# Baoulé Kingdom Established around Warebo and Sakassou (c. 1750 CE)

URL: https://allhistories.com/ivory-coast/timeline/1750-baoule-kingdom-established-around-warebo-and-sakassou
Location: Sakassou, Côte d'Ivoire
Themes: main-event

After crossing the Komoé, Pokou's followers settled in the centre of present Côte d'Ivoire, between the Komoé and Bandama rivers, and organised a kingdom. Sakassou is named in Wikipedia as the capital of the Baoulé kingdom, founded c. 1730 under Abla Pokou, who ruled until about 1760. The monarchy kept Akan institutions such as stools, queen mothers and royal regalia. The Baoulé absorbed or displaced earlier Mande and Gur-speaking groups, and they developed a distinctive society of farmers, weavers and gold workers. Their royal house at Sakassou survived until the French colonial period and persists in ceremonial form, with Nanan N'Ga Tanou Monique enthroned in 2016. Expansion in later decades created subgroups and several chiefdoms. Sakassou's position is symbolic, since daily power lay with provincial chiefs and village councils. No single named ruler is documented for the lands of present-day Côte d'Ivoire at this date. The period is represented in the rulers file by the placeholder entry 'Kong, Gyaaman, Baoulé, Anyi and other kingdoms', so the event belongs to the history of local communities, kingdoms and chiefdoms rather than a documented head of state. The Baoulé kingdom produced Côte d'Ivoire's largest ethnic group and the cultural roots of figures such as Houphouët-Boigny. Its monarchy remains a symbolic national institution. Even today, its rituals, titles and royal regalia help Baoulé communities maintain a common identity across the cities and villages of modern Côte d'Ivoire.

## Why it matters
The Baoulé kingdom centred on Sakassou is the political heart of central Côte d'Ivoire.

Ruler at the Time: [Kong, Gyaaman, Baoulé, Anyi and other kingdoms](https://allhistories.com/ivory-coast/rulers/kong-gyaaman-baoule-anyi-and-other-kingdoms)

## Sources
- [Baoulé people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baoul%C3%A9_people)
- [Abla Pokou](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abla_Pokou)
- [pokou-c-1700-c-1760](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/pokou-c-1700-c-1760)