Falaba
Encyclopedia
Falaba is a former town
in the Solima area, Koinadugu District
of the Northern Province
of Sierra Leone
. The population of Falaba is largely from the Mandingo
and Kuranko
ethnic groups. The village is largely muslim
.
, Falaba was a fortress town on the rich slave-trading routes to the western coast of Africa. It was visited in 1822 by Alexander Gordon Laing
, and in 1869 by William Winwood Reade
; and was thus deemed nominally British.
In 1884, Mandinka
conqueror Samori
joined the king of Kaliere in attacking Solimana, then under the rule of Manga Sewa
. After Samori's general N'fa Ali destroyed a number of surrounding villages, the Mandinka forces began a five-month siege of Falaba itself. With the city's residents starved nearly to death, Manga Sewa gathered his family in Falaba's gunpowder
magazine and lit a torch, simultaneously killing himself and breaching Falaba's walls. Falaba was then briefly assimilated into Samori's Wassoulou Empire
; following Samori's own fall several years later, it was reclaimed by the British.
The Anglo-French treaty of 1895 left the town without an affluent hinterland, and the colonial administrative post was moved from Falaba to Kabala
. As a result, Falaba declined after 1895. Falaba was situated approximately thirty miles north-east of Kabala; the location shown on the map above refers to a different settlement with the same name.
of the 1990s caused most people to flee the town. In a press report of May 27, 1998, one witness said "the towns of Falaba, Sinkunia, Musaia-Mongo Bendugu, Krubonia, Bafodia and Yiffin had all been partly or totally destroyed" 1. The roads and bridges into Fabala were also almost totally destroyed, and the town very severely damaged, according to a post-war damage survey. An air survey in 2001 reported Falaba as a "village" 2.
torpedo
in 1915. It was the first passenger ship sunk during World War I
. Leon Thrasher, an American citizen, died on the Falaba, and his body was found after the Lusitania
sank (Thrasher incident
).
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in the Solima area, Koinadugu District
Koinadugu District
Koinadugu District Is a District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. It is by far the largest District in Sierra Leone in geographical area. Its capital and largest city is Kabala, which is also one of the main cities in Northern Sierra Leone...
of the 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...
of Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
. The population of Falaba is largely from the Mandingo
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
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...
ethnic groups. The village is largely muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
.
History
As the capital of SolimanaSolimana
Solimana was a minor West African state of the nineteenth century. Situated on rich slave-trading routes in what is now Sierra Leone, Solimana was visited in 1822 by Alexander Gordon Laing and in 1869 by William Winwood Reade, making it nominally British....
, Falaba was a fortress town on the rich slave-trading routes to the western coast of Africa. It was visited in 1822 by Alexander Gordon Laing
Alexander Gordon Laing
Major Alexander Gordon Laing was a Scottish explorer and the first European to reach Timbuktu via the north/south route.-Education and service:...
, and in 1869 by William Winwood Reade
William Winwood Reade
William Winwood Reade was a British historian, explorer, and philosopher.- Biography :He was born in Perthshire, Scotland. Reade took to writing at an early age, composing two novels by the age of 25. At this age he also decided to depart for Africa, arriving in Capetown by paddle-boat in 1862...
; and was thus deemed nominally British.
In 1884, Mandinka
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
conqueror Samori
Samori
Samory Toure was the founder of the Wassoulou Empire, an Islamic state that resisted French rule in West Africa from 1882 until his capture in 1898.-Early life and career:...
joined the king of Kaliere in attacking Solimana, then under the rule of Manga Sewa
Manga Sewa
Manga Sewa was a Yalunka chief from Sierra Leone who destroyed Falaba, the capital of Solimana, rather than let it fall to a Mandinka army.-Early life and career:...
. After Samori's general N'fa Ali destroyed a number of surrounding villages, the Mandinka forces began a five-month siege of Falaba itself. With the city's residents starved nearly to death, Manga Sewa gathered his family in Falaba's gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
magazine and lit a torch, simultaneously killing himself and breaching Falaba's walls. Falaba was then briefly assimilated into Samori's Wassoulou Empire
Wassoulou Empire
The Wassoulou Empire, sometimes referred to as the Mandinka Empire, was a short-lived empire of West Africa built from the conquests of Dyula ruler Samori Ture and destroyed by the French colonial army....
; following Samori's own fall several years later, it was reclaimed by the British.
The Anglo-French treaty of 1895 left the town without an affluent hinterland, and the colonial administrative post was moved from Falaba to Kabala
Kabala, Sierra Leone
Kabala is the capital and largest town of Koinadugu District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone, with a population of 14,108 in the 2004 census, and a current estimate of 18,770 Kabala is one of the main cities in northern Sierra Leone and is set in a rural landscape...
. As a result, Falaba declined after 1895. Falaba was situated approximately thirty miles north-east of Kabala; the location shown on the map above refers to a different settlement with the same name.
Destruction
Reports indicate that fighting in Falaba during the Sierra Leone Civil WarSierra Leone Civil War
The Sierra Leone Civil War began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front , with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia , intervened in Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government...
of the 1990s caused most people to flee the town. In a press report of May 27, 1998, one witness said "the towns of Falaba, Sinkunia, Musaia-Mongo Bendugu, Krubonia, Bafodia and Yiffin had all been partly or totally destroyed" 1. The roads and bridges into Fabala were also almost totally destroyed, and the town very severely damaged, according to a post-war damage survey. An air survey in 2001 reported Falaba as a "village" 2.
R.M.S. Falaba
The British R.M.S. Falaba, a West African steamship, was hit and sunk by a U-boatU-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
in 1915. It was the first passenger ship sunk during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Leon Thrasher, an American citizen, died on the Falaba, and his body was found after the Lusitania
RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland. The ship entered passenger service with the Cunard Line on 26 August 1907 and continued on the line's heavily-traveled passenger service between Liverpool, England and New...
sank (Thrasher incident
Thrasher Incident
The Thrasher incident, as it became known in U.S. media, nearly became the start of America's involvement in World War I. On March 28, 1915, the British steamship was torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat...
).