17th Century French Source on Borno

The anonymous author of Histoire chronologique du royaume de Tripoly de Barbarie has bequeathed to future generations a great historical source on Borno in the 1500s and 1600s, focusing on Borno's relationship with the Pashas of Tripoli. History, commerce, diplomatic relations and speculations on the state's origins and geography how one of the earliest "Western" studies of Kanem-Borno as a civilization came into being. The French author, a captive in Tripoli who personally saw documents and correspondence pertaining to Borno, provides us with several details and a flawed chronology of the Saifawa dynasty. But it is through his work that we know of tensions between Tripoli's pashas and the mais of Borno, such as one pasha's attempt to kidnap a Borno ruler returning from the hajj. Or the positive aspect of Borno-Tripoli interactions, such as the liberation of Medicon, a nephew of the Borno ruler who was sold into slavery and ended up in Tripoli. 

What stood out to us at the blog is the success of Borno in the early 1500s with the organization of trans-Saharan trade with Tripoli during the period of Christian rule in Tripoli, suggestive of possible links to Europe already in the 1500s. Although so far from the Mediterranean, one wonders how Borno saw itself in relation to Mediterranean Europe and North Africa. A significantly later European source mentioned one Borno prince who was witnessed in Tripoli in 1789, appearing well-informed on Europe and accompanied by his wives, one of whom spoke Italian. Although the Frenchman's account from the late 1600s does not mention Borno elites who spoke European languages, it is not too implausible that some in Borno by the 17th century attempted to gather as much information on Europe as possible. European renegades sent to Borno via Tripoli must have served as a source of information, in addition to numbers of European slaves sold across the Sahara. Borno, of course, relied heavily on an exchange of African slaves with Tripoli for goods from the Mediterranean and Europe, but definitely received some of the captives in Borno and the renegades who may have provided information about European politics and the Ottoman Empire.

The unnamed surgeon who authored the text also hints at possible relations between Borno and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Conflict with Agadez, which is how a mai's nephew was taken captive and sold into slavery, was clearly another factor in Borno's trade relations with Tripoli and the North. From reading Lovejoy's work, we know that Borno retained domination of the Kawar region and most of the Saharan sources of salt during this period, perhaps contributing to conflict with Agadez over that lucrative trade. Other sources mention conflict with the Kwararafa  in the 17th century, including a joint attack on Borno's capital from Agadez and Kwararafa (it's possible stories of this latter kingdom being Christian were already spreading among Europeans in 17th century Tripoli, and the author confused it with Ethiopia as another Christian state). The document also references enslaved Christians from Nubia and Ethiopia in Tripoli. Were these Christian Africans brought to Tripoli through Borno's extensive trade networks with lands to the east, of which we know little? Sure, the author's confused sense of African geography led him to believe Borno and Ethiopia were close enough to frequently go to war, but could there have been a trade in goods (and people) from Sennar and Ethiopia to Borno? Could Christianity have continued in Nubia if European missions were able to reach the region via Tripoli and the Fezzan? So many unknowns, but interesting hints of Borno's relations with the wider world emerge. 

Bibliography

Davidson, Basil, and F. K. Buah. A History of West Africa, 1000-1800. New rev. ed. London: Longman, 1977.

Dewière, Rémi. Du Lac Tchad À La Mecque: Le Sultanat Du Borno Et Son Monde (XVIe - XVIIe Siècle). Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 2017.

Hodgkin, Thomas. Nigerian Perspectives: An Historical Anthology. London: Oxford University Press, 1960.

Kalck, Pierre. "Pour Une Localisation Du Royaume De Gaoga." The Journal of African History 13, no. 4 (1972): 529-48. http://www.jstor.org/stable/180753.

Kane, Ousmane. Beyond Timbuktu: An Intellectual History of Muslim West Africa. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2016.