The War of Songhai

On the next decades following the Mandinga-Fula Uprising, the African empires and tribes united around a single objective: to completely obliterate the international slave trading and banish europeans from the continent. With one common enemy to fight, all the big Empires, such as Mali, Songhai, Ghana and the vast majority of smaller tribes joined forces to defeat Portugal, Spain and France. This joint effort made possible to explore the continent's resources in a more productive way, for it was rich in gold, silver and sugar cane, the products Europe traded the most, and which demand would only rise after the failure to harvest and mine from America due to the lack of slaves. Seeing an opportunity to weaken Portugal, Spain and France, the England Kingdom offered help to the African Empires with resources and technology to explore what the land could provide more efficiently, building weapons, armors and optimizing the harvests as well. And of course, England's good will was paid in gold. In 1602, almost 70 years after the Mandinga-Fula uprising, the european presence was severely weakened. In a last move to reestablish control, Portugal and Spain unleashed their fiercest strike against the African United Empires. The Battle of Songhai was the most gruesome and violent of all battles. Historians estimate over 90.000 people died in both sides, during the 9 months of war, but in the end it reassured the freedom and autonomy of the African continent. And England's hegemony on Europe. "The War of Songhai" AI Photography by Victor Ribeiro Midjourney + Lightroom Rio de Janeiro, 2023