Cayor

One of five Wolof kingdoms to separate from the larger Djolof (Jolof) state in the late 16th century, Cayor (also Kayor or Kajor) derived its power from trade with French and Portuguese merchants based in the coastal cities Goree and Saint-Eouis.

Located in what is today Senegal, Cayor rose to power through its participation in the transatlantic SLAVE TRADE. Previously a tribute state within the larger Djolof Empire, Cayor’s connections with French traders, and therefore easier access to such goods as muskets, gunpowder, and iron, made its bid for independence in the mid - to late 16th century successful. Frequent warring with neighboring kingdoms such as the Kaabu and internal slave raids provoked numerous revolts and caused famine within the new kingdom. In the late 17th century MARABOUTs, or Muslim clerics, led an antislavery revolt in attempts to oust slave-based states from the Senegambia region. Although the marabouts did not succeed in ending the slave trade, they were successful in spreading IsLAM to the area, especially among the peasants, who made up the majority of those taken as slaves. While attempting to suppress internal resistance, the kingdom of Cayor was also fighting external pressures. The French maintained a significant amount of power in Cayor, causing resentment among the kingdom’s aristocracy. As late as 1871 the Cayor fought against the French for control of the region.

Further reading: Jean Boulegue and Jean Suret-Canale, “The Western Atlantic Coast,” in History of West Africa vol. 1, 3rd ed., eds. J. F. Ade Ajayi and Michael Crowder (London: Longman, 1985), 503-530; “Early Senegambia,” in West Africa before the Colonial Era: A History to 1850, ed. Basil Davidson (London: Longman, 1998), 93-103; “Senegal,” in Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, eds. Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (New York: Basic Civi-tas Books, 1999), 1,686-1,690; “Wolof,” in Africana, eds. Appiah and Gates, Jr., 2,005-2,006.

—Lisa M. Brady