CHAPTER TWO: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CURRENT CHALLENGES _____________________________________________________________________ suppressed and reconstituted, which delayed the establishment of its territorial framework. After the Berlin Conference, explorers such as Krauss in 1866, Binger in 1888, Crozat in 1890, Monteil in 1891 and Fergusson in 1894 visited the area of present-day Burkina Faso. In 1895, the French signed a treaty with the Yatenga and, in Ouagadougou, the Moog Naaba Wobgo opposed resistance to colonial penetration. Officers Voulet and Chanoine took over the capital of Moogo in the Central Kingdom after a fierce and bloody battle in 1896. 61. The area of Bobo-Dioulasso was conquered in 1898. The Treaty of Paris signed in the same year established the border between Ghana and present-day Upper Volta and put an end to Franco-British rivalry with regard to this area. From 1904, the countries of Upper Volta were integrated in Upper SenegalNiger, a huge Sudano Sahelian area encompassing French Sudan (now Mali) and Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso). French settlement continued despite numerous acts of insubordination and sporadic revolts, the most important of which took place in 1908, 1915 and 1916. 62. On 1 March 1919, the colony of Upper Volta was created, with Ouagadougou as an administrative centre. This regrouped the areas of Bobo-Dioulasso, Gaoua, Dédougou, Fada N’Gourma, Say (annexed to Niger in 1927) and Ouagadougou. The French policy of consolidating the administrative backbone, and especially colonial development, had serious consequences for the population. It led to an intensive migration to the Gold Coast (now Ghana) and to the impoverishment of the people. On 5 September 1932, a decree abolished the colony of Upper Volta and split it into Côte d’Ivoire, French Sudan and Niger. 63. The period from 1932 to 1947 was characterised by the dismantling of social and administrative structures and by the continuation and reinforcement of a system of forced labour. The colonial system thus transformed the Voltaic population into ‘second-class’ subjects, the specific aim being to provide abundant labour for major work sites. The dismantling of Upper Volta into three tracts of land annexed to neighbouring settlements conformed to the logic of French colonial development in the region. The exploitation of forests in southern Côte d’Ivoire required an abundant supply of labour, particularly in respect of tropical crops destined for export. The southern part of Upper Volta was thus annexed to Côte d’Ivoire. The northeast part, in turn, was annexed to Mali in order to meet labour needs with regard to the development of export and industrial crops. Meanwhile, the eastern part of the country was annexed to Niger, which also needed labour for working groundnut farms in particular. 64. The sense of enslavement created a spirit of solidarity among the torn and homeless Voltaic population. The willingness of traditional leaders and of the elite to struggle for the constitution of Upper Volta led to the formation of the Union for the Defence of the Interests of Upper Volta. Finally, in 1947, they succeeded when a law was enacted reinstating the borders of Upper Volta. 50