African military systems (1800–1900) refers to the evolution of military systems on the African continent after 1800, with emphasis on the role of indigenous states and peoples within the African continent. Only major military systems or innovations and their development after 1800 are covered here. For events prior to 1800, see African military systems to 1800. Coverage of the late 19th/20th century and beyond is provided in African military systems after 1900. For an overall view of the military history of Africa by region, see Military History of Africa. See individual battles, empires and leaders for details on activities after 1800.
African military systems and the 19th century
Significant influences The beginning of the 19th century saw several factors that had significant bearing on the evolution of military systems. Such factors are referenced in standard histories on Africa that identify the 19th century as a period of intense transformation on the continent.Robin Hallett, Africa to 1875, University of Michigan Press: 1975, pp. 40–52 Some of these are:
The rise of the Zulu kingdom under Shaka, which created significant change – from the southern part of the continent, up into East and Central Africa The Fula jihads of West Africa, causing substantial transformation in that region on into the belt of Sudanic states The increasing volume of guns delivered to the continent The growth of trade between Africa and other parts of the world, including the suppression and replacement of the slave trade with other commerce The explosion of European interest in Africa, culminating in invasions, settlement and acquisition of colonial empires in different parts of the continent
All these factors in part continued earlier trends but the 19th century was to see an acceleration in the pace of military evolution on the continent. The environmental variables of past centuries also continued in many areas. Some of these include:
Relatively low population densities that reduced forces for combat Poor soils (particularly in tropical forest areas) and low crop productivity Disease-carrying vectors that hindered deployment of weapons systems like cavalry and weakened infantry forces in many regions Lack of good coastal harbors and navigable rivers – hindering large scale logistics
These variables impacted the development of military systems. Low population densities for example meant that large forces could not be raised and maintained in being for a long time. The Zulu as one instance, could field an estimated 50,000 warriors, impressive by regional standards. But this was the nation's entire armed strength, whereas more populous European nations during the Napoleonic Wars of the 19th century could routinely put this number of men into a single battle.Archer Jones, The Art of War in the Western World, University of Illinois Press: 1987, pp. 54–92, 267–381 The environment also hindered use of wheeled transport for the movement of goods in parts of Africa, particularly pre-colonial West Africa, though wheeled vehicles are depicted from ancient times at Tondia, near Goundam, south of Timbuktu in today's Mali, and possibly at Kourki south of the Niger bend in the Republic of Niger.Robin Law. 1980. Wheeled Transport in Pre-Colonial West Africa. Jrnl International African Institute, 50:3 pp 249-262 Some scholars note that the tsetse fly belt which its debilitating effect on load-bearing draft animals, and the presence of terrain such as jungle or brush make extensive use of wheeled conveyances inefficient or impractical.Law 1980. Wheeled transport. One Old Calabar ruler in today's Nigeria for example imported a European style carriage but all the draft horses to pull it died. They had to be replaced with men, a pattern occurring in several areas including Dahomey where people usually had to provide the motive power. In 1845, Dahomey deployed a cart presumably wheeled, to carry a 500 feet long chain intended to secure prisoners during their campaign against Badagry, but this too may have needed human power. The problem of expense and impracticality is illustrated by the gift of a carriage to the ruler of Asante in precolonial times, which required the construction of new roads though brush or jungle terrain, including building of new bridges to cross streams, with a final obstacle: inability of the vehicle to move through narrow streets in the capital city, requiring new streets to be made.Law, 1980. Wheeled Transport. Practical and economic considerations to the use of various technologies are not unique to Africa. Scholar R.W Bulliett notes that wheeled vehicles declined and became uncommon throughout the entire Middle East early during early medieval times, as people adopted cheaper, more rational solutions in the form of pack animals such as camels.Law, 1980. Wheeled transport.
Political fragmentation also hindered the growth of large armies, as certain African states could be divided and defeated separately by foreign invaders, just as Rome did with numerous tribal opponents in antiquity. Nevertheless, despite such limits, the internal consolidation and growth of African states played an important part in military transformation. The Zulu system for example did not rely on foreign horses, guns or ships. The evolution of African military systems is thus not a simple tale of outside influences but a complex web of indigenous development that adapted, shaped and sometimes rejected outside technology.
Firearms The introduction of firearms was important, but guns on African battlefields were often of indifferent quality, and traditional weapons and tactics sometimes compared favorably with them. Indeed, Africans were well aware of the deficiencies of trade muskets and often demanded better quality than that offered. Most guns imported from Europe had not been test fired by the manufacturer to check for imperfections in bore and breach, although this was essential in the era of hand-forged barrels. Proven guns had proof-marks, and counterfeits flourished in the Africa trade. Firearms were thus a mixed bag on the ground, and the success of consolidating native powers like the Merina in Madagascar or the Zulu were due more to changes in indigenous organization, leadership and tactics, than to firearms. As the decades rolled on however, improvements to firearms, and other technology such as disease control (the cinchona bark to suppress malaria for example), and steamships were to give Europeans a decisive military edge on the continent.
Naval developments
Naval warfare patterns showed continuity with that of the 18th century. Foreign-derived designs like dhows plied East African waters, pirates operated off the Barbary coast, and canoes also were used in ocean trading and fishing. Indigenous fighting vessels however, generally stayed inland or very close to home. Armament continued to be relatively weak, despite persistent attempts to "up-gun" war vessels. Small swivel cannon were reportedly first introduced late in the 18th century on the West Coast by one Antonio Vaz Coelho, a free Negro from Brazil. This practice accelerated in the 19th century. The city-state of Lagos for example, deployed medium-sized canoes carrying up to 25 men, armed with swivel-cannon. Soldiers on board attempted to force landings, using both muskets and swivel guns for covering fire. Naval tactics with these weapons sometimes followed a "fire and withdraw" pattern. The canoes maneuvered close inshore for firepower to be delivered, then backed out quickly to the open water to reload, before repeating the cycle.
Generally cannons were placed in the bow or stern, with the boat absorbing the guns' recoil. The whole vessel had to be turned to deliver salvoes. Compared to European use of naval cannon, such artillery saw limited use in ship to ship engagements, or shore bombardments. As stand-off weapons covering troop landings or raiding missions however, they had serviceable anti-personnel value, particularly when combined with muskets. In Nigeria, large war canoes are reported, some mounting up to twenty pairs of swivel-guns on cross-beams at intervals of five or six feet. In 1841, the ruler of Abo was reported to muster some 300 canoes, many armed with muskets and bow/stern cannons. Some canoe fleets however relied on traditional weapons. On Lake Chad in the early 19th century the piratical Buduna fielded a fleet of some 1,000 reed canoes, using spears and shields for armament, and in East Africa, native kingdoms sometimes vied for supremacy with large numbers of canoes on the region's great lakes.
In the Niger Delta, the bigger Itsekiri war canoes mounted multiple cannon and swivels, and carried 40 rowers and 100 warriors, with slaves doing most of the rowing duties. Slaves were also tasked with providing food for the canoe men. Commerce sometimes operated closely with war-making. Itsekiri traders operated their own fleets of fighting vessels, and the British navy was often unable to stop these fast-moving warrior-merchants as they flitted between the streams, lagoons and waterways of the Delta. On several occasions they fended off British warships by blockading narrow creeks and waterways, and in disputes with the colonial regime or European merchants, shut down trade on the Benin river for several months. Pirates also made use of fast canoes to plague commerce and local citizenry alike. War-canoe ports were often fortified with extensive stockades, and multiple trench lines, behind which teams of gunmen and other fighters were marshalled for defense. Some European slave-traders and their allies also made use of big canoes in their operations, plying the waterways in heavy vessels backed with musketeers and armed with small cannon, as they collected their human cargo for transport to the Americas.Adam Hochschild. (2005). Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves. Macmillain. pp. 81–125 The Ijaw people were reported to have mounted a gatling gun in a canoe during the Kalabari Civil War from 1879–1883.
Naval developments mirror those on land. New technology like firearms was adapted and shaped to existing indigenous politics, technology and forms of organization. The landscape also played its part- limiting major, long-term water movement by rivers that were unnavigable for long stretches, contrary currents, and lack of good coastal harbors. Few native powers attempted any significant upgrades involving intensive sailing technology, or took to the oceans with long-distance ships in the European, Polynesian or Chinese manner. No African equivalent of the famous, ocean-spanning Chinese fleet admiral Cheng Ho was to emerge, although a number of inland captains rose to prominence. The days of Carthage long gone, African naval power remained primarily a localized phenomenon.
Land warfare in the 19th century The post 1800 period saw a quickening of European expansion and conquest in Africa. This expansion did not go unopposed, nor was such activity the only significant military development on the continent. Indigenous states in all regions were developing new forms of political organization and military structure independently of, and before the major European interlude.
Cavalry and infantry in West Africa