West Africa

===Colonialism===
{{Further|Colonisation of Africa}}
[[File:French West Africa 1913 map.png|thumb|left|French in West Africa {{Circa|1913}}]]
In the early 19th century, a series of Fulani reformist [[jihad]]s swept across Western Africa. The most notable include [[Usman dan Fodio]]'s [[Fulani Empire]], which replaced the [[Hausa people|Hausa]] city-states, [[Seku Amadu]]'s [[Massina Empire]], which defeated the Bambara, and El Hadj [[Umar Tall]]'s [[Toucouleur Empire]], which briefly conquered much of modern-day Mali.

However, the [[France|French]] and [[United Kingdom|British]] continued to advance in the [[Scramble for Africa]], subjugating kingdom after kingdom. With the fall of [[Samory|Samory Ture's]] new-founded [[Wassoulou Empire]] in 1898 and the [[Ashanti people|Ashanti]] queen [[Yaa Asantewaa]] in 1902, most West African military resistance to colonial rule resulted in failure.

Part of the West-African regions underwent an increase in the [[numeracy]] level throughout the 19th century. The reason for such a growth was predetermined by a number of factors. Namely, the [[peanut]] production and trade, which was boosted by the [[demand]] of the [[Colonialism|colonial states]]. Importantly, the rise of the numeracy was higher in the regions which were less [[Hierarchy|hierarchical]] and had less dependent from the [[slavery]] trade (e.g. Sine and Salum). Whereas areas with the opposite trends illustrated opposite tendencies (e.g. central and northern Senegal). Those patterns were further even more stimulated with the French colonial campaign.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baten |first1=Jörg |title=European Trade, Colonialism and Human Capital Accumulation in Senegal, Gambia and Western Mali, 1770 – 1900 |journal=CESifo Working Papers |date=May 2017}}</ref>

Britain controlled the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Nigeria throughout the colonial era, while France unified Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Ivory Coast, and Niger into [[French West Africa]]. [[Portugal]] founded the colony of [[Guinea-Bissau]], while [[Germany]] claimed [[Togoland]], but was forced to divide it between France and Britain following [[First World War]] due to the [[Treaty of Versailles]]. Only [[Liberia]] retained its independence, at the price of major territorial concessions.