The Fula (or Fulani) jihads () sometimes called the Fulani revolution were a series of jihads that occurred across West Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries, led largely by the Muslim Fula people. The jihads and the jihad states came to an end with European colonization. The first uprising inspired by Islam and which was against Hausa rulers took place in 1725, when Fula pastoralists, assisted by Muslim traders, rose against the indigenous chiefdoms of Hausa Maguzawa rulers. By 1750, the Fula had established the Imamate of Sokoto and placed the region under sharia law. Their success inspired the Fula and Toucouleurs on the banks of the lower Senegal to establish their own Imamate, Futa Toro, through a series of wars between 1769 and 1776. In the early 19th century, the jihad movement spread eastward to the Hausa states. The result of a series of jihads begun in 1804 by the revolutionary Usman dan Fodio was the Sokoto Caliphate, the largest state in West Africa up to that time. An aggressively expansionist polity, it severely weakened the old Bornu Kingdom. Foremost among the motivators for the jihads was unity through the spread of religion, and the procurement of slaves by conquering neighbouring peoples. Jihad as Islamic reform The reforms aimed to create Islamic states across Western Africa. The reforms also aimed to counter socio-political problems, including under population and shortages of goods such as food and water, which together intensified existing economic problems. Furthermore, they also wanted to stop the European invasion of Africa and the Islamic world, as at this time many European nations were colonizing parts of Africa and Islamic empires such as the Ottomans were weakening. These aims were met with mixed results across the several jihad movements and resulting caliphates that emerged during the 19th century, as some were able to achieve these goals better than others. Reform in practice On developing a stable economy to finance development and bring prosperity to the population, some caliphates were largely successful. The Sokoto Caliphate under the control of Muhammad Bello and Wazir Gidado established a strong economy based on agriculture and artisan goods. This economic growth allowed them to fund political, educational and military development within the Caliphate which lead to it invading and conquering surrounding areas, increasing the number of people under its administration and so achieving the secondary aim of spreading the word of Islam.