If it weren't for Dakar, many people wouldn't have noticed a country like Senegal.
Dakar is the capital of Senegal. The toughest rally in the world is named after Dakar. Of course, the Dakar Rally originally ran from Paris, France to Dakar, and the route has been adjusted since then, and now it is moving to distant South America.
Senegal, located in West Africa, is a typical African country with many African characteristics.
For example, the practice of "polygamy", which has something to do with the majority of the population practicing Islam;
For example, underdeveloped, Senegal is a traditional agricultural country, one of the least developed countries in the world, which is also a common feature of most African countries;
Another example is the semi-presidential republic in national politics, which is related to the influence of Western society.
It should not be overlooked that Senegal is rich in mineral resources, especially phosphate and iron ore reserves are very high, but these resources have not been translated into real productivity. In other words, Senegal has not achieved industrialization in the modern sense, and even the resource-based industry is still in the stage of handicraft workshops.
There are many advantages that cannot be ignored. Senegal is rich in water resources, with the sea to the west and the port of Dakar on the seashore, which is also one of the important ports in West Africa. Further up is the plain, on which there is the Senegal River, which has a navigable distance of 220 km throughout the year.
These are all favorable conditions for the development of plantations and trade. However, due to the after-effects of colonial rule, Senegal's development remained difficult, otherwise it would not have survived on foreign debt.
Senegal's biggest difference from the rest of Africa is its borders.
If you look at the map of Senegal, you will find that Senegal is like a cake, but there is a crooked sandwich inside. This sandwich is the Gambia. To put it mildly, the Gambia is like an earthworm that burrows directly into Senegal's body.
With such a close geographical location, it is reasonable to say that a country will be formed. But the reality is not. In fact, focusing on the two rivers of senegal and gambia, the negroes along the coast formed many tribes by blood ties, but they did not form a whole.
This dates back to the seventh century AD.
At that time, after the rise of the Arab Empire, it expanded all the way to the west, and various trade routes, including Africa, were opened. Against this backdrop, Mali, where trade routes are most concentrated, took the lead in developing. This Mali is the predecessor of the Mali Empire, which is next door to Senegal.
Mali continued to develop its trade routes and began to expand outward, incorporating the areas along the Senegal and Gambia rivers into its sphere of influence. In the process, Senegal was heavily influenced by Islam.
After the decline of Mali, the last black empire in West Africa, the Songhai Empire, emerged. However, in the later period of the Songhai Empire, just in time for the great geographical discovery of Europe, Senegal and Gambia on the coast were targeted by colonists.
The Portuguese landed at the mouth of the Gambia River and went deep inland along the river to establish a base of commerce and trade.
After the decline of Portugal, the British and French came and engaged in the slave trade. The banks of the Senegal and Gambia rivers were once the largest slave trade centers in Africa.
While advancing the slave trade, the French landed at the mouth of the Senegal River in the north, and the British bought trade rights along the Gambia River from the Portuguese.
The Gambia is so close at hand that the French have always wanted to include it. As a result, Britain and France began a series of tug-of-war, but in the end there was no breakthrough. The rudiments of the territory of the two countries were thus laid.
During the period of African colonial rule, Britain and France were the two most important colonial powers. By and large, Britain exercised indirect rule in Africa and France direct ruled in Africa. The situation is similar in senegal and the Gambia.
The French ruled Senegal and pursued a policy of religious and linguistic assimilation as the center of the french colonial empire in West Africa. In the process, Senegal has developed, especially in infrastructure.
The United Kingdom, on the other hand, took advantage of its maritime superiority to use the Gambia as an important raw material source and simply and crudely planted peanuts as a crop. A single development model laid the groundwork for the future poverty of the Gambia.
The difference between Senegal and the Gambia is no longer a primitive tribal difference, but an artificial division in the colonial era. The two countries came together and later tried to come together to form a federation, but eventually parted ways because of the differences.
I have you, but you do not belong to me, and the territory of the two countries has become a strange phenomenon in West Africa.