Baaquaqua's own family, as revealed in his correspondence and biography, ${ }^{5}$ fits into the migration and commerce model of the cities of the West African hinterland. His mother was born into a prominent local family in Katsina, one  
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[^0]:    5 Letters by Rev. W. L. Judd, dated 28 October 1847, and Mrs. N. A. L. Judd, dated 8 October 1847, published in the Christian Contributor and Free Missionary of 22 December 1847 and 19 January 1848, respectively (Law and Lovejoy, 2007, pp. 215-216).  
of the main cities of the Sokoto caliphate, and both she and his maternal uncle, a leading blacksmith, had connections with the king of Djougou. His father, who was from the Borgu region, most certainly one of its most prosperous cities, such as Nikki, belonged to the merchant community and spoke the Songhay language of Dendi; in addition to which, the traders spoke Hausa as the lingua franca for business in the region and the Sokoto caliphate. His father's family had strong Islamic roots and his maternal uncle was the owner of a large space in Djougou where the Muslim faithful held their prayers.  
Baquaqua's first name is indicative of the social context into which he was born. Mahommah is a variation of Muhammad, which, according to the Islamic custom, is the name given to the firstborn male child. As he had an elder brother, he was most likely named after his paternal grandfather, although, out of respect for the latter, that name would not have been used on a daily basis within the family.  
His second name, Gardo, was commonly used in both Dendi and Hausa for a child born after a pair of twins, which Baquaqua confirmed to have been his case in his biography (Baquaqua and Moore, 1854, p. 26; Law and Lovejoy, 2007, p. 125). Although he did not explain the meaning of the name, it is pronounced 'Gardo' in Katsina and Daura but 'Gado' in Sokoto and Kano ${ }^{6}$ and, as a child born after twins, he would have inherited their bed (gado). ${ }^{7}$ The fact that he spelled his name 'Gardo' confirms his mother's assertion that she was from Katsina. ${ }^{8}$