Senegal is located at the westernmost point of the African land protrusion, bordering the Atlantic Ocean in the west, with an area of about 196,700 square kilometers, ranking 12th among the provincial administrative regions of the mainland.
Senegal has a population of about 17.74 million (2021), of which 43% are Wolof, 24% are Pall and 15% are Sherels. The official language of Senegal is French, Wolof is spoken by 80% of the population, and the population is predominantly Muslim.
In the opening match of the 2002 World Cup, Senegal won the defending champion France, and has a close relationship with France, and the team is known as the second team of France, which is considered a country with a strong presence in West Africa.
From the map, the Gambia is like a dagger, inserted into the belly of Senegal, how did this geographical pattern come about?
During the colonial era, it was the Portuguese who first came to the Gambia River valley and established a foothold here. Later, Britain and France came to this area one after another, and the two sides fought for the Gambia River valley, and the British had the upper hand. France retreated and began to occupy the surrounding areas and form French West African colonies with Algeria and other places. As for Portugal, they were the first to set foot in many parts of the world, but they all made wedding dresses for other powers.
The place occupied by the British is the most fertile land in the region on both sides of the middle and lower reaches of the Gambia River. The Gambia River flows from east to west into the Atlantic Ocean and is about 1,130 kilometers long, very wide in the middle and lower reaches, and more than 10 kilometers wide in some parts of the lower reaches.
After the Gambia became independent from Britain, it was about 320 kilometers long from east to west, between 20 and 60 kilometers wide from north to south, and had a coastline of 48 kilometers.
The Gambia is located in West Africa, in the middle and lower reaches of the Gambia River, a long and narrow plain embedded in Senegal, with an area of about 11,300 square kilometers, ranking 32nd among the provincial administrative regions of the mainland.
The Gambia has a population of about 2.7 million (2022), of which 42% are Mandingo, 16% are Fula (Pall), 16% are Wolof, 10% are Jula, and 9% are Serahuri. The official language of the Gambia is English, and the ethnic languages are Mandingo, Wolof, Fula (also known as Pall) and Serrahuri, and the inhabitants are mainly Muslim.
The Gambia covers an area of about 11,300 square kilometers, about 5.74% of Senegal's size, but it is like a dagger inserted into Senegal's abdomen, making Senegal's north and south unable to care for each other, which is really a pain in the heart.
The long and narrow Gambia is "parasitic" in the belly of Senegal, and the territory of Senegal is almost cut in half by the Gambia. The overland route from the capital, Dakar, to the southern city of Zigkinsauer, must pass through the territory of The Gambia. If you don't want to go abroad, you have to take a detour of more than 600 kilometers, drive more than 300 kilometers to the east, and then turn more than 300 kilometers to the west.
Senegal has an area of about 196,700 square kilometers and a population of about 17.74 million (2021), and the Gambia has an area of about 11,300 square kilometers and a population of about 2.7 million (2022).
Senegal became independent in 1960, when The Gambia was a British colony. After the Gambia's independence in 1965, France and Britain still controlled Senegal and the Gambia to a greater or lesser extent. If the two countries were to merge into one country, it would not be in line with the purpose of "divide and rule" between Britain and France.
From Senegal's point of view, there is a country lying on its borders, and the Gambia is a headache and a lot of inconvenience to economic development, and it must be annexed in every possible way, and it has achieved its goals.
In 1981, there was a mutiny in the Gambia, which was resisted with the help of Senegal. So in 1982, the Gambia was forced to form a federation with Senegal, with Senegalese President Diouf as the federal president and Gambian President Jawara as the federal vice president. However, the rift between the two countries is also very obvious because of the conflict between rights and interests, and the Gambian authorities are unwilling to give up their vested interests, and in 1989 the Gambia announced its withdrawal from the federation.
In 1994, there was another mutiny in the Gambia, and this time Senegal did not come to the rescue, and President Jawara was ousted. Counting the British colonial period, Jawara ruled for 29 years.
Jawara's life is legendary, having served as Prime Minister of the Gambia Autonomous Region in the United Kingdom long before independence in 1963. After the independence of The Gambia in 1965, Jawara served as Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Public Security, Minister of Information and other important positions. In 1970, he became prime minister and president, a position he held until 1994. During his tenure, Jawara established diplomatic relations with Taiwan Province of China in 1968, severed diplomatic relations in 1974, and established diplomatic relations with New China instead. In 1985, because the Soviet aid agreement was not negotiated, Jawara threatened to "capture the entire territory of the Soviet Union in three days", and the words of the grasshopper shook the tree shocked the world.
The man who initiated the mutiny in 1994 was named Jammeh, captain of the presidential guard, and lieutenant in the army. Jammeh was only 29 years old and served as president until 2016 after the mutiny. As Western countries condemned the mutiny and halted economic aid, Jammeh scolded the British as the suzerain, threatening to sweep across the continent. Jammeh hated the United States more than Britain because former President Jawara escaped on a U.S. warship. In 2000, when protests erupted in The Gambia, the army opened up with machine gun fire and the opposition crowd took refuge in the U.S. Embassy.
The United States has only imposed economic sanctions on the Gambia, but it has never decided to send troops. There is no oil in Gambia, and the geographical location is not on the main transportation route, so sending troops to Gambia only has input but no output, which is unprofitable.
As soon as Jammeh took office, he faced a supply cut from the West, which was a big blow to poor countries. So in the following year, Jammeh announced the resumption of diplomatic relations with Taiwan Province of China and severed diplomatic relations with China, making a lot of money.
In order to show his loyalty, Jammeye arrogantly told Taiwan Province of China that he would send 1,000 elite troops if necessary to contain the entire Chinese army. At that time, the population of the Gambia was less than 2 million, and the total number of police and troops was less than 2,000, and Jammeh promised more troops than half the country's military strength.
After Jammeh took office, the Casamance region in southern Senegal, because of the Gambia, there was a separatist force and an armed conflict with Senegalese officials. The Gambia picked up a good card and seized the opportunity to mediate between Senegal and the Casamance region. In this way, the Gambia is backed by the 21,000-square-kilometer Casamance and backhand to contain Senegal.
In 2013, the Gambia withdrew from the British Commonwealth, and the whole world did not understand, and the Gambia did not even want a way back. A month later, the Gambia announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Taiwan Province of China for the second time and the establishment of diplomatic relations with China for the second time.
In the 2016 general election, Jammeh, who had been in power for 22 years, lost and went into exile in Equatorial Guinea, and Adama Barrow was elected president. In 2018, Gambia joined the Commonwealth again, and it is still inseparable.
Senegal's per capita GDP is $1,598 (2022), ranking 162nd in the world; The Gambia's GDP per capita is US$808 (2022), ranking 182nd in the world. Senegal's per capita GDP is twice that of the Gambia, and it is at the top of the chain of contempt.
Dakar, the capital of Senegal, is located on the Cape Verde Peninsula at the westernmost tip of the African continent, and has certain geographical advantages, and is a regional port between West Africa and Europe. With a population of about 2.732 million (2019), Dakar is the most populous city in Senegal and was once the capital of French West Africa. During World War II, both Vichy France and Free France sent troops to fight for Dakar, which shows its strategic position. Dakar, home to about 20,000 French expatriates and a French air base, is the financial center of West Africa and hosts the Dakar Rally.
Banjul, the capital of The Gambia, is located at the mouth of the Gambian River and has a population of about 34,600 (2020).
Senegal has a certain reputation in the international community, but it is still militarily constrained by France to a certain extent, and as long as France does not nod its head, it will not annex its neighbors.
A variety of intricate reasons are intertwined, and Senegal and the Gambia, the territories of these two countries are entangled to form a spectacle on the map.