Ndaté Yalla Mbodj
On October 1, 1846, Princess Ndaté Yalla Mbodj became the queen of the Waalo (Wolof) Kingdom, now Senegal and parts of Mauritania after the death of her older sister Queen Ndjeumbeut Mbodj who had ruled after the death of their father King Amar Fatim Borso Mbodj since she was a teenager.
Determined to protect her people from the Moors, French and Arabs who wanted to take their lands and totally colonize the kingdom, Queen Ndaté led her military into war.
She led several successful battles against both the Moors and the French with her army made up of both males and females. Before going to war, the queen gave a famous speech to her army saying:
“Today, we are invaded by the conquerors. Our army is in disarray. The tiedos of the Waalo, as brave warriors as they are, have almost all fallen under the enemy’s bullets. The invader is stronger than us, I know, but should we abandon the Waalo to foreign hands?” “This country is mine alone!”
The Queen’s brave army was no match to the French and she lost the first battle. She led her army to sneak up on the French and defeat them, thereby starting the Senegal War of Resistance which continued way into the 20th century.
Queen Ndaté was able to fight off the Moors and Arabs and her battles led to the creation of Senegambia. She was captured by the French and exiled into the north of Senegal in Ndimb where she remained until she died in 1860.
