Senegal
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Senegal, in her long composition forms the Republic of Senegal, it is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, Mauritania in the north, Mali in the east, Guinea and the Guinea-Bissau to the south. Gambia forms a quasi-enclave in Senegal, penetrating with more than 300 km into the land. The islands of Cape Verde are located at 560 km to the Senegalese coast. The country owes its name to the river which borders it in the east and in the north and which takes its source from the Fouta-Djallon in Guinea. The climate is tropical and dry with two seasons: the dry season and the rainy season.
The current territory of Senegal saw the developments of several kingdoms such as Djolof, vassal of the successive empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhaï. After 1591, it underwent a political West African sharing following the Tondibi conflit. In the course of the 17th century, several counters belonging to various European colonial empires were established along the coast, they served the purpose of boosting the triangular trade. France progressed in their leadership role over other powers by establishing Saint-Louis, Gorée, Dakar and Rufisque as French munipalities managed by the regulations governing the four municipalities. With the Industrial revolution, France wished to build a rail way in order to connect them and came into conflict with Damel de Cayor, Lat Dior. This conflict made it possible for France to officially make Cayor a protectorate in 1886, one year after the end of the conference of Berlin. The colonization of the whole of West Africa then started and Saint Louis, then Dakar will become the two successive capitals of the West- African Francophone created in 1895. Dakar becomes then the capital of the Senegalese Republic at the time of independence in 1960. Contrary to the former old colonies of the WAF, an independent new Senegal is thus the result of the regrouping of a populated territory of former French citizens (Four municipals) and of a populated territory of former “Natives” (the rest of the country).
The country is part of ECOWAS. Since April 2nd 2012, the president of the country is Macky Sall. Senegal is a member of some of the world’s leading institutions; Senegal is also a member of the African Union (UA), of the Community of the Sahélo-Saharan States (CSS) and the International organization of the Francophonie.
