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History
Senegal was a part of Mali
in the olden days. The first Europeans to set their foot on the Senegal shores were
the Portuguese in the 15th century. They
were followed by the French.
All through the 17th and 18th
century, the Senegal coasts were the landing point for trans- Atlantic traders for
Ivory, gold and slaves. France ceded this
to Britain in 1763 in settlement of their seven years war in the
Americas it came back to French hands in 1817.
In
1895, Senegal became a part of French west Africa. Senegal got their
independence from the French colonialists in 1960 .
They formed
a federation with Mali but it was short lived. In
1982, along with The Gambia,
the Senegambian Confederation was
formed, with the two major objectives of mutually guaranteed security
and, at some future date, economic and monetary union.
But that did not stand the test of
time. The project was racked by disputes
between the two governments, and was peacefully dissolved in 1989.
Senegal is
a multi party democracy even though the ruling parties almost always
monopolized the national politics.
Apart from
the weak economic situation in the domestic front, the most pressing
problem the Senegal government faces is the secessionist activities by
the Casamance Movement of Democratic Forces. They
have been fighting the government since 1984.
Senegal
has the closest ties with The Gambian
Republic as the latter being an enclave, covered totally by the former. Initially there were some trying circumstances
related to an attempted coup in Gambia, the relationship between the
two neighbors is excellent at the moment. Besides,
Senegal maintains very good relationships with its other neighbors as well.
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