HISTORY
Until
the end of the 19th century, the history of Burkina Faso was dominated
by the empire-building Mossi. The French arrived and claimed the
area in 1896, but Mossi resistance ended only with the capture
of their capital Ouagadougou in 1901. The colony of Upper Volta
was established in 1919, but it was dismembered and reconstituted
several times until the present borders were recognized in 1947.
The French
administered the area indirectly through Mossi authorities until
independence was achieved on August 5, 1960. The first President,
Maurice Yameogo, amended the constitution soon after taking office
to ban opposition political parties. His government lasted until
1966, when the first of several military coups placed Lt. Col.
Sangoule Lamizana at the head of a government of senior army officers.
Lamizana remained in power throughout the 1970s, as President
of military and then elected governments.
With the
support of unions and civil groups, Col. Saye Zerbo overthrew
President Lamizana in 1980. Colonel Zerbo also encountered resistance
from trade unions and was overthrown 2 years later by Maj. Dr.
Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo and the Council of Popular Salvation (CSP).
Factional infighting developed between moderates in the CSP and
radicals led by Capt. Thomas Sankara, who was appointed Prime
Minister in January 1983, but was subsequently arrested. Efforts
to bring about his release, directed by Capt. Blaise Compaore,
resulted in yet another military coup d'etat, led by Sankara and
Compaore on August 4, 1983.
Sankara
established the National Revolutionary Committee with himself
as President and vowed to "mobilize the masses." But
the committee's membership remained secret and was dominated by
Marxist-Leninist military officers. In 1984, Upper Volta changed
its name to Burkina Faso, meaning "the country of honorable
people." But many of the strict security and austerity measures
taken by Sankara provoked resistance. Despite his initial popularity
and personal charisma, Sankara was assassinated in a coup which
brought Capt. Blaise Compaore to power in October 1987.
Compaore
pledged to pursue the goals of the revolution but to "rectify"
Sankara's "deviations" from the original aims. In fact,
Compaore reversed most of Sankara's policies and combined the
leftist party he headed with more centrist parties after the 1989
arrest and execution of two colonels who had supported Compaore
and governed with him up to that point.
