre do Tombo, de D. Manuel, Chancelaria liv. 17,fo. 20;Liv. 2 da de Quitaclo fo. 98. Pub.in A. Freire, "Cartas del ReyD. Manuel," Archivo Histdrico Estremadura, IV, doc.449, 285-86. Portugues, 115 See V. Cortes, La esclavitud en Valencia durante el reinado de los reyescatdlicos, 14791515(Valencia, 1964),217-471. 116Alvares de Almada, "Tratado Breve," 239,244. 117Ibid.,239. 118Ibid.,251, 253, 257, 276, 291, 297, 325. 119Ibid.239 (e alguns destesJalofos entendem a dos Mouros de viremcomo pelacontinuaglo E cavalosa venderem a estesJalofos....); 244 (nassuasterras ha muitos [of "Gran-Fulo"] cavalos, destesprovem todosos Jalofos, Barbacins e Mandingas, os do sertao assim comosos beira-mares).
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and Senegal rivers.120 There was no discrimination along political lines, and deals were made with the highest bidder. Thus in 1455, the damel of Kajoor was clearly the favored customer,121 whereas in 1460 the Portuguese rushed to sell in a Siin port.122 Subsequently, the trading stabilized and traders began to follow established personal contacts more than rumors. The Crown and its contractors came to supply the area north of Cape Verde, whereas regions south of the Gambia River mostly received horses from the Cape Verde Islands.123 The fact that the early Europeantraffic followed water routes might have been a relative disadvantage for the interior areas, but the problem - if there was one proved to be short-lived. Even though the coastal trading spots remained the most important points of supply, the laneados (Portuguese traders settled on the mainland) and the Cape Verde Islanders were soon able to improve their coverage of the interior markets,124 all the while other streams of supply were channelled through local redistribution networks leading up from the coast inland.125 The geographical distribution of the Portuguese horse supply thus could not have been a force affecting fundamental political developments in Senegambia, or, more specifically, the downfall of Jolof. Not only did Jolof have good access to horses of Portuguese and other provenance throughoutthe late fifteenth century, but even after the ascent of the Defiaankobe of Fuuta Tooro and the secession of Kajoor in the sixteenth century, Jolof was not cut from supply. As late as the second half of the sixteenth century, it continued to buy horses from the Sanhaja and from the Senegal valley controlled by the Fula, as well as from the Europeans.126
120 Cadamosto, As Viagens, 45-46;Pacheco 29, 34-35;Gomes, Pereira, Esmeraldo, Viagens, 0 Manuscrito, 65, 75, 77, 79, 87, 91. 79, 82, 85, 89; Fernandes, 121Cadamosto, 34. Viagens, 122 Gomes,As Viagens, 45-46. 123 The settlers of the CapeVerdeIslands wereoriginally freeto tradewiththe entirecoast in 1472. TheCapeVerdians fromthe SenegalRiverto Sierra Leone. Thisprivilege wascurtailed wereallowedto trade Rivers(south of theGambia) andonlyin thecommodities onlyin theGuinea in theislands.Thisrestriction in theCapeVerde led to theintroduction of horsebreeding produced a venture evenafter thatwassustained therestrictions hadbeenrelaxed.TheCapeVerdians Islands, in standing nevertheless remained conflictand competition both with the Crownand with its who in the 1490scontrolled suchas Bartolomeu Marchione a major contractors, partof the slave fromSenegal.See Elbl,"The 331-37. Trade," exports Portuguese 124Alvares de Almada, "Tratado Breve,"244,251, 253,257,276, 291, 297, 325. 125Ibid.,257. SiinandKantor werethemajor horse redistribution centers at this interregional time. Kantor of thesixteenth thisfunction (Fernandes, performed century already by thebeginning
0 Manuscrito,75).
126Alvares de Almada, "Tratado Breve", 239,244,257.
THE HORSEIN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SENEGAMBIA
105
The hypothesisthat the Portuguese horse tradewas what triggeredoff or made possible a cavalrybuild-upand the spreadof cavalrywarfarein Senegambia becomes even more doubtfulif we examine the behaviorof the prices of horses broughtalong the sea route. As alreadymentioned,within a decade of the trade's opening,pricesalongthe entirecoastfromthe SenegalRiverto Rio Grande dropped to six to seven slaves per horse,127 but they stabilizedat that level until the early seventeenth drastic centuryandit was only thenthatanother dropoccurred.128 The consistencyof the pricelevel throughout the last decadesof the fifteenth and the early sixteenthcenturiessuggeststhat,on the whole, effective demandwas quite stable. It also implies, however,that this demandmay have had a relatively inelasticceiling. The limit would have been definedby the numberof people who could affordhorses,andby the prevalent of application.If the demandfor patterns horses had been primarilymilitaryand dependenton the Europeansupply, both prices and volume of importswould have continuedto rise. If, on the otherhand, horsesin Senegalservedprimarily social (i.e. prestige)andonly secondarily military tend to undermine unrestricted would their deemed value as a purposes, imports even if only relatively.This mightexplain social symbol,causingdemand to slacken, saturation quite well why an apparent point (firsta drasticfall and then a protracted of horseprices)was reachedso soon. stagnation In some instances,specificpoliticalupsetscould,of course,intensifydemand In 1460,the defeatedLamTorocame to Siin of any otherconsiderations. regardless to purchase horsesunderthepressure of politicalnecessity,129 andin the 1480s bumi to boosthis cavalrypowerin a bid against Jelenfell heavilyin debtwhile attempting his brothers.130But the paymentproblemsfaced by the bumi when attemptinga rapidcavalrybuild-up,despitehis havinga substantial partof the resourcesof Great Jolof at his command, also indicates potential difficulties on the part of horse purchaserswhen it came to sustaininga high effective demandwith the means of paymentat theirdisposal. The very possibilityof a cap on demandcreatedbothby relativeoversupply from the point of view socio-cultural mechanisms,and by resourceand means of payment limitations, furtherundercutsthe hypothesisof an extensive growth in to earlymaritime cavalryforcestied morespecifically supply.
127 Pacheco Pereira,Esmeraldo, 79, 82, 85; Femandes, O Manuscrito,77, 87, 91. Economic Change, 222. 128Curtin,
As Viagens, 45-46. 129Gomes,

130J.de Barros,Asia. PrimeiraDecada, 100.
106
IVANA ELBL
Horses, Cavalry, and Political Change in Fifteenth-Century Senegambia Cavalry warfareindisputablydid come to play an importantrole in local power By then,however,it is soundto strugglesin the course of the sixteenthcentury.131 the combined effects of a that growinginterregional supply (in particular presume from the Mauritanian Sahel and the Senegalvalley), of competitionamongforeign gave rise to a situation suppliers,and of shipmentsfromthe CapeVerdeIslands,132 in whichit was economically to riskhorsesin battlein greater numbers.133 affordable The questionremainsas to whatbroughtaboutincreasedreceptivityto the idea of mounted fighting in the first place. We have seen that some notion of hadexisted southof the SenegalRiverfor centuriesbeforethe arrival horsemanship of the Portuguese,but thatthe use of horsesin battleremainedlimited. It was not froma military but,moreimportantly, unnecessary pointof view, only uneconomical since tacticaladvantage could usuallybe securedthroughothermeans. It was only with the rise to power of the hinterlandstates of FuutaTooro and Kaabu, both thatcavalrybecameindeeda crucialfactor endowedwith a vigorouscavalrytradition, in tippingthe politicalbalance,134 becausethe extensiverelianceon cavalryby these fromtheiradversaries. an similar tactical two politicalunitsdemanded response And yet the use of cavalrywas only one aspectof the growingascendancyof states.The chief dynamicelementsbehindtheirintensifyingdrive to the hinterland to expandeastward intoregionscontrolled powerwere the impossibility by Songhai, in of the changing scene andthepressure the Sahelandin Western Sudan.At political the end of the fifteenthcenturythe askiya of Songhainot only controlledthe Niger bendand the sahelianprovincesof MemaandBaghana butextendedhis interestsas far as Diara. His forces clashedtherewith the FuutaToroforces of the Defankobe were thuseffectively discouraged anddefeatedthemin c. 1512.135The Defiankobe from directingtheir ambitionseastwardto upperSenegal and Niger Rivers. The of the empireof Mali,weakened attacksanddomestic centralgovernment by external in a of rulers the caused succession fifteenth century, incompetent problems by
"Tratado 131Alvares de Almada, Breve," 239-45,251-53,257. 1321bid., 239, 244, 251, 253, 257, 276, 291, 297, 325.
shot raid tocollect had a number of horses with arrows a standard Almada's Saalum during payment.
skillthat It wasonlyAlmada's veterinarian serious losses(Ibid.). prevented Economic Al'histoire du Kaabu des origines 134Curtin, Change,11;M. Mane,"Contribution au XIXesiecle," Bulletin de 1'IFAN, ser.B,40 (1978),102-104. in thewestern 1350ntheexpansion of Songhai Sahelandalongtheupper Senegalvalleysee Ghana Ancient andMali,84-87. Levtzion,
for the horses.In 1576, the rulerof 243. Even raidingcouldbe quitedangerous 1331bid.,
THE HORSE IN IIFTEENTH-CENTURY
SENEGAMBIA
107
suffered from centrifugaltendenciesof individualchieftainsandfarims (military of the mansaof Mali)to establish themselvesas de facto independent representatives rulersof theirregions. Kaabuwas one such splinterstate. Its rapidrise in the late fifteenthandsixteenth centuries was greatlyfacilitated weaknessof the by the military autochthonous peoples southof the GambiaRiverandby the presenceof a sizeable andManding culture.136 Manding population In the case of the Defiankobe-ruled FuutaTooro,it was the internal problems the from the Jolof that smoothed for Foota Tooro organization stemming political way in The the dominant northern Great of Jolof, ascendency Senegal. politicalbody late medievalSenegal,reachedits zenithin the fourteenth when it had achieved century, vassalor tributary with most hegemonyover the regionby establishing relationships of the local states and chieftaincies, some of which had a less well crystallized controloverthe vassalterritories to be maintained, politicaltradition.Formaximum the politicalstructure of Jolofdemanded a strongruler a very strongcentralauthority, the mid-fifteenth the of Great Jolof was (buurba).137 century,however, power By In the the lost to Lam on decline. Jolof the Toro most of the influence 1440s, already in the previouscentury,138 it had acquiredin the formerMali provinceof Takrur leavingthusthe vital areaof FuutaTooroopento powerstruggle. While the buurba'spositionon the coast remained quite strong,his strength was relativeanddependedentirelyon his politicalabilities. Waalo and Kajoor,the most important of the coastal states,were as old or older than the Jolof core state constituted and itself, prime foci for the power struggles, maneuvering, and tendenciesamongtributary centrifugal politicalunitsthatplaguedJolof periodically 139Bawol quitelikely oscillatedbetweenthe influenceof the its history. throughout
"Introduction des a I'histoire 136Mane, "Contribution," 101,106.See alsoS.M.Cissoko, de l'ouest: de Kabou on Manding Studies (XVI-XIXe si&cle)," Mandingues 1'Empire Conference 1972). (London, 137For Wolofpolitical see V. Bomba, "The traditions Pre-Nineteenth Political Century of theWolof," Bulletin ser.B, 36 (1084)" Tradition de I"IFAN, foranexcellent of 1-13; summary
structures see P.D.Curtin, Economic 6-13and37-46. Senegambian political Change, 138Sir-Abbas Trans. M. Delafosse duFoutasedngalais. andH, Gaden Soh,Chroniques (Paris, seeJ.Joire, "D6couvertes dansla region de 1913),126ff.Forpersuasive interpretation arch6ologiques Bulletin Rao(Bas-Senegal)," de l'IFAN, 17 (1955),314. Le Grand 139Joire, 314-318; "D&couvertes," Boulfgue, Jolof,36-41.
108
IVANA ELBL
buurba and of the noble lineage heads of Kajoor and Waalo.140 Siin enjoyed a great measure of autonomy, if not total independence from Jolof.141 At the time of the Portuguese arrival, the dependence of Jolofs fortunes on the buurba's personality was quite obvious. While in the 1440s the ruler of Bawol requested the buurba's approval of his handling of relations with the Portuguese, in 1455 the young and inexperienced Leeyti Tyukuli was hardly more than a pawn in the hands of powerful lineage heads of the core state and of Waalo and Kajoor. 142It is obvious from Cadamosto's account that in the 1450s the damel of Kajoor was de facto independent.143 Occasional visits by the Portuguese, or the horses that they sold in the course of a trade that was at that point only a few years old, could not have given such a dramatic boost to the power of Kajoor. The relative strengths of the mature damel and the young, inexperienced buurba seem to provide a more plausible explanation. Moreover, if the Portuguese horse supply, or Portuguese presence in general, had exercised a rapid and negative effect in Jolof, the downward trend should have been sustained into the early sixteenth century. It appears, however, that the degree of Jolofs control over the coastal states fluctuated as a matter of course, without necessarily entailing major historical consequences. According to Joire, Jolof's entire history was marked by cyclical revolts of the member states.144 It was arguably not the relative strength of the coastal states, but the growing power of the Denaanke-led Fuuta Tooro that sealed the demise of Jolof's hegemony in Senegal.145 The success of the Denaanke dynasty was in turn a result, among other factors, of the weakening of Mali and its inability to control the southern frontiers. It was Mali's weakness that allowed Temala's and Koli Tenguela's armies to roam practically unchallenged in the hinterlandfrom Fuuta Tooro to Fuuta Jalon and establish two new political units in the area.146 Temala is
Etude sur le Cayor," 1401bid., 313. See also R. Rousseau,"Le S6negal d'autrefois. 14 (1931),283-85. BCEHSAOF on Siin in I. Elbl, "The 141Seethe discussion Trade," 19, 66 (note 100) and67 Portuguese (note101-2).
142Cadamosto,Viagens, 28 (Zucholin).For identificationof Zucholin with Leeyti Tuykuli see Elbl, "ThePortugueseTrade,"9 and note 45 on 62. 143Cadamosto,Viagens, 34--37.
314 and318. "D6couvertes," 144Joire, 145Both Joire(Ibid.,318)andCurtin 9 and11)share thisinterpretation. (Economic Change, EconomicChange,11. For a moredetailedaccount,with whose chronology I 146Curtin, however do notagree,see A. Teixeira sobrea historia da Mota,"Nota dos Fulas.ColiTenguela ea
109
first mentioned in 1460, when he ousted Eli Bana, the reigning lam toro.147 His power obviously grew throughoutthe subsequent years, because in the 1480s he was at war with the mansa of Mali.148 In 1512, Temala was ultimately defeated by the forces of Songhay during an unsuccessful siege of Jara,but the Denaanke position in the Senegambian hinterland was strengthened again by Koli Tenguela, Temala's adoptive son and co-ruler.149 Temala's and Koli Tenguela's exploits doubtlessly represented a major threat to Jolof, by depriving it of influence over the middle Senegal valley and blocking its expansion in the hinterland. Jolof, however, managed to emerge unaffected from the civil war in the 1480s, and maintain its position into the beginning in the sixteenth century, due to a succession of several strong buurbas with long periods of reign. 150 In 1529, the Damel of Kajoor was still very reluctant to denounce his link to Jolof. 151 It was only in the 1540s that the growing power of the Denaanke Fuuta Tooro and the military ineptness of the buurba relegated Jolof to the position of a second-rank power, dependent politically on Fuuta Tooro and no longer able to prevent a complete secession by the coastal states.152 This view is consistent with the report of Alvares
in A. Teixeira Fulasao Futa-Jalon," daMota, dos primeiros Mar,alemmar(Lisbon,1972): chegada

365-373.
A la 147Fora differentdatingof Eli Bana'sexile in Siin see J. Boulegue,"Contribution du royaume du Saloum," de l'IFAN, ser.B 28 (1966),657-62;Ch.Beckerand Bulletin chronologie duroyaume du Sine'parNiokhobaye V. Monteil, Diouf,suivide notessurles traditions "'Chronique de 'IFAN, du Sine," Bulletin ser.B, 34 (1972): oraleset les sources ecritesconcerantle royaume 702-777. I (Lisbon, Da Asia.Decada de Barros. 257. 148Jo0o 1778), in Sire-Abbas 21on interpretation of thedata duFoutaSdnegalais, 149Based Soh,Chroniques areoftencollapsed intoone historical 28. TemalaandKoli Tenguela figure,but the Portuguese between them.SeealsoTeixeira da Mota,"Nota," andTeixeira da Mota, sources clearlydistinguish in Teixeira dosFulas," daMota, Mar,aldm mar,375-386. "Origens 150V.Monteil,"LeDyolof et Al-BouniNdaye," EsquissesSenegalaises21 (1966), 126; "Histoire traditionelle Monteil's datacoincidewithF. Brigaud, du Senegal," EtudesSdndgalaises du Senegal), no.9, fasc.9. (Saint-Louis andB. Pinto-Bull, "Les duKayor 151j.Boulegue Relations avecle Portugal dansla premiere duXVIesiecle,d'apres deuxdocuments de 'IFAN moiti6 Bulletin 28 (1966),605-666. nouveaux," 152This conclusion to a certain YoroDyao's of thesplitof traditional supports, degree, dating of Jolof.It is important to keep in mind,however,thatsimilarcrises Kajooranddisintegration beforethis dateandthateven this crisisdid not eraseJolof fromthe politicalmapof happened butonlymarked theendof its status as a dominant Senegambia, regional power.
110
IVANA ELBL
the decline of Jolof specificallyto the conflict with the de Almadawho attributed FuutaTooro.153 Denaanke-controlled The rise of FuutaTooroandKaabu,the two eventsprimarily responsiblefor the redrawingof the political map of Senegambiaand the decline of Jolof in the sixteenthcentury,had its ultimaterootsin the changingsituation withinthe western Sudan,markedby the rivalrybetweenthe weakeningMali andthe waxingpower of Songhay. Factorssuch as these can hardlybe connectedwith the presence of the Europeansoff the coast, or to the Europeanhorse supply. In the final measure, however,they were responsiblefor the changein the role of horse in Senegambia frommostlya statussymbolto an important of war. instrument
de Almada, "Tratado 153Alvares 234-44. Breve,"

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THE HORSE IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SENEGAMBIA*

THE HORSE IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SENEGAMBIA

12 See Law,TheHorse,76-78;Curtin, Economic 222. Change,

THE HORSE IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SENEGAMBIA

THE HORSE IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SENEGAMBIA

33 al-'Umari, "Masalik 263. al-absar," Corpus,

65. 41 IbnSa'id,"Kitab "0 Manuscrito," bastal-ard," 65. 185;Fernandes,

THE HORSE IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SENEGAMBIA

THE HORSE IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SENEGAMBIA

69 Wright, The Early History of Niumi, 29-30.

THE HORSE IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SENEGAMBIA

76 Cadamosto, 29-30. Viagens,

79 TheManding andNyancho calledtheseraidssoo-boli(horse-running). TheEarly Wright,

THE HORSE IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SENEGAMBIA

95 In 1470,forexample, a royalherald his warhorseto Guinea. obtained a licenceto export (O

THE HORSE IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SENEGAMBIA

THE HORSE IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SENEGAMBIA

126Alvares de Almada, "Tratado Breve", 239,244,257.

THE HORSEIN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SENEGAMBIA

As Viagens, 45-46. 129Gomes,

THE HORSE IN IIFTEENTH-CENTURY

THE HORSE IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SENEGAMBIA

in A. Teixeira Fulasao Futa-Jalon," daMota, dos primeiros Mar,alemmar(Lisbon,1972): chegada

de Almada, "Tratado 153Alvares 234-44. Breve,"

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