Bundu

Bundu, also written Bondu or Boundou, was a Fula state on the upper Senegal River, between the Falémé River and the upper Gambia, in what is now eastern Senegal and western Mali. Its territory was a plateau of hills and dry watercourses, fertile in the lower country and suited to cattle, grain and trade. The state grew out of the kingdom of Gajaaga. In 1690 the Torodbe cleric Malick Sy obtained land from the Gajaaga ruler, settled it with followers from Futa Toro and Muslim immigrants, and made Bundu a refuge for scholars and Muslims fleeing persecution. His son Bubu Malick expanded south at the expense of Mandinka kingdoms, and by 1716 Bundu was the strongest power on the upper Senegal. A period of succession disputes followed, ended by Maka Jiba in the 1730s. From the 1720s the state suffered raids by Moroccan and Moorish slavers. Amadi Gai, who ruled from 1764, took the title almamy and introduced sharia-based law. Bundu controlled routes carrying gold, ivory, salt, cloth and slaves, and purchased firearms from the French on the Senegal and the British on the Gambia. In the nineteenth century French influence grew: a fort was built at Senudebou in 1845, a civil war in 1851 drew in El Hadj Umar Tall, and Bokar Saada regained power with French help after 1857. French control was effectively complete by the late 1880s, though a French-chosen almamy survived until 1902.