Some Political History

The country of Senegal did not have the modern borders until after 1963, when it reached independence.  Before the mid 1900's, the lands that would come to be known as Senegal went through several different waves of rule, and was often not actually under anyone's power.

French Colonial Possessions

The Mali Empire, which was based out of what is now Mali, held control for a time until European colonialists arrived in the mid 13th century. Over the years Portugal, Holland, Britain, and France all had colonial dealing in Senegal, but serious colonization by France didn't begin until the mid 1700's, when they reached farther into the interior searching for slaves, ivory, and Arabic gum, and they unsuccessfully encouraged the growth of cotton and cocoa.

Leopold Senghor

During the toil in Europe of the 18th century (revolutions, the Seven Years War, Napoleon, etc) all colonies of both Britain and France, including Senegal, became pawns in a larger game, and Senegal was lost for a while to the English, who had already retained control of what is now the Gambia.  In 1895 Senegal officially became a French colony.  France invited all of her colonies to join the French Union, offering citizenship to all those living in their colonies.

Around this time emerged and important figure: Leopold Senghor.  He initially ran the government on the interior of the country and eventually formed the Senegalese Democratic Bloc (or Socialist Party, SP), which we will hear more about soon.

Abdoulaye Wade

In 1958 France gave independence to their African colonies, with the West African colonies becoming the Mali Federation.. The western part of the federation withdrew in 1960, establishing two separate countries: Senegal in the west and Mali in the East.  Senghor became the president of Senegal and Mamadou Dia became the prime minister.  Dia staged an unsuccessful coup in 1962, ultimately leading to stronger presidential powers in the new constitution written in 1963.

Macky Sall

In 1981 Senegal and the Gambia attempted to join forces, each maintaining their political independence but consolidating their economies, defenses, and foreign relations.  It did not work and dissolved in 1989.

From independence until 2000, when Abdoulaye Wade won the presidential election in a run off, the SP ran Senegal.  In Jan., 2001, a new constitution was adopted, establishing a unicameral parliament and reducing the president's term to five years.  Despite Wade's strong start, some of his actions over his second term were seen as corrupt.  He tried to create a vice president in the government, presumably for his son, his second election was labeled as fraud by his opponents, and tried to run for a third term, despite precedent.  He ultimately lost in 2012 to Macky Sall, who achieved a landslide victory.  What is so amazing about this election is that Wade actually stepped down.  Generally Africa is no stranger to coups and politicians ignoring election results or just outright changing them; although Wade continues to be politically active and his son as political aspirations, he has made no overt attempts to take over Senegal.





SOURCES:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sg.html

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