The history of Senegal is commonly divided into a number of periods, encompassing the prehistoric era, the precolonial period, colonialism, and the contemporary era.
Dakar is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 million in 2023.
The Senegambia is, in the narrow sense, a historical name for a geographical region in West Africa, named after the Senegal River in the north and the Gambia River in the south. However, there are also text sources which state that Senegambia is understood in a broader sense and equated with the term the Western region. This refers to the coastal areas between Senegal and Sierra Leone, where the inland border in the east was not further defined.
Saint-Louis or Saint Louis, is the capital of Senegal's Saint-Louis Region. Located in the northwest of Senegal, near the mouth of the Senegal River, and 320 kilometres (200 mi) north of Senegal's capital city Dakar. It had a population of 254,171 in 2023. Saint-Louis was the capital of the French colony of Senegal from 1673 until 1902 and French West Africa from 1895 until 1902, when the capital was moved to Dakar. From 1920 to 1957, it also served as the capital of the neighboring colony of Mauritania.
Louis Léon César Faidherbe was a French general and colonial administrator. He created the Senegalese Tirailleurs when he was governor of Senegal.
Tambacounda is the largest city in eastern Senegal, 400 kilometres (250 mi) southeast of Dakar, and is the regional capital of the province of the same name. Its population in 2023 was 149,071.
Bakel is a town and urban commune, with a population of 18,939, located in the eastern part of Senegal, West Africa. The town is located on the left bank of the Sénégal River, 65 kilometers (40 mi) from the Malian border and linked by canoe ferry to the village of Gouraye in Mauritania.
Kayes Region is one of ten first level national subdivisions in Mali called Regions. It is the first administrative area of Mali and covers an area of 120,760 square kilometres or 46,630 square miles. Its capital is the town of Kayes. The province was historically part of the Ghana Empire and the Mali Empire.
Bafoulabé is a town and rural commune in south-western Mali. It is located in the Region of Kayes at the confluence of the Bafing and Bakoy rivers which join to become the Sénégal River. Bafoulabé is the capital of the Cercle of Bafoulabé, which in 1887 was the first Cercle to be created in Mali.
Rufisque is a city in the Dakar region of western Senegal, at the base of the Cap-Vert Peninsula 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of Dakar, the capital. It has a population of 295,459. In the past it was an important port city in its own right, but is now a suburb of Dakar.
The 14 regions of Senegal are subdivided into 46 departments and 103 arrondissements and by collectivités locales which elect administrative officers.
Dagana is one of the 45 departments of Senegal and one of the three departments of the north-western region of Saint-Louis. The capital is Dagana.
Sédhiou is a town of Senegal, in Casamance area, nearby the Casamance river, with a population of 31,511 in 2023. It is the capital of the Sédhiou Region.
Médine is a village and principal settlement (chef-lieu) of the commune of Hawa Dembaya in the Cercle of Kayes in the Kayes Region of south-western Mali. The village is located 12 km east of Kayes on the left bank of the Sénégal River just downstream of the Félou Falls. The site of the village was historically important as the falls were the furthest point up the Sénégal River from Saint Louis that could be reached by boat. Navigation was only possible after the rainy season when the river was in flood.
The Communes of Senegal are the fourth-level administrative divisions in Senegal. There are some 121 communes in Senegal which have urban status, apart from 46 communes d'arrondissement in the large towns and 370 rural communities in the countryside.
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.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Dakar, Senegal.
The Grand Tour is a British motoring television series, created by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May, and Andy Wilman, for Amazon Prime Video, and premiered on 18 November 2016. The programme was devised in the wake of the departure of Clarkson, Hammond, May, and Wilman from the BBC television series Top Gear with an initial order of 36 episodes that were released over three years.
Ross Béthio is a town of commune status in the Dagana Department in Saint-Louis Region of Senegal. The population in 2023 was 16,225.
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