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The Senegambia (other names: Senegambia region or Senegambian zone,Barry, Boubacar, Senegambia and the Atlantic Slave Trade, (Editors: David Anderson, Carolyn Brown; trans. Ayi Kwei Armah; contributors: David Anderson, American Council of Learned Societies, Carolyn Brown, University of Michigan. Digital Library Production Service, Christopher Clapham, Michael Gomez, Patrick Manning, David Robinson, Leonardo A. Villalon), Cambridge University Press (1998) p. 5, [1] (Retrieved 15 March 2019) Senegàmbi in Wolof language and Pulaar language, Senegambi in Serer language), in the narrow sense, is a historical name for a geographical region in West Africa roughly lying between the Senegal River and the Gambia River. However, there are also text sources which state that Senegambia is understood in a broader sense and equated with the term the Western region. This refers to the coastal areas between Senegal and Sierra Leone, where the inland border in the east was not further defined. Johnston, Alexander Keith; Keane, A. H.. Stanford's Compendium of Geography and Travel. London : Edward Stanford, p. 111: Chapter X - Western Sudan or Senegambia
Geographically, the region lies within the tropical zone between the Sahel and the forests of Guinea, with Senegal and Gambian Rivers underpinning the region's geographical unity. The region encompasses the modern states of Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau, as well as portions of Mauritania, Mali, and Guinea. It should not be confused with the recent Senegambia Confederation, which was a loose confederation between The Gambia and Senegal from 1982 to 1989, set up just after The Gambia's 1981 coup d'état where the Senegalese government intervened to reinstate the democratically elected Gambian government.
Spanning beyond the borders of the Senegambia Confederation, the Senegambia region was described by the Senegalese historian and scholar Professor Boubacar Barry of UCADBarry, Boubacar, and Laurence Marfaing. Interview Avec Prof. Boubacar Barry, Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar: Mobilité Des Nomades Et Des Sédentaires Dans L'espace CEDEAO. Regions & Cohesion / Regiones y Cohesión / Régions Et Cohésion, vol. 3, no. 3, 2013, pp. 155–166. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26452282. as historically "the main gateway to Sudan, the cradle of the great empires of Ghana, Mali Empire and Songhai Empire" and "the centre of gravity for West Africa."Barry, Boubacar, La Sénégambie du XVe au XIXe siècle: traite négrière, Islam et conquête coloniale, L'Harmattan (1988), p. 26,
In Senegambian Neolithic history, the period when humans became hunters, fishermen and producers (farmers and artisans) is well represented and studied. This is when more elaborate objects and emerged, testifying to various human activities. Mandiomé Thiam, La céramique au Sénégal : Archéologie et Histoire, Université de Paris I, 1991, 464 pages (thèse de doctorat)Lame, Massamba; Crévola, Gilbert, Les haches polies de la carrière Diakité (Thiès, Sénégal) et le problème des courants d'échanges au Néolithique, Notes africaines, no. 173, 1982, p. 2-10. The Diakité excavation in Thiès shows evidence of human mobility over a distance of about 600 km, during the Senegambian Neolithic age.
Located in south of Mbour (in the Thiès Region), an ancient culture referred to as the Tiemassassien culture, Tiemassassien industry, Tiémassas or just Tiemassassien was discovered during a Senegalese excavation half a century ago. Descamps proposed that this culture pertains to the Neolithic Era about 10,000 years ago.Descamps,Cyr, Quelques réflexions sur le Néolithique du Sénégal, vol. 1, West African Journal of Archaeology (1981), pp, 145-151 Dagan however proposed the Upper Paleolithic Era.Th. Dagan, Le Site préhistorique de Tiémassas (Sénégal), Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire (1956), pp. 432-48 This culture was named after Thiès, the region it is in.
The Senegambian stone circles are also located in this zone. Numerous tumuli, burial mounds, some of which have been excavated, revealed materials that date between the 3rd century BC and the 16th century AD. According to UNESCO : "Together the stone circles of laterite pillars and their associated burial mounds present a vast sacred landscape created over more than 1,500 years. It reflects a prosperous, highly organized and lasting society." Stone Circles of Senegambia, UNESCO [3]
In 1677, the French took the island of Gorée, and in 1681 they took control of Albreda on the Gambia River. This started a rivalry with the English, and in 1692 they briefly confiscated Gorée and Saint-Louis. In 1758, during the Seven Years' War, Gorée was captured by the British, who held it until 1763. In 1765, the British formed the Senegambia Province. In 1778, during the American War of Independence, the French went on the offensive, and razed James Island in the River Gambia. In 1783, the Treaty of Versailles recognised British claims to The Gambia and French claims to Saint-Louis and Gorée, dissolving the Senegambia Province.
The French pursued a policy of expansion and saw The Gambia as an obstacle. In the late 19th century, they proposed ceding Dabou, Grand-Bassam, and Assinie-Mafia in return for The Gambia. The negotiations broke down but were repeatedly brought up again. After the failed 1981 coup d'état in The Gambia, a Senegambia Confederation was proposed and accepted. This lasted until 1989.
Even before Columbus discovered the New World in October 1492, an increase in the number of slaves from the region arriving in the Iberian Peninsula was noted in the 15th century.
The griot caste are found extensively in the Senegambia region. They preserve genealogy, history and culture of the people. There is also a mutual exchange of cuisines among the inhabitants of this region. Thieboudienne, originating in Saint-Louis, Senegal, has spread to neighbouring areas of West Africa over the years, where it is now better known as jollof rice. Tigadèguèna, a peanut stew, originated in Mali; another called maafe, or domoda in Gambia, originated in Senegal.
From the old and sacred music genre of njuup to the modern mbalax beats (derived from the Serer people njuup traditionConnolly, Sean, Senegal, Bradt Travel Guides (2015), p. 26 [6]), the region has a rich and old music and dance tradition. Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour was Africa's most famous singer (according to Rolling Stone magazine in 2014), and held the title as Africa's most powerful and biggest music export for several decades (before Akon, who is also from this region).Considine, J. D., and Matos, Michaelangelo, "Biography: Youssou N'Dour" RollingStone.com, 2004.Africa Ranking, The most powerful African musicians, by Clara Ninenyui (2017) [7] (Retrieved 15 March 2019)CNBC Africa, Forbes Africa's Top 10 Most Bankable Artists In Africa (May 16, 2017) [8] (Retrieved 15 March 2019) The African Renaissance Monument built in 2010 in Dakar, standing at 49 m (161 feet), is the tallest statue in Africa.Nevins, Debbie; Berg, Elizabeth; Wan, Ruth, Senegal - Cultures of the World (Third Edition), Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC (2018), p. 8, [9]
Traditional Senegalese wrestling called njom in Serer, laamb in Wolof and siɲɛta in Bambara is a favourite pastime and national sport in some parts of the region especially in Senegal.Al Jazeera, Wrestling in Dakar, film by Edward Porembny (Witness 23 September 2013) [10] (Retrieved 15 March 2019)
On 4 October 1973, Radio Senegal (Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision du Sénégal (ORTS) as it was known at the time), which had been in talks with Radio Gambia about producing a joint radio programme based on Senegambian history and broadcast in the local Senegambian languages came to an agreement, and the first ever recording of the programme Chossani Senegambia (the history of Senegambia) was made.Joof, Alhaji Alieu Ebrima Cham, Senegambia - The land of our heritage (1995), pp. 7-9 The show was prerecorded and both Senegal and Gambia broadcast at the same time every Tuesday. That was the first show of its kind within the Senegambia region, where two media houses from different states broadcast the same show at the same time every week. The Gambian historian, and statesman Alieu Ebrima Cham Joof who was former Director of Programmes and Head of Local Languages at Radio Gambia was one of the pioneers of that joint programme. In his book, Senegambia - The land of our heritage (1995), p 12, Cham Joof writes:
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