HistoNaijaOpen the map

British conquest · February–March 1906

The Satiru rising

Satiru, a village of poor clerics and their followers near Sokoto, believed the Mahdi’s coming was near.

See it on the old map

Overview

Satiru, a village of poor clerics and their followers near Sokoto, believed the Mahdi’s coming was near. A rising that began in French Niger late in 1905 spread to it, and early in 1906 the preacher Dan Makafo arrived. The villagers hailed their leader Isa as the prophet Jesus, attacked Tsomo when it refused to follow him, and declared jihad on the British. In February they routed a British mounted infantry company sent against them. On 10 March 1906 the West African Frontier Force and the levies of the British-appointed Sultan, Muhammadu Attahiru II, destroyed the village and killed most of its people. ‘No wall or tree left standing,’ the Resident reported, and the Sultan laid a curse on anyone who builds or farms there. The site is still empty.[1],[2],[3],[4]Medium confidence

Satiru is drawn at the present village of that name in Isa LGA; the old site lies nearby.

Who took part

  • British forces· Colonial force
  • Sultan Muhammadu Attahiru II and the Sokoto levies· Ally
  • The Mahdists of Satiru (Isa, Dan Makafo)· Rose up

What happened

  1. February 1906 · Satiru

    A company routed

    After the attack on Tsomo, a British mounted infantry company advances on Satiru and is overwhelmed.[2],[1]Medium confidence

  2. 10–11 March 1906 · Satiru

    Satiru razed

    Satiru is destroyed and its people killed. The Sultan forbids anyone ever to build or farm on the site.[1],[3]High confidence

Sources

Every claim carries a confidence level: high (well attested), medium (one source or approximate) or disputed (sources disagree).

  1. Paul E. Lovejoy and J. S. Hogendorn. (1990). Revolutionary Mahdism and Resistance to Colonial Rule in the Sokoto Caliphate, 1905–6. The Journal of African History 31 (2) (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)
  2. The Satiru Uprising, Nigeria, 1906. Britain’s Small Forgotten Wars (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)
  3. Still, There Is Nothing Where Satiru Was (1906–2026). HumAngle (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)
  4. Wikipedia contributors. Muhammadu Attahiru II