History UsefulNotes / Mali

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAristocats'' has Edgar attempting to mail Duchess and the kittens to Timbuktu, presumably playing on the idea that it represents a faraway place. The movie [[ArtisticLicenseGeography incorrectly places Timbuktu in French Equatorial Africa]]. In 1910, when the story is set, Timbuktu would have been located in French ''West'' Africa.

* [[Literature/TheEpicOfSundiata The story of Sundiata]], Mali's most famous king, is the national epic, passed along as an oral tradition by the griots (or "jelis"). Probably the most famous version is that told by the griot Mamadou Kouyaté and transcribed and published by Djibril Tamsir Niane as ''Sundiata, An Epic of Old Mali.''

* ''Sundiata: A Legend of Old Mali'' by Creator/WillEisner is based loosely on Literature/TheEpicOfSundiata (described below under Literature).

* The story of Sundiata, Mali's most famous king, is the national epic, passed along as an oral tradition by the griots (or "jelis"). Probably the most famous version is that told by the griot Mamadou Kouyaté and transcribed and published by Djibril Tamsir Niane as ''Sundiata, An Epic of Old Mali.''

Mali, also known officially as the Republic of Mali ('''French:''' ''République du Mali''), is a West African country in the western Sahara. It is bordered by UsefulNotes/{{Algeria}}, UsefulNotes/BurkinaFaso, UsefulNotes/CoteDIvoire, UsefulNotes/{{Guinea}}, UsefulNotes/{{Mauritania}}, UsefulNotes/{{Niger}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Senegal}}. Like other Saharan states, it's huge (8th biggest in Africa), but has a comparatively small population of about 20 million, who are concentrated in the fertile south since the triangular-shaped northern part consists of nothing but [[CrossingTheDesert gigantic patches of desert and dry valleys]].

All of this flew out of the window when [[OutsideContextProblem the Europeans discovered seafaring as a swift way to trade, which rendered desert-crossing obsolete, followed by them arriving on the coast to begin their incursion as part of the Scramble of Africa]]. Though most of the territories were still under nominal rule by the native sultans and kings, UsefulNotes/{{France}} conquered the area in the late 19th century and incorporated them as part of the French Sudan colony. In the mid-1950's, it was renamed the Sudanese Republic and united with the Senegal Colony to the west. The union gained independence from France together in 1960 as the Mali Federation, but Senegal opted out a few months afterward, leaving Mali on its own.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAristocats'', Edgar attempts to mail Duchess and the kittens to Timbuktu, presumably playing on the idea that it represents a faraway place. The movie [[ArtisticLicenseGeography incorrectly places Timbuktu in French Equatorial Africa]]. In 1910, when the story is set, Timbuktu would have been located in French ''West'' Africa.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAristocats'', Edgar attempts to mail Duchess and the kittens to Timbuktu. The movie [[ArtisticLicenseGeography incorrectly places Timbuktu in French Equatorial Africa]]. In 1910, when the story is set, Timbuktu would have been located in French ''West'' Africa.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAristocats'', Edgar attempts to mail Duchess and the kittens to Timbuktu. The movie [[CriticalResearchFailure incorrectly places Timbuktu in French Equatorial Africa]]. In 1910, when the story is set, Timbuktu would have been located in French ''West'' Africa.

* ''Series/SEALTeam'': In Season 2, Episode 19, Bravo Team deploys to Mali to recover the body of an American soldier who was killed in an ambush before a local jihadist group can use it for propaganda videos. In Season 5, Episode 8, they're back in Mali working an operation with a French GIGN squad to take out another terror cell.

However, the country is currently experiencing a prolonged crisis, beginning with the Tuareg rebellion of 2012. The Tuaregs cooperated with jihadists, including the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, to create an independent state, Azawad, which happened as the country saw its first coup in exactly 20 years. [[FromBadToWorse Then]] the jihadists decided to turn their backs on the Tuaregs in favor of creating a caliphate. Things went so bad that those who instigated the coup relented for a transitional government, which demanded help from the country's colonial master, France to combat the radicals. Most of the north had been retaken in early 2013, democracy was restored later in the year, and a peace deal was signed with the Tuaregs in 2015. The jihadists have not given up, however. To this day, most of northern and central Mali is essentially a lawless land, with dozens of attacks by jihadists occurring every year. The conflict has also spilled over to Burkina Faso and Niger.

Mali, also known officially as the Republic of Mali ('''French:''' ''République du Mali''), is a West African country in the western Sahara very close to the Atlantic coast, although it doesn't reach it. Like other Saharan states, it's huge (8th biggest in Africa), but has a comparatively small population of about 14 million, which are concentrated in the fertile south since the triangular-shaped northern part is nothing but [[CrossingTheDesert gigantic patches of desert and dry valleys]].

Most of the population is Muslim. However, despite being wedged between two definitely Arab and Maghreb nations[[note]]Algeria and Mauritania[[/note]], it's not considered either; it isn't part of the Arab League or the Arab Maghreb Union, for example. The northern part ''might'' be considered an Arab-Maghreb zone, since Arabs do inhabit it, alongside the Tuaregs/Imazighen. Actually, this kind of situation is what causes the country, even if abiding by the same religion, to be divided in two, since power was and still is wrestled in the hands of the Bambaras and their fellow Niger-Congo peoples in the south. Their influence drags the country closer to its West African neighbors, including joining regional Economic Community and adopting CFA franc as a currency.

The country's name was taken from the historical Mali Empire (c.1235-1600), a vast polity that stretched from the Atlantic coast deep into the Sahara. Beforehand, the Ghana Empire dominated in Western Mali. Later, the Songhai Empire, which originated in northern Nigeria, incorporated the declining Mali Empire's territories into its own. All three empires are considered the Golden Age of West African civilization, with flourishing trans-Saharan trade that saw exchanges of gold, crafts, and other commodities. When the Islamic influence reached in through contact with the Almoravids, the northern city of Timbuktu in the Saharan region became the center of Islamic learning and astronomy, and writings containing this knowledge are preserved there; today, the entire city is designed a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

All of this flew out the window when [[OutsideContextProblem the Europeans discovered seafaring as a swift way to trade, which rendered desert-crossing obsolete, followed by them arriving on the coast to begin their incursion as part of the Scramble]]. Though most of the territories were still under nominal rule by the native sultans and kings, the French won the area in the late 19th century and incorporated it as the French Sudan colony. In the mid-1950's, it was renamed the Sudanese Republic and united with the Senegal Colony to the west. The union gained independence from France together in 1960 as the Mali Federation, but Senegal opted out a few months afterward, leaving Mali on its own.

[[DirtyCommies Socialist influence]] dominated the country in the first several decades after independence, with first president Modibo Keïta committing all kinds of suppressive acts typical of a dictatorship. A coup led by Moussa Traoré deposed him in 1968 (celebrated as [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters the Liberation Day]]), but he proved to be [[MeetTheNewBoss no better]], as the country endured quite possibly its hardest period, with droughts and famine supplementing the dictatorship. It ended with the 1991 Revolution.

Democracy was implemented beginning with the presidential election of 1992, and it went on for the better part of the decade and TheNoughties. At the same time, however, the increased human rights allowed the Tuaregs to move back to their (traditional) homeland in the Sahara, sparking yet another unpleasant period as the Tuaregs declared an independent state, Azawad, in the Saharan part of the country with the support of Islamist rebels, including al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which somehow happened when the country experienced its first coup in exactly 20 years. ''[[FromBadToWorse And then]]'' the Islamists decided to turn their backs on the Tuaregs so they could achieve their true goal -- implementing ''sharia'' in the country. Things went so badly that those who instigated the coup relented for a transitional government, which demanded help from the country's colonial master[[note]]France[[/note]] to combat the radicals. Most of the north had been retaken in early 2013, democracy was restored later in the year, and a peace deal was signed with the Tuaregs in 2015, though there's still a long way to go before full stability can be achieved. On August 18th, 2020, following a period of protests and unrest, a group of soldiers mutinied and arrested the President, Prime Minister and several other cabinet members. As a result, on August 19th the President dissolved government and called new elections.

** President of the National Assembly: Djibril Ndaw

* ''Series/SEALTeam'': In Season 2, Episode 19, Bravo Team deploys to Mali to recover the body of an American soldier who was killed in an ambush before a local jihadist group can use it for propaganda videos.

[[DirtyCommies Socialist influence]] dominated the country in the first several decades after independence, with first president Modibo Keïta committing all kinds of suppressive acts typical of a dictatorship. A coup led by Moussa Traoré deposed him in 1968 (celebrated as [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters the Liberation Day]]), but he proved to be [[MeetTheNewBoss no better]], as the country endured quite possibly its hardest period, with droughts and famine supplementing the dictatorship. It ended with [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp the 1991 Revolution]].

* '''Highest point:''' Hombori Tondo (1155 m/3,789 ft) (162nd)

* '''Highest point:''' Hombori Tondo (1155 m/3,789 ft) (147th)

* '''Highest point:''' Hombori Tondo (1155 m/3,789 ft) (166th)

* '''Highest point:''' Hombori Tondo (1155 m/3,789 ft (166th)