MAPS OF HISTORY · HISTORY OF · Senegal

ONE LAND · 3 ATLASES

Senegal, on the map of history

What was Senegal before it was Senegal? Below, every era of this land in the Maps of History collection — who ruled it, what it was called, and when control changed — each line linked to the dated map that shows it. Modern borders stand in as an honest approximation; every atlas says so on the map itself.

Senegal · The Great War, 1914–1918

OPEN WWI ON THE LIVING MAP →

Senegal · The Cold War, 1945–1991

OPEN THE COLD WAR ON THE LIVING MAP →

Senegal · The Decolonization of Africa, 1945–1994

Senegal, the oldest French foothold in Africa, became independent in 1960 — first, briefly, as the Mali Federation with French Sudan, which splintered within two months. Léopold Sédar Senghor, poet and philosopher of Négritude, led it for two decades and, unusually, handed power on peacefully. Dakar remained closely tied to France, its groundnut economy a textbook case of colonial dependence outliving the flag.

OPEN THE DECOLONIZATION OF AFRICA ON THE LIVING MAP →