WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -It remained a colony of France until 1960, when, under the leadership of the writer and statesman Léopold Senghor, it gained its independence-first as part of the short-lived Mali Federation and then as a wholly sovereign state.

Detailed explanation-2: -Senegal was France’s oldest colony in black Africa, and the two countries have main-tained the close ties developed during the colonial period since political inde-pendence in 1960.

Detailed explanation-3: -The French conquest of Senegal began in the early 17th century. French businesses started to trade at the bay of the river Senegal, located in the region of Saint-Louis. Gorée, an island off the coast of Dakar (the capital of Senegal), ultimately became controlled by the French between 1817 to 1960.

Detailed explanation-4: -The region of modern Senegal was a part of the larger region called Upper Guinea by European traders.

Detailed explanation-5: -Senegal therefore remains at the centre of France’s west African empire, until all the separate colonies win their independence in 1960. The first president of independent Senegal, after the dissolution of French West Africa, is an experienced and distinguished politician within the French system.