Abstract
This paper discusses ideology, ruling apparatus, and military structure of the peoples of Senegambia, the Sahel Dahomey, and the eastern Niger Delta States. It focuses on their response to the unique internal and external changes that they experienced when faced with the Arab and European slave trades before 1800.

From the Paper
"Thus, in the savanna, the advance of Islam was similar to that in Senegambia. Oppressed peasants and slaves joined up with charismatic leaders of a proselytizing and universal religion to create social change. However, not all were convinced. Some, for example the Bambara, held tenuously to their traditional beliefs. The clash between Islam and traditional religions created wars that further wracked the region (Barry, 94-102). Islam became the vehicle for those seeking social change for several reasons. For one, it undermined the legitimacy of the traditional rulers. They were established upon the basis of being first-comers to a region, of having been accepted by local spirits, and by the inheritance of the divine right to rule through specific kinship systems."

Tags:niger, Fon, Oyo

Abstract
During the colonial period in Africa the French adopted a policy of assimilation in areas under their control whereby indigenous inhabitants of the area were encouraged to adopt French culture as their own and to integrate into French society. The author of this paper suggests that the French colonial administration in Senegal used colonialism as a form political subordination. In the paper, the writer analyzes colonialism as a form of political and cultural subordination in Colonial Senegal. The paper also discusses the outcomes of French colonial policy in Senegal.

Outline:
French West Africa: Colonialism in Context
French Policy in Senegal: Colonialism as Political Subordination
The Colonial Administration and The struggle For Islamic Courts
Reactions and Strong Resistance by Originaires
Works Cited

From the Paper
"Historians refer to the demise of the AOF as the Balkanization of French West Africa. These historical facts lead us to the question; did colonialism in Senegal foster political and cultural subordination? The French administrative policies in the region suggest that Colonialism fostered political and cultural subordination. It could be argued that the French assimilation policy towards the four Communes of the colony of Senegal was that of colonialism as a form of political subordination towards the Originaires."

Tags:colonialism administration assimilation colonies partitioned senegambia niger sudan guinea, upper volta, mauritania, ivory coast, dahomey