Man and environment in Borno: a historical account

Abstract

This is a study of the intricate relations between man and environment in the habitation of the drying bed of the Lake Chad Basin in a historical perspective. Using primary and secondary sources the study indicates that the peopling of the Chad Basin became possible as a result of the transgressions and regressions of the Lake Chad, a large body of fresh water, which had shrunk from 27,000 square kilometres to as low as 1,500 square kilometres. It was between 5,000 and 2,500 BP that the lake’s size stabilized at about 280 M above sea level, after which period continuous human habitation of its shores became possible. The Lake due to its unique location in the heart of this arid zone had supported a large variety of animal and plant life and provided sustenance to fishermen, pastoralists and agriculturalists. It is this rich and fertile land that supported the large civilization that was the Kanem-Borno Empire, which was ethnically and culturally heterogeneous. This strategic location of the lake in the heart of Africa was also its greatest disadvantage as it became a point of attraction to adventurers both local and foreign such as Rabih Fadl Allah, the conqueror of Borno, as well as the British, French and German colonial powers. The study concludes that the environment did shape the course of human development in the Chad Basin as the history of the communities that lived on the shores of the lake was synonymous with the history of the peopling of the drying bed of the lake.