Bai Bureh
Encyclopedia
Bai Bureh was a Sierra Leonean ruler and military strategist
who led the Temne and Loko
uprising
against British
rule in 1898 in Northern Sierra Leone
.
, a village
near Port Loko
in Northern Sierra Leone
. His first name, Bai
, means Chief in the Temne language
. Bureh's father was an important Loko
war-chief
and his mother was a Temne trader
from Makeni
. When Bureh was a young man his father sent him to the small village of Gbendembu in northern Sierra Leone, where he was trained to become a warrior. During his training at the village, he showed that he was a formidable warrior and was given the nickname of Kebalai which translates as ‘one who doesn’t tire of war’. When Kebalai return to his home village, he was crowned ruler of Kasseh
.
During the 1860s and 1870s, Bureh had become the top warrior of Port Loko and the entire Northern Province
. He successfully fought and won wars against other villagers and tribal leaders who were against his plan to establish correct Islamic and indigenous practices throughout Northern Sierra Leone. In 1882, Bureh fought against the Susu people
from French Guinea
(now Guinea
) who invaded Kambia
, a town in northern Sierra Leone. Bai Bureh's fighters defeated the Susu, pushed them back into French Guinea and returned the land to the local Kambia people. After winning several major wars, his popularity spread. The people of the northern province felt they had found a warrior who would defend their land. In 1886, Bai Bureh was crowned as the chief
of Northern Sierra Leone.
who were living in the capital city of Freetown
. Bai Bureh refused to recognise a peace treaty
the British had negotiated with the Limba
without his participation; and on one occasion, his warrior
fighters raided the British troops across the border into French Guinea. On January 1, 1893, the British colonials instituted a "Hut Tax" in Sierra Leone. This tax was issued throughout British-controlled Africa
. The tax could be paid in either money, grain, stock or labor. Many Africans had to work as laborers to pay the tax. The Hut Tax enabled the British to build roads, towns, railways and other infrastructure amenities in British-controlled Sierra Leone.
Bai Bureh refused to recognise the hut tax that the British had imposed. He did not believe the Sierra Leonean people had a duty to pay taxes to foreigners and he wanted all British to return to Britain
and let the Sierra Leoneans solve their own problems. After refusing to pay his taxes on several occasions, the British issued a warrant
to arrest Bureh. When the British Governor to Sierra Leone, Sir
Frederic Cardew, offered the princely sum of one hundred pounds
as a reward for his capture, Bai Bureh reciprocated by offering the even more staggering sum of five hundred pounds for the capture of the governor. In 1896, Bureh declared war on British in Sierra Leone. The war later became known as the Hut Tax War of 1898
.
Most of Bureh's fighters came from several temne villages under his command, but other fighters came from Limba, Loko
, Kissi
and Kuranko
villages, sent to his aid. Bai Bureh's men not only killed the British soldiers but also killed dozens of Creoles
who were living in Northern Sierra Leone because it was thought by the indigenous people of Sierra Leone that they supported the British. One of the most notable Creole people who was killed by Bai Bureh's warriors was a trader John "Johnny" Taylor, who was killed in his house in Northern Sierra Leone. Bai Bureh had the advantage over the vastly more powerful British for several months of the war. By 19 February, Bai Bureh's forces had completely severed the British line of communication between Freetown and Port Loko. They blocked the road and the river from Freetown. Despite their arrest warrant
, the British forces failed to defeat Bureh and his supporters. Hundreds of British troops were killed, and hundreds of Bureh's fighters also died during the war.
, thickly vegetated countryside by a small patrolling party of the newly organised West African Regiment on November 11, 1898 in Port Loko. His Temne warriors resisted to the last, but they did not evade the troops for long.
Bai Bureh was taken under guard to Freetown, where crowds gathered around his quarters day and night to gain a glimpse of the great man.
The British sent Bai Bureh in exile
to the Gold Coast
(now Ghana
), along with the powerful Sherbro
chief Kpana Lewis
and the powerful Mende
chief Nyagua
. Both Kpana Lewis and Nyagua died in exile but Bai Bureh was brought back to Sierra Leone in 1905, reinstating him as the Chief of Kasseh. Bai Bureh died in 1908.
The tactics employed by Bai Bureh in his fight against the British are very much the forerunner of tactics employed by guerilla armies worldwide. At the time these tactics were very revolutionary and he "succeeded" for the good reason he had expert knowledge of the terrain across which the war took place. Bai Bureh had pursued the war not just with sound military brain but also a sense of humour. When Governor Cardew had offered the princely sum of 100 pounds as a reward for his capture, Bai Bureh had reciprocated by offering the even more staggering sum of five hundred pounds for the capture of the Governor.
Many Sierra Leoneans view Bai Bureh today as the greatest man to ever come out of the country. There is a very large Statue
of Bai Bureh in central Freetown. He pictured on several Sierra Leonean paper bill. A Sierra Leonean professional football club called the Bai Bureh Warriors
from Port Loko is named after him.
Military strategy
Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek strategos, strategy when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow sense as the "art of the general", 'the art of arrangement' of troops...
who led the Temne and Loko
Loko people
The Loko are one of the indigenous ethnic groups in Sierra Leone. They speak a Mande language that is also called Loko. The majority of the Loko people live in or around the capital city of Freetown and in the Northern Province of the country, particularly in Port Loko District. The Loko were among...
uprising
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
against British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
rule in 1898 in Northern Sierra Leone
Northern Province, Sierra Leone
The Northern Province is one of the four provincial divisions of Sierra Leone. It comprises five Districts and covers an area of 35,936 km² and with a population of 1,718,240 . Its administrative and economic center is Makeni...
.
Early life
Bai Bureh was born on February 15, 1840 in KassehKasseh
Kasseh is a historic rural town in Bureh Kasseh Maconteh Chiefdom, Port Loko District located in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone with a population of 3,386 . The population of Kasseh is almost entirely inhabited by the Temne people. The Temne language is widely spoken throughout the town...
, a village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
near Port Loko
Port Loko
Port Loko is the capital and second largest city of Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The city lies about , as the crow flies, north-east of the nation's capital Freetown and had a population of 21,961 in the 2004 census Port Loko lies on Banka Soka River, which flows...
in Northern Sierra Leone
Northern Province, Sierra Leone
The Northern Province is one of the four provincial divisions of Sierra Leone. It comprises five Districts and covers an area of 35,936 km² and with a population of 1,718,240 . Its administrative and economic center is Makeni...
. His first name, Bai
Obai
The Obai or Bai was the ruler of the Temne people in the Kingdom of Koya, in what is now northwestern Sierra Leone. The kingdom became part of the British protectorate in Sierra Leone after 1898, and the Bai was then a king in title only....
, means Chief in the Temne language
Temne language
Temne is a language of the Atlantic subfamily of Niger–Congo languages spoken in Sierra Leone by about 2 million first speakers. One of the country's most widely spoken languages, it is spoken by 30% of the country’s population...
. Bureh's father was an important Loko
Loko people
The Loko are one of the indigenous ethnic groups in Sierra Leone. They speak a Mande language that is also called Loko. The majority of the Loko people live in or around the capital city of Freetown and in the Northern Province of the country, particularly in Port Loko District. The Loko were among...
war-chief
Warlord
A warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...
and his mother was a Temne trader
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
from Makeni
Makeni
Makeni is the largest city in the Nortern Province of Sierra Leone and the fifth largest city in Sierra Leone. The city is the capital of Bombali District and had a population of 80,840 in the 2004 census and a current estimate of 105,900...
. When Bureh was a young man his father sent him to the small village of Gbendembu in northern Sierra Leone, where he was trained to become a warrior. During his training at the village, he showed that he was a formidable warrior and was given the nickname of Kebalai which translates as ‘one who doesn’t tire of war’. When Kebalai return to his home village, he was crowned ruler of Kasseh
Kasseh
Kasseh is a historic rural town in Bureh Kasseh Maconteh Chiefdom, Port Loko District located in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone with a population of 3,386 . The population of Kasseh is almost entirely inhabited by the Temne people. The Temne language is widely spoken throughout the town...
.
During the 1860s and 1870s, Bureh had become the top warrior of Port Loko and the entire Northern Province
Northern Province, Sierra Leone
The Northern Province is one of the four provincial divisions of Sierra Leone. It comprises five Districts and covers an area of 35,936 km² and with a population of 1,718,240 . Its administrative and economic center is Makeni...
. He successfully fought and won wars against other villagers and tribal leaders who were against his plan to establish correct Islamic and indigenous practices throughout Northern Sierra Leone. In 1882, Bureh fought against the Susu people
Susu people
The Soso are a major Mande ethnic group living primarily in Guinea. Smaller communities are also located in the neighboring countries of Sierra Leone, Senegal and Mali. The Susu are descendants of the thirteenth century Mali Empire...
from French Guinea
French Guinea
French Guinea was a French colonial possession in West Africa. Its borders, while changed over time, were in 1958 those of the independent nation of Guinea....
(now Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
) who invaded Kambia
Kambia
Kampia is a village close to Almirida on the north west coast of the island of Crete, Greece. It is located in Apokoronas, Chania Prefecture.Kampia is a small village with one street and a couple of lanes. There are no services here but shops and tavernas can be found in Plaka, the next village or...
, a town in northern Sierra Leone. Bai Bureh's fighters defeated the Susu, pushed them back into French Guinea and returned the land to the local Kambia people. After winning several major wars, his popularity spread. The people of the northern province felt they had found a warrior who would defend their land. In 1886, Bai Bureh was crowned as the chief
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
of Northern Sierra Leone.
Rebellion
As a ruler, Bureh never wanted to cooperate with the BritishBritish Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
who were living in the capital city of Freetown
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...
. Bai Bureh refused to recognise a peace treaty
Peace treaty
A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, that formally ends a state of war between the parties...
the British had negotiated with the Limba
Limba people (Sierra Leone)
The Limba people is a major ethnic group in the Republic of Sierra Leone. They form the third largest ethnic group in the country, about 8.5% of Sierra Leone's total population ....
without his participation; and on one occasion, his warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
fighters raided the British troops across the border into French Guinea. On January 1, 1893, the British colonials instituted a "Hut Tax" in Sierra Leone. This tax was issued throughout British-controlled Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. The tax could be paid in either money, grain, stock or labor. Many Africans had to work as laborers to pay the tax. The Hut Tax enabled the British to build roads, towns, railways and other infrastructure amenities in British-controlled Sierra Leone.
Bai Bureh refused to recognise the hut tax that the British had imposed. He did not believe the Sierra Leonean people had a duty to pay taxes to foreigners and he wanted all British to return to Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
and let the Sierra Leoneans solve their own problems. After refusing to pay his taxes on several occasions, the British issued a warrant
Warrant (law)
Most often, the term warrant refers to a specific type of authorization; a writ issued by a competent officer, usually a judge or magistrate, which permits an otherwise illegal act that would violate individual rights and affords the person executing the writ protection from damages if the act is...
to arrest Bureh. When the British Governor to Sierra Leone, Sir
Sir
Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Frederic Cardew, offered the princely sum of one hundred pounds
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
as a reward for his capture, Bai Bureh reciprocated by offering the even more staggering sum of five hundred pounds for the capture of the governor. In 1896, Bureh declared war on British in Sierra Leone. The war later became known as the Hut Tax War of 1898
Hut Tax War of 1898
The Hut Tax War of 1898 was a war of resistance to British colonialism in Sierra Leone.It was initiated by Temne chief Bai Bureh in 1898, and later involved other native peoples, including the Mende. The war was an attempt by the local African kingdoms to maintain their independence in the face of...
.
Most of Bureh's fighters came from several temne villages under his command, but other fighters came from Limba, Loko
Loko people
The Loko are one of the indigenous ethnic groups in Sierra Leone. They speak a Mande language that is also called Loko. The majority of the Loko people live in or around the capital city of Freetown and in the Northern Province of the country, particularly in Port Loko District. The Loko were among...
, Kissi
Kissi people
Kissi people is an ethnic group living in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. They speak the Kissi language, which is a Niger–Congo language. They are well known for making baskets and weaving on vertical looms.-Economy:...
and Kuranko
Kuranko people
The Kuranko, also known as the Koranko, are an ethnic group living in Sierra Leone and Guinea. The Koranko occupy a large section in mountainous region within northeastern Sierra Leone and southern Guinea . Within this geographical region, different dialects, as well as distinct social groupings...
villages, sent to his aid. Bai Bureh's men not only killed the British soldiers but also killed dozens of Creoles
Creole peoples
The term Creole and its cognates in other languages — such as crioulo, criollo, créole, kriolu, criol, kreyol, kreol, kriulo, kriol, krio, etc. — have been applied to people in different countries and epochs, with rather different meanings...
who were living in Northern Sierra Leone because it was thought by the indigenous people of Sierra Leone that they supported the British. One of the most notable Creole people who was killed by Bai Bureh's warriors was a trader John "Johnny" Taylor, who was killed in his house in Northern Sierra Leone. Bai Bureh had the advantage over the vastly more powerful British for several months of the war. By 19 February, Bai Bureh's forces had completely severed the British line of communication between Freetown and Port Loko. They blocked the road and the river from Freetown. Despite their arrest warrant
Arrest warrant
An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by and on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual.-Canada:Arrest warrants are issued by a judge or justice of the peace under the Criminal Code of Canada....
, the British forces failed to defeat Bureh and his supporters. Hundreds of British troops were killed, and hundreds of Bureh's fighters also died during the war.
Capture and exile
Bai Bureh was finally tracked down in swampySwampy
Daniel Hooper is an environmental activist, sometimes characterised as an environmental protester or eco-warrior, from the United Kingdom...
, thickly vegetated countryside by a small patrolling party of the newly organised West African Regiment on November 11, 1898 in Port Loko. His Temne warriors resisted to the last, but they did not evade the troops for long.
Bai Bureh was taken under guard to Freetown, where crowds gathered around his quarters day and night to gain a glimpse of the great man.
The British sent Bai Bureh in exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
to the Gold Coast
Gold Coast (British colony)
The Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.-Overview:The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial...
(now Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
), along with the powerful Sherbro
Sherbro people
The Sherbro people are a native people of Sierra Leone, who speak the Sherbro language; they make up 3% of Sierra Leone's population or about 201,000. They are also known as the Bullom people...
chief Kpana Lewis
Kpana Lewis
Kpana Lewis was a Sherbro chief from Sierra Leone and an opponent of colonial rule of the British. He exercised strong influence over all Sherbro chiefs. Part of his fame rested in his pervasive use of the Poro Secret society to oppose the British colonialists...
and the powerful Mende
Mende people
The Mende people are one of the two largest and most dominant ethnic group in Sierra Leone, along with the Temne. The Mende make up 30% of Sierra Leone's total population or 1,932,015 members...
chief Nyagua
Nyagua
Nyagua was a respected Mende chief from Sierra Leone. Despite his gestures of friendship to the British, he was killed in the advance of colonialism.-Early life and career:...
. Both Kpana Lewis and Nyagua died in exile but Bai Bureh was brought back to Sierra Leone in 1905, reinstating him as the Chief of Kasseh. Bai Bureh died in 1908.
The legacy of Bai Bureh
The significance of Bai Bureh's war against the British is not a matter of whether he won or lost the war but that a man who had none of what could be called formal military training was able to show that for a significant number of months he was able to take on the British who were very proud of their great military successes across the globe. The British troops were led by officers trained at the finest military academies where war is studied in the same way that one studies a subject at university. The fact that Bai Bureh was not executed after his capture has led some historians to claim that this was in admiration for his prowess as an adversary to the British.The tactics employed by Bai Bureh in his fight against the British are very much the forerunner of tactics employed by guerilla armies worldwide. At the time these tactics were very revolutionary and he "succeeded" for the good reason he had expert knowledge of the terrain across which the war took place. Bai Bureh had pursued the war not just with sound military brain but also a sense of humour. When Governor Cardew had offered the princely sum of 100 pounds as a reward for his capture, Bai Bureh had reciprocated by offering the even more staggering sum of five hundred pounds for the capture of the Governor.
Many Sierra Leoneans view Bai Bureh today as the greatest man to ever come out of the country. There is a very large Statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
of Bai Bureh in central Freetown. He pictured on several Sierra Leonean paper bill. A Sierra Leonean professional football club called the Bai Bureh Warriors
Bai Bureh Warriors
The Bai Bureh Warriors of Port Loko commonly known as Bai Bureh Warriors is a Sierra Leonean professional football club based in Port Loko, Port Loko District, Sierra Leone. The club represent Port Loko District and is currently playing in the Sierra Leone National First Division, the second...
from Port Loko is named after him.