Afrique occidentale française French West Africa Federation of French colonies ↓ 1895 – 1958 →   → Flag Capital Saint Louis (1895-1902) Dakar (1902-1960) Language(s) French Political structure Federation History  - Established October 27, 1895  - Fifth Republic October 5, 1958 Currency French West African franc

Location of French West Africa in Africa. France was a dominant empire in the world from the 1600s to the late 1960s possessing many colonies in various locations around the world The French Community (Communauté française was the political entity which replaced in 1958 the French Union, which in turn was the descendant of the French colonial Guinea, officially Republic of Guinea (pronounced /ˈgɪni/ République de Guinée is a country in West Africa, formerly known as French Guinea The National flag of France (known in French as drapeau tricolore, drapeau français,and in military parlance les couleurs Throughout the world there are many cities that were once national Capitals but no longer have that status because the country ceased to exist the capital was moved or the capital Saint-Louis, or Ndar as it is called in Wolof, is the capital of Senegal 's Saint-Louis Region For the Dakar Rally see Dakar Rally. For the Israeli submarine see INS Dakar. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. A federation ( Latin: foedus, covenant is a union comprising a number of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central ("federal" Events 312 - Constantine the Great is said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross. See also Government of France The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, which was introduced on Events 869 - The Fourth Council of Constantinople is convened to decide about what to do about Patriarch Photius of Constantinople A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is The franc was the currency of French West Africa. The French franc circulated together with distinct banknotes from 1903 and coins from 1944 Dark blue = original union created in 1895. Light blue = later areas part of French west africa.

Afrique occidentale française Commercial Relations Report, showing the profile of a Fula woman. The Fula or Fulbe or Fulani (the latter being an Anglicisation of the word in their language Fulɓe) are an ethnic group of January-March 1938.

French West Africa (French: 'Afrique occidentale française, AOF') was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegambia and Niger, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Côte d'Ivoire, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) and Dahomey (now Benin). French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people A federation ( Latin: foedus, covenant is a union comprising a number of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central ("federal" France was a dominant empire in the world from the 1600s to the late 1960s possessing many colonies in various locations around the world Mauritania (موريتانيا Mūrītāniyā officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country Senegambia and Niger was a short-lived administrative unit of the French possessions in Africa, formed in 1902 and reorganized in 1904 into Upper Senegal and French Sudan (Soudan was a Colony in French West Africa that had two separate periods of existence first from 1890 to 1899 then from 1920 to 1960 when the Mali, officially the Republic of Mali (République du Mali is a Landlocked nation in Western Africa. French Guinea (Guinée française was a French protectorate in West Africa. Guinea, officially Republic of Guinea (pronounced /ˈgɪni/ République de Guinée is a country in West Africa, formerly known as French Guinea Côte d'Ivoire (ˌkoʊt divˈwɑː(r ' in English, kot diˈvwaʀ in French) or Ivory Coast, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a Upper Volta (Haute-Volta was a colony of French West Africa established on March 1, 1919 from territories that had been part of the Burkina Faso (bɚˌkiːnəˈfɑːsoʊ burr-KEE-na FAH-soh) also known by its short-form name Burkina, is a Landlocked nation in West Africa Benin (bə'nɪn officially the Republic of Benin, and also known as Benin Republic, is a country in Western Africa.

History

Originally created in 1895 as a union of Senegal, French Sudan, French Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire only, the federation was placed on a permanent footing in 1904 with a governor-general based first in Saint-Louis, then (from 1902) in Dakar (both in Senegal, the oldest French settlement). Senegal (le Sénégal officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. French Sudan (Soudan was a Colony in French West Africa that had two separate periods of existence first from 1890 to 1899 then from 1920 to 1960 when the French Guinea (Guinée française was a French protectorate in West Africa. Côte d'Ivoire (ˌkoʊt divˈwɑː(r ' in English, kot diˈvwaʀ in French) or Ivory Coast, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a Saint-Louis, or Ndar as it is called in Wolof, is the capital of Senegal 's Saint-Louis Region For the Dakar Rally see Dakar Rally. For the Israeli submarine see INS Dakar. The AOF subsequently expanded to neighbouring French-ruled territories: Dahomey was added in 1904, after having been put under colonial tutelage in 1892; Mauritania in 1920,[1] and when the territory of Upper Volta was divided from French Soudan by colonial decree in 1921, it automatically also entered the AOF. Mauritania (موريتانيا Mūrītāniyā officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country The Republic of Upper Volta (République de Haute-Volta was established on December 11, 1958, as a Self-governing colony within the French French Sudan (Soudan was a Colony in French West Africa that had two separate periods of existence first from 1890 to 1899 then from 1920 to 1960 when the [2] Between 1934 and 1937, the League of Nations Mandate territory of French Togoland was subsumbed into Dahomey, and between its seizure from Germany in World War I and independence it was administered through the AOF. The League of Nations was an International organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920 A League of Nations mandate refers to a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I. French Togoland was a France Mandate territory in West Africa, which later became the Togolese Republic. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All In 1904, both Mauritania and Niger were classed "Military Territories": ruled by the AOF in conjunction with officers of the French Colonial Forces. Mauritania (موريتانيا Mūrītāniyā officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country Niger ( or /ˈnaɪdʒɚ/) officially the Republic of Niger, is a Landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. The French Colonial Forces (Troupes Coloniales was a general designation for the military forces that garrisoned and were largely recruited from the French colonial empire

Throughout the history of the AOF, individual colonies and military territories were reorganised numerous times,^[1] as was the Government General in Dakar. In theory the Governors General of the AOF reported directly to the Minister of Colonies in Paris, while individual colonies and territories reported only to Dakar. The Minister of Overseas France ("Ministre de l'Outremer" formerly "Minister of Overseas France and her Colonies" is a cabinet member in the Government

The federation ceased to exist after the September 1958 referendum on the future French Community, in which the constituent territories voted to became autonomous republics except for Guinea,[3] which voted overwhelmingly for independence. A referendum (plural referendums or referenda) ballot question, or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita The French Community (Communauté française was the political entity which replaced in 1958 the French Union, which in turn was the descendant of the French colonial A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, Upper Volta and Dahomey subsequently formed the short-lived Sahel-Benin Union, later the Conseil de l'Entente. The Conseil de l'Entente ("Council of Accord" or "Council of Understanding" is a West African regional co-operation forum established in May 1959

Governors General^[2]

• Jean Baptiste Chaudier : 1895-1900
• Noel Ballay : 1900-1902
• Ernest Roume : 1902-1907
• William Merlaud-Ponty : 1908-1915
• François Joseph Clozel : 1916
• Joost van Vollenhoven : 1917-1918
• Martial Merlin : 1918-1923
• Jules Carde : 1923-1930
• Jules Brévie : 1930-1936
• Marcel de Coppet : 1936-1938
• Léon Cayla : 1939-1940
• Pierre Boisson : 1940-1943
• Pierre Cournarie : 1943-1946
• René Barthès : 1946-1948
• Paul Béchard : 1948-1951
• Bernard Cornut-Gentille : 1952-1956
• Gaston Custin : 1956-1957. See Joost van Vollenhoven (mayor for the mayor of Rotterdam Joost van Vollenhoven (born 21 July 1877, Rotterdam

High Commissioners

• Gaston Custin : 1957-1958
• Pierre Messmer : 1958

Geography

With an area of some 4,689,000 square kilometres (1,810,000 sq mi) (mostly the desert or semi-desert interior of Mauritania, Sudan and Niger) extending from Africa's westernmost point to the depths of the Sahara, the federation contained more than ten million inhabitants at its creation, and some 25 million at its dissolution. Pierre Joseph Auguste Messmer (20 March 1916 29 August 2007 was a French Gaullist politician Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. A desert is a Landscape or region that receives very little precipitation. Mauritania (موريتانيا Mūrītāniyā officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country French Sudan (Soudan was a Colony in French West Africa that had two separate periods of existence first from 1890 to 1899 then from 1920 to 1960 when the Niger ( or /ˈnaɪdʒɚ/) officially the Republic of Niger, is a Landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. The Sahara (الصحراء الكبرى aṣ-ṣaḥrā´ al-kubra, "The Great Desert" is the world's largest hot Desert and the world's second largest

See also

• Postage stamps and postal history of French West Africa

References

External links

• Map of the progression of French West African imperialism in the period 1885-1920. Related maps of French West African expansion are at sandafayre.com, Sandafayre Stamp Atlas: French West Africa. Dated 2000, retrieved January 2008.