The British Conquest and Resistance of Sokoto Caliphate, 1897-1903: Crisis, Conflicts and Resistance

Abstract

The contact the Africans had with the Europeans dated back to the 9^th century, However, the European presence and penetration did not take place until the late 15^th and the first-half of the 19^th centuries respectively. The exploration was pioneered by the Dutch and the Portuguese and the British dominated the period. By the middle of the 19^th century, the presence of the Europeans had started to gain momentum and thus threats to African kingdoms as well as chiefdoms. It was the situation that posed threats to the Sokoto Caliphate established by the Jihad of Uthman Dan Fodio in 1804. The British conquest and the peoples’ resistance is the thrust of the paper. It examines the weighty issues that surrounded the conquest of one of the most organised caliphate in the Western Sudan. The academic paper is presented in historical methodology adopting the interpretative approach.

Keywords: British, Conquest, Resistance, Sokoto Caliphate.