Hausa

An ethnic group now numbering around 22 million people who live primarily in northern Nigeria and southern Niger, the Hausa began to form distinct states during the medieval period.

The first Hausa states formed around 1,200 years ago. The first towns grew around traditional shrines that attracted pilgrims and developed into economic centers. Trans-Saharan trade expanded Hausa markets to include slaves (see slavery), gold, and kola nuts. The wealth generated by the thriving markets allowed town leaders to create states. Seven states—Biram, Daura, Gobir, Kano, Katsina, Rano, and Zazzau—emerged from this period, creating the core of Hausaland. Hausa raiders acquired slaves from the south, providing the Hausa states with a valuable source of labor. By the 15th century Kano boasted a population of nearly 50,000 people and was one of the major trade centers in Africa.

Islam arrived in Hausaland near the end of the 11th century. Contact with Mali, Songhai, and Kanem-Bornu served to reinforce Muslim traditions. Most Hausa people had adopted Islam by the 19th century, although the Maguzawa, a rural Hausa subgroup, retained traditional African religious beliefs and remain non-Muslim today.

Around the middle of the 17th century, the independent Hausa states reached the peak of their power. The territory they controlled stretched from the borders of Bornu in the east to the Niger River, and from the Jos Plateau in the south to the edge of the Sahara desert. Hausa traders traveled far beyond the political boundaries of Hausaland, even taking part in the Atlantic slave trade. As a result of the widespread Hausa trade network, Hausa enclaves still exist in present-day Ghana and Chad.

Further reading: R. A. Adeley, “Hausaland and Borno, 1600-1800,” in The History of West Africa, 3rd ed., eds. J. F. Ade Ajayi and Michael Crowder (London: Longman, 1985); John O. Hunwick, “Songhay, Borno, and the Hausa States, 1450-1600” in The History of West Africa, 3rd ed., eds. J. F. Ade Ajayi and Michael Crowder (London: Longman, 1985); Murray Last, The Sokoto Caliphate (New York: Humanities Press, 1967); Yusufu B. Susman, The Transformation of Katsina, 1400-1883: The Emergence and Overthrow of the Sarauta System and the Establishment of the Emirate (Zaria, Nigeria: Ahmodu Bello University Press, 1981).

—Tom Niermann