How did France establish control over the lands that became Burkina Faso?

France established control over the lands that became Burkina Faso through a combination of military conquest and the imposition of protectorates during the late 19th century.

Following initial visits by French officers such as Louis-Gustave Binger in 1888, France systematically expanded its authority:

• Protectorates: France secured a protectorate over the Yatenga empire in 1895 and the Gurma lands in 1897.12
• Military Conquest: In 1896, French officers Paul Voulet and Charles Paul Louis Chanoine defeated the morho naba (paramount ruler) of the Mossi, Boukari-Koutou, and subsequently overran the Gurunsi lands.12
• Annexation: In 1897, the French annexed the lands of the Bobo and Lobi peoples, though the Lobi resisted until 1903.12
• Border Definition: An Anglo-French convention in 1898 formally fixed the frontier between these new French acquisitions and the northern territories of the British-controlled Gold Coast.12

Once control was established, the French organized the region into administrative cercles while maintaining traditional chiefs in their seats of power. The territory was later incorporated into the broader administrative structure of French West Africa.123