Bambouk

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18th century French map
West Africa with Bambouk (1839)

Bambouk (other spelling Bambuk ) is a historical region in western Mali in the Kayes administrative unit . Bambouk is east of Upper Falémé and southwest of Kaarta , a former Bambara empire. The region is mountainous and is traversed by numerous tributaries of the Falémé, including the Sanon Kolé (which was formerly called the Gold River ). The center of the region is Farabana .

Sheep and cattle are raised in the pastures. In addition to rice , corn , millet , watermelons , palm trees and bananas grown. The region is also rich in iron ore and gold deposits. The legendary gold country, the kingdom of Ghana , and the Mali empire derived their prosperity from this.

history

Bambouk was already visited by the Portuguese in the 15th century, and French traders came to the region in the 16th century and established a trading post in Galam . In the middle of the 18th century there were Bambuk's small French offices in various places. Mungo Park and Major Daniel Houghton toured the area in the 18th century . In the 19th century, Al-Hajj Omar tried to conquer the country and was eventually defeated by the French.

literature

  • Colin McEvedy: The Penguin atlas of African history , Penguin Books, London 1995, ISBN 0-14-051321-3

Web links