Kingdom of Wuli

Wuli (spelled Ouli in French) was a Mandinka kingdom located on the north bank of the Gambia River in what is now the eastern portion of The Gambia and the Tambacounda region of Senegal.

Initially a tributary to the Mali Empire and later the Jolof Empire, Wuli became independent in the 16th century under the leadership of Mansa Jalali Wali. The Wali dynasty were staunch followers of their traditional religion, and Wuli became embroiled in the Soninke-Marabout Wars of the 19th century, suffering regular raids and invasions from neighboring Bundu and other Islamic states.

Wuli society was strictly segmented, with a ruling class, a class of Muslim traders (the juula), freemen, artisans, and slaves. The state controlled an important crossroads for trading routes which moved salt, gold, manufactures and other commodities between the upper Niger River valley and the coast. The slave trade was also a major source of wealth for the rulers and juula, and when it ended in the 1820s they reoriented Wuli's economy towards groundnut production. At the same time, Europeans expanded their commercial interests in the upper Gambia River valley, and in 1889 Wuli was divided between the British and the French colonial empires.