Samory Touré and the resistance to French domination in West Africa (1882-1898)

Abstract

This research aims to conduct a discussion centered on the category "resistance" with the intention of deepening their understanding. This will be accomplished through the study of the relationship between the politic structure commanded by Samory Touré, part of the process that Yves Person called "révolution dyula", and the French colonial forces that advanced into the interior of West Africa. The period studied cover the entire conflict between Samory and the French, from the first battle in 1882 to the time when the first was defeated in 1898.In order to make this scientific initiation project feasible, we will use as central the report Histoire de Almamy Samory, produced by Amadou Koroubari, diola of the Dabakala region, where Samory was established after the exodus of 1895. Two European reports will also be used as complementary documentary sources. Both were elaborated by soldiers who participated in the war of colonial conquest and published their experience: Louis-Gustave Binger e Étienne Péroz. Using these sources we will seek to transcend the dichotomous paradigm commonly found in studies of colonialism in Africa, markedly linked to Eurocentrism. (AU)