In 1972, Thomas Sankara was swept into a revolution for a country not his own.
Hailing from the West African nation of Burkina Faso— then known as Upper Volta—
the 22-year-old soldier had travelled to Madagascar to study at their military academy.
But upon arriving, he found a nation in conflict. Local revolutionaries sought to wrest control of Madagascar
from France’s lingering colonial rule. These protestors inspired Sankara
to read works by socialist leaders like Karl Marx and seek wisdom from military strategy.
When he returned to Upper Volta in 1973, Sankara was determined to free his country from its colonial legacy.
Born in 1949, Sankara was raised in a relatively privileged household
as the third of ten children. His parents wanted him to be a priest, but like many of his peers,
Sankara saw the military as the perfect institution to rid Upper Volta of corruption.
