Revisionism and the Historical Interpretation of the Sokoto Caliphate: The Writings of Murray Last
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46881/ajh.v4i0.221Keywords:
Revisionism, Caliphate, History, Post- ColonialismAbstract
The Sokoto Caliphate which was founded as a result of the 1804 Jihad spear-headed by Sheikh Uthman bin Fudi has attracted the attention of so many writers most of whom were Europeans. To properly legalise colonialism, most colonial writers view the Caliphate as an attempt made by the Fulbe to establish their hegemony over Hausa-land, while to others, it was no more than a Fulbe onslaught on the inferior ethnic groups of the then Central Sudan. In the post-colonial period, Murray Last came up with a more balanced argument on the history of the Caliphate and after him, came other researchers among which are Europeans and Africans. However, in this twenty first century, writers like Last took a revisionist stand towards the history of Sokoto Caliphate. Therefore, this paper though centres heavily on written sources, looks into the major reasons aiding his abrupt revisionist interpretation of the history of the Sokoto Caliphate by juxtaposing his earlier works with the present ones. The paper equally finds out that this recent revisionist interpretation of the history of the Sokoto Caliphate is projected mainly to create confusion by negating the established historical facts imbued in the realm of the Caliphate’s history especially for socio-political reasons.References
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