Decline
The Almamate survived through the 19th century albeit in a much weaker state. The state was governed officially by the Almaami, but effective control lay with regional chiefs of the central provinces who possessed considerable land, followers and slaves. The struggle of various coalitions of electors and eligibles further hastened the decline of the kingdom.
In the middle of the 19th century Tooro was threatened by the French under the leadership of Governor Louis Faidherbe. At the same time, Umar Tall, a native of Tooro, launched a holy war against the predominantly non-Muslim Mandinka and Bambara to the east. To achieve his goals he recruited heavily in Senegambia, especially in his native land. The recruitment process, in which Umar evoked the founders of the Islamic revolution, reached its culmination in a massive drive in 1858 and 1859. It had the effect of undermining the power of the Almaami even more.
The authority of the regional chiefs, and particularly that of the electors, was compromised much less than that of the Almaami. Some of these leaders became fully independent and fought off the French and Umar Tall on their own. As a result, the Almaami and the chiefs began to rely increasingly on French support.
The last Almaami of Fuuta Tooro was overthrown and made a lieutenant of Umar Tall's Toucouleur Empire in 1861.
Read more about this topic: Kingdom Of Fouta Tooro
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