The Hausa Factor in West African History

As an overview of the complex origins of Hausa communities across most of West Africa, Mahdi Adamu's The Hausa Factor in West African History is worth reading. It covers the spread of Hausa traders, artisans, malams, and other assimilated non-Hausa from the 16th century until the early 20th century, though most of its sources seem to cover the 18th and 19th centuries. Adamu's study illustrates how Islam, mobility, and Hausa cultural and economic practices and institutions were able to facilitate the development of markets, local industries (like textiles and leather goods), exchange, and link much of West Africa through Hausa-identified merchants and communities. 

Based on mostly European primary sources and oral sources from informants of Hausa origin (or connections) in Nigeria, Ghana, Benin and various countries in the region, Adamu occasionally can trace the origin of some Hausa and Hausa-identified Borno, Nupe, and Wangara traders who became economically important in the Bight of Benin, Middle Belt of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Mali, and Senegal. It is certainly an impressive, centuries-long process of economic integration, mercantilism, and proof that the economy of precolonial West Africa cannot be simply described as a subsistence one. 

However, there are occasional errors and inaccuracies which mar the general narrative and we're still in the dark about the early penetration of Hausa traders in several regions discussed by the author. For example, Adamu erroneously refers to traveler Wargee as an Arab. There's even an incorrect labeling of the do Rego family as being of Yoruba origin rather than Kanike or Kanuri extraction. He also mistakenly assumes Labat actually visited Dahomey even though he was merely publishing the travel report of another Frenchman. In addition, we were alarmed by Adamu referencing the correspondence of Sir Joseph Banks casting doubt about the authenticity of some of the information provided by Lucas on West Africa. 

However, when we actually scoured said correspondence for references to West Africa, Tripoli and the Fezzan, we did not find anything so alarming that casts doubt on the information of Lucas and Ledyard on Borno or Hausaland. Moreover, we also have our own doubts about the accuracy or authenticity of some of the sources utilized by Adamu. For instance, Damberger, whose narrative was a hoax, is cited favorably for identifying "Haoussa" or "Hausa" as Yawuri, even though the vast commercial center described in some of the European sources does not necessarily need to have been a single place or entrepot. 

Despite our quibbles and problems with Adamu's text, we still recommend it for anyone interested in how the Hausa language and culture have become so widespread in Africa. For those interested in the economic history of the Central Sudan, it supplements Lovejoy's work on the salt and kolanut trade by focusing on the Hausa communities outside of Hausaland who played such a key role in the movement of these aforementioned commodities. For those of us who are interested in Borno and the Kanuri, there are occasional references to Bareberi or Beriberi Kanuri traders and malams in many of these Hausa enclaves outside the Central Sudan. Indeed, Adamu's conclusions suggest the "Kambarin Beriberi" or "Hausa" traders of Kanuri origin may have been established in Hausa trading centers in some areas long before the 19th century.