Senegambia: Difference between revisions
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== History == |
== History == |
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{{main|History of Senegal|History of The Gambia|History of Mali|History of Guinea|Serer ancient history|Serer history|Senegambian stone circles}} |
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{{see also| Sudan (region)}} |
{{see also| Sudan (region)}} |
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According to Professor Abdoulaye Camara of [[Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire|IFAN]] and the [[Senghor University|Senghor University in Alexandria]], [[Egypt]], early humans appeared in Senegal around 350000 years ago.<ref>Camara,Abdoulaye , ''Towards a New Policy to Protect Sites and Monuments'', [in] Claude Daniel Ardouin (dir.), Museums & Archaeology in West Africa, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. ; James Currey Publishers, London, (1996), p. 178</ref> Benga and Thiam posits that, it is in the [[Falémé River|Falémé]] valley in the southeast of the country where we find the oldest traces of human life.<ref>Benga, Ndiouga; and Thiam, Mandiomé, « ''Préhistoire, protohistoire et histoire'', [in] Atlas du Sénégal, p. 74</ref> |
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In Senegambian [[Neolithic]] history, the period when humans became hunters, fishermen and producers (farmer and artisan) are all well represented and studied. This is when more elaborate objects and [[ceramic]]s emerged, testifying to various human activities.<ref>{{fr icon}} Mandiomé Thiam, ''La céramique au Sénégal : Archéologie et Histoire'', Université de Paris I, 1991, 464 pages (thèse de doctorat)</ref><ref name="Massamba">Lame, Massamba; Crévola, Gilbert, ''Les haches polies de la carrière Diakité (Thiès, Sénégal) et le problème des courants d'échanges au Néolithique'', Notes africaines, no. 173, 1982, p. 2-10.</ref> The Diakité excavation in [[Thiès]] shows evidence of human mobility over a distance of about 600 km, during the Senegambian Neolithic age.<ref name="Massamba"/> |
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During the medieval period of Europe which corresponds roughly to the Golden Age of West Africa, several great empires and kingdoms sprang out from the Senegambia region, including but not limited to the great [[Ghana Empire]], the [[Mali Empire]], the [[Songhai Empire]], the [[Jolof Empire]], the [[Kaabu|Kaabu Empire]], the Kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Sine|Sine]], [[Kingdom of Saloum|Saloum]], [[Kingdom of Baol|Baol]], [[Waalo]] and [[Takrur]]. During this period, several great dynasties rose and fell, and some, such as the [[Guelowar|Guelowar Dynasty]] of Sine and Saloum, survived for more than 600 years despite European colonialism, which fell as recently as 1969, nine years after Senegal gained its independence from France. It was also in this region that the ancient [[Lamane|lamanic class]] sprang out of. The ancient lamanes were the land owning class and kings. According to Barry, the "lamanic system is the oldest form of land ownership in precolonial Senegambia."<ref>Barry, Boubacar, ''The Kingdom of Waalo: Senegal Before the Conquest'', Diasporic Africa Press (2012), p. 26, {{ISBN|9780966020113}} [in] The Seereer Resource Centre, ''Seereer Lamans and the Lamanic Era'', (2015) [https://www.seereer.com/laman]</ref> |
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[[File:Guillaume Delisle Senegambia 1707.jpg|thumb|Delisle's 1707 map of Senegambia.]] |
[[File:Guillaume Delisle Senegambia 1707.jpg|thumb|Delisle's 1707 map of Senegambia.]] |
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The French pursued a policy of expansion and saw The Gambia as an obstacle. In the late 19th century, they proposed ceding [[Dadou]]{{what|date=February 2019}}, [[Grand-Bassam|Grand Bassam]], and [[Assinie-Mafia|Assinie]] in return for The Gambia. The negotiations broke down but were repeatedly brought up again. After the failed 1981 coup d'etat in The Gambia, a Senegambia Confederation was proposed and accepted. This lasted until 1989.<ref name=":0" /> |
The French pursued a policy of expansion and saw The Gambia as an obstacle. In the late 19th century, they proposed ceding [[Dadou]]{{what|date=February 2019}}, [[Grand-Bassam|Grand Bassam]], and [[Assinie-Mafia|Assinie]] in return for The Gambia. The negotiations broke down but were repeatedly brought up again. After the failed 1981 coup d'etat in The Gambia, a Senegambia Confederation was proposed and accepted. This lasted until 1989.<ref name=":0" /> |
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==External links== |
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* [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6529489w/f15.image Laurent Jean Baptiste Bérenger-Féraud: Les peuplades de la Sénégambie. Histoire, ethnographie, mœurs et coutumes, légendes, etc. Paris 1879] |
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== References == |
== References == |
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Revision as of 18:40, 15 March 2019
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The Senegambia (other names: Senegambia region or Senegambian zone[1]) is in the narrower sense, a historical name for a geographical region in West Africa, which lies between 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 were not further defined.[2]
Geographically, the region lies within the tropical zone between the Sahel and the forests of Guinea, with the Senegal and Gambian Rivers underpinning the region's geographical unity.[1] The region encompasses the modern states of Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau, as well as portions of Mauritania, Mali, and Guinea. It should not be confused with the recent Senegambia Confederation, which was a loose confederation between The Gambia and Senegal from 1982 to 1989, setup just after The Gambia's 1981 coup d'état where the Senegalese government intervened to reinstated the democratically elected Gambian government. For more on this, see those articles.
Spanning beyond the borders of the Senegambia Confederation, the Senegambia region was described by the Senegalese historian and scholar Professor Boubacar Barry of UCAD[3] as historically "the main gateway to Sudan, the cradle of the great empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhai" and "the centre of gravity for West Africa."[4][5]
History
According to Professor Abdoulaye Camara of IFAN and the Senghor University in Alexandria, Egypt, early humans appeared in Senegal around 350000 years ago.[6] Benga and Thiam posits that, it is in the Falémé valley in the southeast of the country where we find the oldest traces of human life.[7]
In Senegambian Neolithic history, the period when humans became hunters, fishermen and producers (farmer and artisan) are all well represented and studied. This is when more elaborate objects and ceramics emerged, testifying to various human activities.[8][9] The Diakité excavation in Thiès shows evidence of human mobility over a distance of about 600 km, during the Senegambian Neolithic age.[9]
During the medieval period of Europe which corresponds roughly to the Golden Age of West Africa, several great empires and kingdoms sprang out from the Senegambia region, including but not limited to the great Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire, the Songhai Empire, the Jolof Empire, the Kaabu Empire, the Kingdoms of Sine, Saloum, Baol, Waalo and Takrur. During this period, several great dynasties rose and fell, and some, such as the Guelowar Dynasty of Sine and Saloum, survived for more than 600 years despite European colonialism, which fell as recently as 1969, nine years after Senegal gained its independence from France. It was also in this region that the ancient lamanic class sprang out of. The ancient lamanes were the land owning class and kings. According to Barry, the "lamanic system is the oldest form of land ownership in precolonial Senegambia."[10]
The region became a focus of Franco-British-Portuguese rivalry from the 15th century onwards. The Portuguese were the first to arrive in the region in the 1450s. Until the 16th century, they held a monopoly on trade.[11]
In 1677, the French took the island of Gorée, and in 1681 they took control of Albreda on the Gambia River. This started a rivalry with the English, and in 1692 they briefly confiscated Gorée and Saint-Louis. In 1758, during the Seven Years War, Gorée was captured by the British, who held it until 1763. In 1765, the British formed the Senegambia Province. In 1778, during the American War of Independence, the French went on the offensive, and razed James Island in the River Gambia. In 1783, the Treaty of Versailles recognised British claims to The Gambia and French claims to Saint-Louis and Gorée, dissolving the Senegambia Province.[5]
The French pursued a policy of expansion and saw The Gambia as an obstacle. In the late 19th century, they proposed ceding Dadou[clarification needed], Grand Bassam, and Assinie in return for The Gambia. The negotiations broke down but were repeatedly brought up again. After the failed 1981 coup d'etat in The Gambia, a Senegambia Confederation was proposed and accepted. This lasted until 1989.[5]
External links
References
- ^ a b Barry, Boubacar, Senegambia and the Atlantic Slave Trade, (Editors: David Anderson, Carolyn Brown; trans. Ayi Kwei Armah; contributors: David Anderson, American Council of Learned Societies, Carolyn Brown, University of Michigan. Digital Library Production Service, Christopher Clapham, Michael Gomez, Patrick Manning, David Robinson, Leonardo A. Villalon), Cambridge University Press (1998) p. 5, ISBN 9780521592260 [1] (Retrieved 15 March 2019)
- ^ London 1878: Stanford's Compendium of Geography and Travel. p. 111: Western Sudan or Senegambia
- ^ Barry, Boubacar, and Laurence Marfaing. Interview Avec Prof. Boubacar Barry, Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar: Mobilité Des Nomades Et Des Sédentaires Dans L'espace CEDEAO. Regions & Cohesion / Regiones y Cohesión / Régions Et Cohésion, vol. 3, no. 3, 2013, pp. 155–166. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26452282.
- ^ Barry, Boubacar, La Sénégambie du XVe au XIXe siècle: traite négrière, Islam et conquête coloniale, L'Harmattan (1988), p. 26, ISBN 9782858026708
- ^ a b c "The historical perspective of Senegambia: The prospects and the way forward". The Standard. 5 June 2014. Archived from the original on June 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ Camara,Abdoulaye , Towards a New Policy to Protect Sites and Monuments, [in] Claude Daniel Ardouin (dir.), Museums & Archaeology in West Africa, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. ; James Currey Publishers, London, (1996), p. 178
- ^ Benga, Ndiouga; and Thiam, Mandiomé, « Préhistoire, protohistoire et histoire, [in] Atlas du Sénégal, p. 74
- ^ Template:Fr icon Mandiomé Thiam, La céramique au Sénégal : Archéologie et Histoire, Université de Paris I, 1991, 464 pages (thèse de doctorat)
- ^ a b Lame, Massamba; Crévola, Gilbert, Les haches polies de la carrière Diakité (Thiès, Sénégal) et le problème des courants d'échanges au Néolithique, Notes africaines, no. 173, 1982, p. 2-10.
- ^ Barry, Boubacar, The Kingdom of Waalo: Senegal Before the Conquest, Diasporic Africa Press (2012), p. 26, ISBN 9780966020113 [in] The Seereer Resource Centre, Seereer Lamans and the Lamanic Era, (2015) [2]
- ^ "Senegambia". Atlast of the Gambia. Archived from the original on November 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)