Contact With Europe
After an initially hostile start, peaceful trade relations were established between the Jolof Empire and the kingdom of Portugal. At this time Jolof was at the height of its power and the Bur had extended his authority over the Malinke states on the northern bank of the Gambia including Nyumi, Badibu, Nyani and Wuli. In the 1480s, Prince Bemoi was ruling the empire in the name of his brother Bur Birao. Tempted by Portuguese trade, he moved the seat of government to the coast to take advantage of the new economic opportunities. Other princes, opposed to this policy, deposed and murdered the bur in 1489. Prince Bemoi escaped and sought refuge with the Portuguese who took him to Lisbon. There he exchanged gifts with King John II and was baptised. Faced with the opportunity to put a Christian ally on the throne, John II sent an expeditionary force under a Portuguese commander and the prince back to Jolof. The objective was to put Bemoi on the throne and a fort at the mouth of the Senegal River. Neither goal was achieved. A dispute between the commander and the prince resulted in the former accusing Bemoi of treachery and killing him.
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