Behanzin vs Samori Ture

Upon ascending the throne, Behanzin refused to sign a French protectorate treaty that would have made Dahomey a French colony. This act of defiance directly led to the escalation of hostilities and the Second Franco-Dahomean War.

Behanzin led a full-scale war against French colonial forces under General Alfred Dodds. Despite fierce resistance and the use of the Dahomey Amazons, the French superior firepower and logistics led to the capture of the capital, Abomey, in November 1892.

After surrendering to the French in 1894, Behanzin was deposed and exiled to Martinique, a French colony in the Caribbean. This exile ended his reign and marked the definitive end of Dahomey's independence, as the French established full colonial control.

Samori Ture's forces defeated a French column near Kankan, marking the beginning of the Mandinka resistance against French colonial expansion in West Africa. This victory established Samori as a major military leader and delayed French control over the region.

Samori Ture signed a treaty with France establishing the Niger River as the boundary between his Wassoulou Empire and French territories. The treaty temporarily halted French advances but was later violated by the French, leading to renewed conflict.

Facing superior French forces, Samori Ture ordered a systematic scorched earth retreat eastward from his capital Bissandougou. His army destroyed villages and crops to deny resources to the French, relocating the empire's center to the Kong region.

French forces captured Samori Ture near Gu