Battle of Fancá

On 6 September 1886, Lieutenant Francisco António Marques Geraldes, commanding the Portuguese garrison at Geba, led a force of 80 Portuguese soldiers, supported by 4,300 Fula and Mandinka allies, 170 Biafadas, 120 grumetes, and two pieces of artillery. The coalition launched an assault on the fortified tabanca of Fancá.^[1][2]

The battle lasted three hours, during which Musa Molo's forces resisted fiercely but were ultimately overwhelmed. The Portuguese and allied forces forced Musa Molo and his warriors to abandon their positions. Retreating north to Casamance, Musa Molo left behind the dead and wounded.^[2]

After their victory, the Portuguese began incorporating parts of Fuladu into the newly proclaimed province of "Guiné Portuguesa."^[2] The operations would finish on September 15,^[1] but Marques Geraldes would lead another campaign against Musa Molo in 1889–1891.^[6]

• Mendy, Peter (2013). Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810880276.
• Estampa, Editorial (1998). O império africano: 1825-1890. Editorial Estampa. ISBN 9780810880276.
• Bowman, Joye (1997). Ominous Transition: Commerce and Colonial Expansion in the Senegambia and Guinea, 1857-1919. Avebury. ISBN 9781859721544.
• Gomes, Américo (2012). "História da Guiné-Bissau em datas" (PDF).
• Barreto, João (1938). História da Guiné, 1418-1918. Biblioteca Pública de Nova Iorque.