*** Welcome to piglix ***

Francophone West Africa

French West Africa
Afrique occidentale française
Federation of French colonies
1895–1958


Flag

French West Africa after World War II

Green: French West Africa
Dark grey: Other French possessions
Darkest grey: French Republic
Capital Saint Louis (1895–1902)
Dakar (1902–1960)
Languages French (official)
Arabic, Fula, Songhay, Hausa, Mossi, Mandinka, Wolof, Bambara Berber languages, Mande languages widely spoken
Political structure Federation
Historical era New Imperialism
 •  Established 27 October 1895
 •  Fifth Republic 5 October 1958
Currency French West African franc
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Senegambia and Niger
French Sudan
French Guinea
French Upper Volta
French Dahomey
French Togoland
French Community
Republic of Dahomey
Guinea
Ivory Coast
Mali Federation
Mauritania
Niger
Republic of Upper Volta
Italian Libya
Today part of  Benin
 Burkina Faso
 Ivory Coast
 Guinea
 Libya
 Mali
 Mauritania
 Niger
 Senegal
 Togo


Flag

French West Africa (French: Afrique occidentale française, AOF) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea, Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Dahomey (now Benin) and Niger. The capital of the federation was Dakar. The federation existed from 1895 until 1960.

Until after the Second World War almost all the Africans living in the colonies of France were not citizens of France. Rather, they were "French Subjects", lacking rights before the law, property ownership rights, rights to travel, dissent, or vote. The exception were the Four Communes of Senegal: those areas had been towns of the tiny Senegal Colony in 1848 when, at the abolition of slavery by the French Second Republic, all residents of France were granted equal political rights. Anyone able to prove they were born in these towns was legally French. They could vote in parliamentary elections, which had been previously dominated by white and Métis residents of Senegal.

The Four Communes of Senegal were entitled to elect a Deputy to represent them in the French Parliament in the years 1848–1852, 1871–1876, and 1879–1940. In 1914, the first African, Blaise Diagne, was elected as the Deputy for Senegal in the French Parliament. In 1916, Diagne pushed through the National Assembly a law (Loi Blaise Diagne) granting full citizenship to all residents of the so-called Four Communes. In return, he had promised to help recruit millions of Africans to fight in World War I. Thereafter, all black Africans of Dakar, Gorée, Saint-Louis, and Rufisque could vote to send a representative to the French National Assembly.


...
Wikipedia

...