In West Africa trading posts were opened at some points of the current Senegal, Gambia, Ghana and Angola. Under French rule, the poor farmers of Northern Senegal were forced by oppressive economic policies to resort to the monoculture of peanuts and rice. In his Description of Africa (1668), the humanist Dutch Olfert Dapper gives the etymology of the name given to it by his countrymen,Goe-ree Goede Reede, that is to say "good harbor".,[55] which is the name of (part of) an island in the Dutch province of Zeeland as well. According to several ancient sources, including occasions by the Dictionnaire de pédagogie et d'instruction primaire by Ferdinand Buisson in 1887, the first French settlement in Senegal dates back to the Dieppe Mariners in the 14th century. Discover in a free daily email today's famoushistory and birthdays The name comes from the Serer language. Although defeated at Logandème in Fatick, and one of his principalities (Fatick) burned to the ground under the orders of Faidherb, Kumba Ndoffene spent the next few years of his life destroying French infrastructure and their economic base in Senegal, as well as defending his country from another threat - Islamic jihad by the Muslim marabouts of Senegambia. [45] Ghazis, wars, epidemics and famine afflicted the people, along with the Atlantic slave trade, in exchange for weapons and manufactured goods. The states of the Wolof and Sereer, neighbouring the two colonial outposts, were particularly involved with the slave trade, having strong military organizations geared to supplying slaves to the Europeans.

[43] In the epics of Ndiadiane and Maissa Wali, it is well acknowledged that Maissa Wali was pivotal in the founding of this Empire. An important element in the politics of Senegal is the fact that its territory surrounds the Gambia. Was: Previous Price $149.99. They built a chapel there in 1481. Following the 1945 elections to the Constituent Assembly in France, which were held with a very limited franchise, the French authorities gradually extended the franchise until—in November 1955—the principle of universal suffrage was passed into law and implemented the following year. The excellent location of St. Louis caught the attention of the English, who occupied it three times for a few months in 1693, then during the Seven Years' War of 1758 until it was taken by the Duc de Lauzun in 1779, and lastly 1809 in 1816. The cores of these great empires were located on the territory of the current Republic of Mali, so current-day Senegal occupied a peripheral position.[25]. Due to internal political difficulties, the Federation broke up on 20 August 1960. The French conquest of Senegal started in 1659 with the establishment of Saint-Louis, Senegal, followed by the French capture of the island of Gorée from the Dutch in 1677, but would only become a full-scale campaign in the 19th century. Other approaches exist such as that of Guy Thilmans and his team in 1980,[11] who felt that any archeology from pre-colonial could be attached to that designation or that of Hamady Bocoum, who speaks of "Historical Archaeology" from the 4th century, at least for the former Tekrur.[12]. [15], From 1880, France endeavoured to build a railway system, centered around the Saint-Louis–Dakar line that involved taking military control of the surrounding areas, leading to the military occupation of mainland Senegal. [3] These travels, however, were soon forgotten with the advent of the Hundred Years War in France. [citation needed], Before the arrival of European settlers, the history of the Saharan region is mainly characterized by the consolidation of settlements in large state entities – the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire and the Songhai Empire. Less dependent on trans-Saharan trade with the new shipping lanes, they turn more readily to trade with the New World.