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Kanem-Bornu Expansion (1540s)

Type Event Region Central Africa Time 1541–1550

In the 1540s, the Kanem-Bornu kingdom in the Lake Chad basin continued military and political expansion across the Sahel-Sudanic zone, consolidating …

Timeline

  1. 1541–1548Bornu · NigeriaBornu cavalry launched campaigns into the Sahel grasslands and Hausa frontier, compelling local chiefs to pay tribute and acknowledge the Mai's suzerainty, expanding control over salt, slave, and livestock trade routes.
  2. 1543–1550Kano trade route · SahelThe kingdom integrated the Fezzan-Kano-Lake Chad trade route through resident trade envoys and a customs system, exporting slaves, ivory, and leather while importing North African horses, textiles, and firearms, strengthening central dominance over trade nodes.

Sources