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Mali is the
cultural heir to many ancient African empires-Ghana, Malinke,
and Songhai-that occupied the West African Savanna. The Ghana Empire,
centered in the area along the Malian-Mauritanian frontier and dominated
by the Soninke people, was a powerful trading state from about A.D. 700 to
1075. The Malinke Kingdom of Mali had its origins on the upper Niger River
in the 11th century. Expanding in the 13th century under the leadership of
Soundiata Keita, it reached its height about 1325, when it conquered
Timbuktu and Gao. The kingdom began to decline, controlling a small
fraction of its former domain by the 15th century. The Songhai Empire
expanded its power from Gao during the period 1465 to 1530. At its peak
under Askia Mohammad I, it encompassed the Hausa states. In 1591 a
Moroccan invasion destroyed the Songhai Empire. French military
penetration of the Soudan began in the 1880s.
In April 1959 Mali merged with Senegal to form the Federation of Mali,
which became independent on June 20, 1960.
The Republic of Mali was proclaimed on September 22, 1960. President
Modibo Keita, leader of the Union Soudanaise, dominated pre-independence
politics. He declared a single-party state and instituted a socialist
policy based on extensive nationalization. The continuously deteriorating
economy led to a decision to rejoin the Franc Zone in 1967 and modify some
of the earlier innovations. On November 19, 1968, a group of officers
staged a bloodless coup and set up a 14-member Military Committee for
National Liberation (CMLN), with Lt. Moussa Traore as president. A new
constitution, approved in 1974, created a one-party state and was designed
to move Mali toward civilian rule. The Democratic Union of the Malian
People (UDPM), based on the concept non-ideological democratic centralism,
was established in 1976.
Mali's population consists of diverse
Sub-Saharan ethnic groups, sharing similar historic, cultural,
and religious traditions. Exceptions are the Tuaregs and Maurs, desert
nomads, related to the North African Berbers. The Tuaregs traditionally
have opposed the central government. Starting in June 1990, armed attacks
in the North by Tuaregs seeking greater autonomy led to clashes with the
military. In April 1992, the government and most opposing factions signed
a pact to end the fighting and restore stability in the north. Its major
aims are to allow greater autonomy to the north and increase government
resource allocation to what has been a traditionally impoverished region.
The peace agreement was celebrated in 1996 in Timbuktu during an official
and highly publicized ceremony called Flamme de la Paix--peace flame.
Historically, good inter-ethnic relations
throughout the rest of the country were facilitated by easy mobility on
the Niger River and across the country's vast savannahs. Each ethnic group
was traditionally tied to a specific occupation, all working within close
proximity. The Bambara, Malinke, Sarakole, and Dogon are farmers; the
Fulani, Maur, and Tuareg are herders; while the Bozo are fishers. In
recent years, this linkage has shifted as ethnic groups seek diverse,
nontraditional sources of income.
Although each ethnic group speaks a separate language, nearly 80% of
Malians communicate in Bambara, the common language of the marketplace.
Malians enjoy a relative harmony rare in African states.
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