Le Damagaram

Due to the founder of Damagaram's ruling dynasty's links to the 17th century Islamic settlement of Kalumbardo, the history of this state is yet another interesting product of that famous community of mystics. It is also worthy of study since it went from being a peripheral vassal state of Borno to becoming one of the major powers and trading centers of the Central Sudan in the 19th century. Salifou's history, Le Damagaram ou Sultanat de Zinder au XIXe siècle, endeavors to provide a complete history of this vital century. Relying on colonial-era documents like the Tilho Mission, translated Arabic chronicles or local texts, and oral sources from informants in the region today, he largely succeeds in providing a synthetic overview of the area's rise and fall with attention paid to economic, social, political, military, and cultural factors.

According to Salifou, Damagaram's Maalaam, or Malam, the founder of the ruling dynasty, did not establish a kingdom as such in the late 17th century. Instead, after fleeing the destruction of Kalumbardo (and supposedly said to be the son of a Sayfawa princess in one source), he established himself in the region of Damagaram. He and his sons for the next several generations, ruled villages but not as a united kingdom. That development appears to have only occurred by the 19th century, when Damagaram began to become a major player. The apogee was achieved under Tanimun, who continued the kingdom's expansion, improved the administrative and military capacity of the state (using slave officials and manufacturing and importing firearms and cannons) and increasingly acted autonomously of Borno. Indeed, this reversal of relations between the tributary state of Damagaram and Borno under Shehu Umar is clear due to Damagaram's central role as a trans-Saharan trade center through which Borno received northern imports. Damagaram, however, continued to pay a costly tribute to the Shehus of Borno, but were able to act autonomously and absorb their neighbors.

Overall, Salifou's short history of 19th century Damagaram provides an overview of this complex region during an era of great change in the Central Sudan (the impact of the jihad of Uthman dan Fodio, the decline of Borno, and European colonialism). Damagaram's rapid rise at this late date is undoubtedly due to this dynamic. It soon became a regional player whose military power was so feared that even Borno cancelled a campaign against it. Damagaram was also able to stabilize relations with the Tuareg, establish sharia law, produce firearms and cannons (albeit less effective than the imports), and profit from dynamic commercial links with slaves, salt, natron, textiles, and ostrich feathers as major commodities. To Salifou's credit, he acknowledged the central role of slavery and the slave trade in all of this, although the negative impact of this trade on leading to a state of constant war and aggression (plus the negative impact of Arab or North African financiers and traders who wanted slaves for northern markets) is perhaps not fully elucidated. Furthermore, given the limited sources for Damagaram, especially for developments before the 19th century, it might be beneficial to consider writing a general history of Kutus, Damergu, Damagaram, Minaw and nearby areas from the 17th to 19th centuries. Perhaps this greater regional context would provide readers a greater sense of Borno's long-term interests in this area and how, once Borno's decline began, smaller polities like Damagaram could rise to local and regional significance.