Bilad Al-Humran: A Malian America

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Chapter 1: The Beginning of the Malian Fleet
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    • Nobodyydobon

    Chapter 1: The Beginning of the Malian Fleet

    The Year is 1300. Mansa Sakura of Mali, Former Slave, Usurper and Great Conqueror, is dead.

    Sakura was an imperial slave who had usurped the throne from the weak and feeble Mansa Abu Bakr, who himself inherited a weakened throne from the tyrant Mansa Khalifa. Due to these two disastrous reigns Sakura had to reaffirm dominance over rebellious regions, such as Gao and Timbuktu and prevent the empire from collapsing due to ill rulership. In 1300, during his return from the Hajj, Sakura would be mysteriously killed in Tripoli. Rumours would spread that the murderer was the head of the Keita dynasty, and rightful Mansa, Qu, but no evidence would be found.

    Qu, as the Grandson of the Great Sundiata himself, would be chosen by the Gbara (The various headmen of the clans) to succeed Sakura. Mansa Qu, already quite old [1] knew that he was not long for this world, as such he chose to rule conservatively, lowering excess spending and strengthening the position of imperial slaves in the administration to leave a stable realm for his successors.

    In 1302 Qu would be approached by his son and Heir, Muhammed [2], requesting that his father give him funds and servants to undertake the Hajj. When questioned by his father on the reason of undertaking Hajj so early in his life, Muhammed would reply that he wanted to learn in the courts of Great Kings and Sultans to assist his future reign. Qu, finding that the coffers were full, and that there were no immediate threats to his health, would allow his son to undertake the Hajj [3].

    Muhammed, compared to his father, was much more eccentric and free thinking, and extremely interested in exploration. This attitude led him to spend long periods of time in the courts and universities of Fez, Tunis and Cairo. His Pilgrimage fulfilled his thirst for knowledge of the world, but also gave him a new one, a thirst for the Sea. Due to his lengthy court visits, Muhammed was unable to take the Hajj overland, instead sailing from port to port until arriving at Alexandria. His time at sea sparked much wonder in the prince, and the lack of anything like the bustling port of Alexandria in his homeland saddened him greatly.

    Muhammed would complete the Hajj and return to his Home in early 1302 and would near immediately request that his father investigate the feasibility of a naval trade route between Mali and the Mediterranean. Qu would deny his son’s request, explaining to him that Mali had no pre-existing Fleet or Port infrastructure, even discounting that, the coast between Mali and the nearest port was barren. Muhammed would then Argue that while it may be impossible, Mali had nothing to lose beyond funds it had a massive surplus of and a few men. Qu would, knowing that his son would follow this doomed venture after his death, would cave in to his demands. Instead of outright denying his son, Qu would limit the gold Muhammed could use, coupled with the stupidity of the plan, his son would simply fail and give up.


    [1] There are no sources I could find on how old pre-Musa Mansas were (excluding Sundiata), but Qu died 5 years after his reign likely due to old age, and was grandson of a man born in 1217, so I just estimated Qu was born around 50 years after Sundiata in 1267

    [2] According to sources I found, Muhammed is the Malian Mansa that sailed off west. The Mansa Abubakri II (Who is usually attributed as the Mansa who sailed west) never existed, Abubakari was simply Mansa Musa’s Grandfather and brother to Sundiata, while Muhammed is Musa’s predecessor.

    [3] The POD
     
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    • Sceonn

    Well, I hope the successive Mansa focus of west Africa first before trying to go to America. They'll need the wood anyway.
     
    Chapter 2: The Establishment of Ndar
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    • Nobodyydobon

    Chapter 2: The Establishment of Ndar

    With his father’s support secured, Muhammed would immediately begin looking for a location for his port. By the middle of 1302, he would settle for the area known as Ndar, at the mouth of the Senegal River. Due to its river borne connection to the capital region and goldmines of Bure, it would be easy to both control, and for Niani to receive its future imported luxuries.

    There was already an small Jolof settlement at Ndar, not even big enough to even be placed on a map. As such for the rest of 1302 Muhammed would work to build up the area, bringing in slaves and Mandinka settlers to turn the plot of near-empty land into a minor, but growing village. He would also have his very own personal mansion built, though it was a far cry from the luxury of Niani.

    By early 1303, progress stalled. Ndar already rapidly growing, but construction of a port could not start, as Muhammed simply did not have access to anyone with enough nautical knowledge to build a port from scratch. As such Muhammed chose to look north for potential partners.

    Relations between the Marinids of Morocco and the Keitas of Mali were completely indirect. Though both sides knew of each other, political relations between the Sahel and Maghreb were non-existent. Muhammed sought to change this.

    In the middle of 1303, Muhammed and his personal entourage would travel to al-Mahalla al-Mansura, or the Camp of Victory [1], where The Marinid Sultan, Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr, was leading a near half decade long siege upon the city of Tlemcen [2].

    Once learning that the very heir of the Empire of gold was at his siege camp, Yusuf would hold a feast to welcome the foreign prince. After the festivities, Muhammed would inform Yusuf of his plan, promising that if Marinids contributed experienced shipwrights and sailors, the imports and exports would greatly enrich Morocco. After a few days of deliberation, and discussions with his court, Yusuf would accept the prince’s offer, asking that Mali’s deep coffers fund the recruitment and travel expenses of the sailors.

    Muhammed would return to his residence in Ndar, later sending multiple camel loads of gold to Yusuf for the recruitment. Before long, Moroccan sailors would begin arriving in Ndar, though the facilities were much more squalor than their expectations, planning of the port would begin in late 1303.

    Before principal construction could begin, Muhammed would appoint the oldest and most experienced among the Moroccans, Hayyan ibn Ismail al-Jallab [3] as the project head. But quickly after Hayyan’s appointment he would bring an issue to the prince, that of lumber.

    Hayyan warned that they simply did not have enough wood to construct even a small fleet. As such for the future of the project, Muhammed needed to import lumber from other sources, namely the great Guinean forests.

    The peoples of Guinea [4] laid outside the influence of Niani and Islam, mainly due them lacking any useful resources for Mali, and not presenting any threat to the south of the Empire. At first Muhammed would plan a simple military campaign to take what was needed. However, this would be out of the question as Mansa Qu would be unwilling to conquer a thoroughly useless region, and any conflict in the forests of Guinea would be long and drawn out. Hayyan would then put forward his own idea, to exploit the dire need for salt in southern west Africa.

    In Guinea, salt was a rarity and, in some places, literally worth its weight in gold due to the Guineans needing it for their diet. Hayyan claimed that due to this, a few trunks of lumber would seem like a steal for salt. Though Muhammed would raise concerns on whether linking the stability of the fleet with the stability of Guinea, he would eventually sign off on the plan.

    Several diplomatic missions would be sent southwards during the latter days of 1303, eventually ending in deals being secured and lumber arriving by caravan to Ndar. Construction of the port would begin and complete in short order by June 1304, with the first 3 ships of Mali beginning construction shortly after.



    [1] IOTL, this would be an ironic name, since after 8 years of siege, Yusuf would be assassinated by a Eunuch, and the siege would be abandoned with nothing being gained.

    [2] Yusuf had begun the war in 1297 after ceding the last Moroccan forts in Iberia to Granada.

    [3] Hayyan was created for the TL

    [4] I’m using Guinea here as a general term for the various groups of Pagans south of Mali

    A/N: Apologies for the long wait, I fell into some writers block and semi-forgot about the TL. In future I'll try to write further ahead to prevent massive hiatuses

    The next chapter should be finished by next week
     
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    • Skullship

    Very curious to learn what both Portugal and especially Spain will be doing once they learn Mali's discovered a new world 180 years before they did
     

    Orisha91

    The Malians charting and exploring the "Sea of Darkness", the " Dark sea" the "Sea of Gloom", the"Sea of Perpetual Gloom, the "Great Green Sea of Gloom, or the "Green Sea" will certainly be prestigious in the Islamic world. This goes doubly so when the Malians venture beyond the coastlines.
     
    Chapter 3: The First Voyage
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    • Nobodyydobon

    Chapter 3: The First Voyage

    Late 1305, and the first ships from Ndar is ready for voyage.

    The first ships of Mali were built light, with 3 lateen sails each and not looking too dissimilar to the average Mediterranean fishing boat. Muhammed was confused about the small size of the vessels, but Hayyan promised that the small size would help in dealing with the Atlantic’s turmoil.

    The preparations for the first voyage would be complete by the start of November, with Hayyan taking the position of Captain. The first voyage would aim to simply complete a round trip between Ndar and Agadir.

    To prevent 2 years worth of progress being lost in a single voyage, only two ships would leave Ndar. The ships would set sail on the 5th of November, each filled with provisions, and a camel load of gold [1]. The ship’s crews were made of a mix of Moroccans and Malians who were trained during the project.

    The voyage would go on swimmingly during the first 2 days, with only minor incidents occurring due to the Malian’s inexperience at sea. But Hayyan would begin to observe that, no matter where the wind was blowing, some underwater factor pushing them southwards. By Hayyan's estimates they would be blown out into the open ocean if they did not return to Ndar soon.

    Hayyan would meet with his crew to discuss the potential of abandoning the voyage and returning to Ndar. However, before a vote could be held, one of the Moroccans, Nizar ibn Yahya, would put forward an interesting theory.

    Nizar had a large amount of experience sailing the western Atlantic, and throughout his travels had observed that Ships sailing westwards from Portugal were pushed back by some force. Nizar theorised that the two ships were being pushed by the same force, or currents, and that if they followed the ‘Malian current’ [2] they would be led into the ‘Portuguese current’.

    Hayyan would be sceptical of Nizar’s theory, but multiple other sailors would come to support the idea, telling of their own experiences dealing with the Portugal current. With most of the crew supporting Nizar’s theory, Hayyan would change the course of the fleet, following the Malian current to wherever it led.

    A few days of sailing later, Hayyan’s crew would sight a series of islands. After confirming with the crew that none of them knew about this uncharted archipelago, the twin ships would land ashore and begin searching for some form of civilization. The crew would search across the archipelago, finding nothing but the occasional bird. Hayyan would christen the archipelago "Jazur Maliun" , or The Islands of Mali, and once again set sail.

    The crew would continue to sail westwards, with morale and supply beginning to dwindle. Luckily Nizar’s theory would finally prove true as the fleet would manage to catch a southern wind and sail northwards, catching the Portugal current, and the westerly trades.

    Around halfway to Iberia, the fleet would once again sight another uncharted island chain. But due to the lacking supplies, and the high likelihood of the islands being uninhabited, the Fleet would sail past.

    Finally, after nearly a month of sailing, Hayyan’s fleet would sight the Pillars of Hercules, soon after they would dock in Tangiers. The Arrival of Hayyan’s fleet would cause a massive buzz in Tangiers, with many merchants wanting to learn the route to the empire of gold, and many more wanting the gold they brought.

    Hayyan’s fleet would barter away the gold they had brought for spices, salt, and local souvenirs as evidence of their success, then set sail a week later for Ndar. Their arrival would be welcomed by a feast and each sailor would be given grand gifts by the prince for their success.

    However, festivities would be cut short, as an envoy from Niani would bring word of Mansa Qu’s failing health. The prince would return to Niani in short order, arriving just in time to give his goodbyes to his father. The Mansa would die a day afterwards.

    On New Year’s Day, Mansa Muhammed ibn Qu would ascend to the throne.

    [1] Around 100kg
    [2] IOTL, this would be called the Canary current.
     
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    • Skullship

    Nobodyydobon said:
    The Arrival of Hayyan’s fleet would cause a massive buzz in Tangiers, with many merchants wanting to learn the route to the empire of gold, and many more wanting the gold they brought.
    Click to expand...
    Definitely curious as to the consequences of Europe learning that Mali was a sailable this whole time, to the point that I think you might've triggered the Age of Exploration early. Plus, all the new visitors this brings could give Mali some of the extra know-how that Morocco couldn't

    So it looks like Muhammad's not only getting some good sailing practice, the discovery of both Cape Verde as a potential resupply route for any future American voyage, and recognizing the currents of the Atlantic exist will also be really useful. Really looking forward to where this goes
     
    Chapter 4: Bilad Al-Humran
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    • Nobodyydobon

    Chapter 4: Bilad Al-Humran

    With their successes at sea, the Mansa would gift the Moroccan crewmen vast tracks of land upon Jazur Maliun, and dozens of slaves each. Captain Hayyan would be appointed the Farba (Governor) of Jazur Maliun, and due to his experience as a merchant, be further tasked with making the Islands profitable.

    As Hayyan built the economy of Jazur Maliun, Nizar became the main cartographer of Mali, completing multiple voyages and mapping the Sea from Ndar to Lisbon. Nizar was one of the first people to step foot on the uncharted island chain discovered during the first voyage and named them “Jazur Albaz” or the Goshawk Islands, due to the abundance of the bird.

    Another discovery made in 1307 would be of Jazur Jawansh [1], named so after the native peoples of the Islands. Nizar would spend some months with the Jawansh, managing to translate their language to Arabic, and finding that they shared many resemblances in both tongue and appearance to the Berbers. Nizar would return to the empire by 1308, having established great relations with the islands.

    Due to essentially acting as a second home to the Mansa, and the Malian fleet growing ever larger, Ndar rapidly grew. Mansa Muhammed financed vast projects, including the construction of a grand Mosque and University in Ndar, attracting multiple Scholars to the shores of Mali. Ndar also grew to become the premier slave port of West Africa, with thousands of Guineans being kidnapped and sold every year.

    In 1309, Nizar would approach the Mansa to ask for the financing of a new exploratory voyage to chart a route around Africa, and to the grand markets of Asia. Nizar claimed that the finances of Mali lived and died with the gold trade, and due to this their relationship with the Maghreb may become unbalanced. Furthermore, the Iberians have continuously defeated the North Africans, and would likely set their eyes upon Morocco after Granada finally falls. If Mali was able to chart a course to Asia, and directly receive goods from Asia their coffers would stay filled, even in the event of crisis in the Maghreb. The Mansa would be convinced of Nizar’s reasoning and sign off on the voyage.

    Nizar would take 5 ships from the Imperial fleet and set sail from Ndar on the 3rd of April 1309. At this point Nizar and the Malian navy were adept at using currents to their advantage, however due to the lack anything of worth, the sea south of Ndar was nearly completely uncharted. In spite of the lack of information, Nizar pushed forward, taking the Malian current and sailing along the ivory coast.

    The fleet would make good progress, charting the coastline up to the mouth of the Niger river with minimal incidence. This fortune would turn when the ships arrived off the coast of the Kongo, where they would be caught inside a massive storm. two ships would be lost, taking with them important supplies and some of the more experienced crew, while another ship, the “Qu”, would be heavily damaged, but still barely sailable.

    With the loss of these ships, the mission would be impossible to continue, as such Nizar decided to change course, and return to Ndar. The fleet would luckily find a current leading westward, and potentially connected to the Portugal current. However, in a twist of fate, Nizar would vastly overestimate the length of west Africa, causing the fleet to go much further westwards than needed.

    The fleet sailed for a week before supply would begin running dry, but luckily, they would finally sight land. Nizar knew it was physically impossible for this land to be Asia; Indonesia would be thousands of miles further west (And thousands more if his calculations were correct), but with no other choice but to pray for help, the 3 ships landed on the mysterious island.

    Nizar would send out Scouts to find some form of civilization to help them return home. The crew would survive upon fishing the sea and hunting the local population of snouted pigs for sustenance (Which while normally haram, was needed for the survival of the crew). Around 2 days after the landing, On May the 3rd, Nizar would lead a Malian fishing party northwards to find better waters, where they would first encounter the natives of this land.

    There would be a short standoff between the Malians and the small community of hunter-gatherers; both sides were surprised and intrigued by the other. Eventually Nizar would convey to the natives that they meant no harm and managed obtain a sit down with the local leaders.

    With violence avoided, the two sides would begin attempting to translate each other’s tongues, through this the Malians would learn the names of this group, the Butijwara [2]. Nizar’s experience translating the Jawansh language would come in handy, and within a month, the Malians and Butijwara had a deal worked out.

    The Malians would receive a crop and gifts out of kindness from the Butijwara, while the Malians sail back to Mali to prepare a repayment for the Native’s hospitality. Some of the crew would be forced to stay back with the Butijwara, due to damage sustained by the Qu and its lack of maintenance.

    Nizar would set sail from the lands of the Butijwara on the 10th of June. He would sail north-westerly for a few weeks, mapping the coastline as he went. Finding that the lands of the Butijwara were much more expansive than he first assumed, he realised he had found a new continent. Due to the reddish complexion of the people, and the face paint some of them sported, He would name this place in a similar way to Sudan [3], calling it “Bilad Al-Humran”, roughly translating to “The Land of the Red(Men)”.

    Nizar and his fleet would make landfall in Ndar by the end of June. The Mansa would be angered at the loss of 2 ships, valuable sailors, and the failure of Nizar’s mission, but the discovery of Humran intrigued the Mansa. As shown by the alien crops brought by Nizar, Humran presented the opportunity to acquire goods that were completely unobtainable in the new world, goods possibly more valuable than ones from Asia. As such Nizar would be tasked with returning to Humran and establishing a new port for the Empire, setting sail at the start of July.

    Nizar’s new fleet of 5 ships would land in the land of the Butijwara by the middle of July, where he would find that the crew of the Qu had partly integrated into Butijwari society. The crew had built for themselves a minor shanty town with the remains of the Qu and the local lumber, spending their days helping the Butijwara with day-to-day labours. Some crewmen even took native wives, while also spreading Islam to a small group of interested Butijwari. Nizar would give the Butijwara multiple gifts in return for their assistance, including spices, cloths, and Guinean slaves.

    Nizar would also offer to purchase the lands south of the Butijwara village in gold, however the Butijwara would reject the gold, seeing no use in it, instead they would request that the Malian continue to bring the luxuries of the old world, which Nizar would readily accept. The first Malian settlement would be established and named “Madinat Al-Butijwariyya”.

    [1] I’ve arabized the names of native groups through google translate. IOTL the Jawansh would be the Guanches

    [2] IOTL the Potiguara

    [3] Sudan literally means “Land of the Blacks”
     
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    • Aluma

    Aluma

    So what I assume is Brazil here is called Hamran?
    So cool!
    Im also happy that they plan to return the hospitality given to them and have good relations with the indigenous people, hopefully things will turn for the better this time around
     

    alpha

    Keep it up this has amazing potenntial!

    How connected is Mali until this discovery is found out about?

    Whats the situation in Al Andalus like?
     
    Kurd Gossemer

    Kurd Gossemer

    Very interesting, a America colonized early by the African (and we'll probably see a mixture of natives and blacks too, cafuzo countries anyone?) will have some very interesting results, especially once they find the gold and diamond mines in Brazil.
     
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