Evaluate Mandinka resistance to French rule.

Candidates will make an appraisal of Mandinka resistance to French rule, weighing up its strengths and limitations. Candidates may refer to the initial success and duration of resistance, and how and why this resistance was ultimately unsuccessful. They may also emphasize the strength of the Mandinka state, its economic success, ability to procure firearms, and the role of Samori Toure as a leader and military strategist in the resistance against the French. They may also focus on Samori’s tenacity and his ability to adopt new tactics such as guerrilla warfare, the failure of the Mandinka to attract allies such as the British, and the role of superior French military power in their eventual victory. Both the importance and limitations of Mandinka resistance must be clearly indicated but there does not need to be an equal focus on each.