1.
Senegal
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Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country in West Africa. Senegal is bordered by Mauritania in the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast, and Guinea-Bissau to the southwest. Senegal also borders The Gambia, a country occupying a narrow sliver of land along the banks of the Gambia River, Senegal also shares a maritime border with Cape Verde. Senegals economic and political capital is Dakar and it is the westernmost country in the mainland of the Old World, or Afro-Eurasia, and owes its name to the Senegal River, which borders it to the east and north. The name Senegal comes from the Wolof Sunuu Gaal, which means Our Boat, Senegal covers a land area of almost 197,000 square kilometres and has an estimated population of about 15 million. The climate is Sahelian, but there is a rainy season, the territory of modern Senegal has been inhabited by various ethnic groups since prehistory. Organized kingdoms emerged around the century, and parts of the country were ruled by prominent regional empires such as the Jolof Empire. The present state of Senegal has its roots in European colonialism, which began during the mid-15th century, the establishment of coastal trading posts gradually led to control of the mainland, culminating in French rule of the area by the 19th century, albeit amid much local resistance. Senegal peacefully attained independence from France in 1960, and has since been among the politically stable countries in Africa. Senegals economy is centered mostly on commodities and natural resources, major industries are fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, construction materials, and ship construction and repair. As in most African nations, agriculture is a sector, with Senegal producing several important cash crops, including peanuts, sugarcane, cotton, green beans, tomatoes, melons. Owing to its stability, tourism and hospitality are also burgeoning sectors. A multiethnic and secular nation, Senegal is predominantly Sunni Muslim with Sufi, French is the official language, although many native languages are spoken and recognized. Since April 2012 Senegals president has been Macky Sall, Senegal has been a member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie since 1970. Senegal is named after the Senegal River, the etymology of which is contested, one popular theory is that it stems from the Wolof phrase sunu gaal, which means our canoe, resulting from a miscommunication between 15th-century Portuguese sailors and Wolof fishermen. The our canoe theory has been embraced in modern Senegal for its charm. It is frequently used in appeals to national solidarity, frequently heard in the media, modern historians believe the name probably refers to the Sanhaja, Berbers who lived on the northern side of the river. A competing theory is that it derives from the town of Sanghana
2.
Greenwich Mean Time
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Greenwich Mean Time is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. GMT was formerly used as the civil time standard, now superseded in that function by Coordinated Universal Time. Today GMT is considered equivalent to UTC for UK civil purposes and for navigation is considered equivalent to UT1, consequently, the term GMT should not be used for precise purposes. Due to Earths uneven speed in its orbit and its axial tilt, noon GMT is rarely the exact moment the sun crosses the Greenwich meridian. This event may occur up to 16 minutes before or after noon GMT, noon GMT is the annual average moment of this event, which accounts for the word mean in Greenwich Mean Time. Originally, astronomers considered a GMT day to start at noon while for almost everyone else it started at midnight, to avoid confusion, the name Universal Time was introduced to denote GMT as counted from midnight. Astronomers preferred the old convention to simplify their observational data, so each night was logged under a single calendar date. Today Universal Time usually refers to UTC or UT1, in some countries Greenwich Mean Time is the legal time in the winter and the population uses the term. For an explanation of why this is, see GMT in legislation below, synchronisation of the chronometer on GMT did not affect shipboard time, which was still solar time. Most time zones were based upon GMT, as an offset of a number of hours ahead of GMT or behind GMT and it was gradually adopted for other purposes, but a legal case in 1858 held local mean time to be the official time. On 14 May 1880, a signed by Clerk to Justices appeared in The Times, stating that Greenwich time is now kept almost throughout England. For example, our polling booths were opened, say, at 813 and closed at 413 PM. This was changed later in 1880, GMT was adopted on the Isle of Man in 1883, Jersey in 1898 and Guernsey in 1913. Ireland adopted GMT in 1916, supplanting Dublin Mean Time, hourly time signals from Greenwich Observatory were first broadcast on 5 February 1924, rendering the time ball at the observatory redundant in the process. The daily rotation of the Earth is irregular and constantly slows, on 1 January 1972, GMT was superseded as the international civil time standard by Coordinated Universal Time, maintained by an ensemble of atomic clocks around the world. Indeed, even the Greenwich meridian itself is not quite what it used to be—defined by the centre of the instrument at the Observatory at Greenwich. Nevertheless, the line in the old observatorys courtyard today differs no more than a few metres from that line which is now the prime meridian of the world. Historically GMT has been used two different conventions for numbering hours. The long-standing astronomical convention dating from the work of Ptolemy, was to refer to noon as zero hours and this contrasted with the civil convention of referring to midnight as zero hours dating from the Romans
3.
World Heritage Site
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A World Heritage Site is a landmark which has been officially recognized by the United Nations, specifically by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Sites are selected on the basis of having cultural, historical, scientific or some form of significance. UNESCO regards these sites as being important to the interests of humanity. The programme catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common culture, under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The program was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the Worlds Cultural and Natural Heritage, since then,192 state parties have ratified the convention, making it one of the most adhered to international instruments. As of July 2016,1052 sites are listed,814 cultural,203 natural, in 1959, the governments of Egypt and Sudan requested UNESCO to assist their countries to protect and rescue the endangered monuments and sites. In 1960, the Director-General of UNESCO launched an appeal to the Member States for an International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, the campaign, which ended in 1980, was considered a success. The project cost $80 million, about $40 million of which was collected from 50 countries, the projects success led to other safeguarding campaigns, saving Venice and its lagoon in Italy, the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan, and the Borobodur Temple Compounds in Indonesia. UNESCO then initiated, with the International Council on Monuments and Sites, the United States initiated the idea of cultural conservation with nature conservation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature developed similar proposals in 1968, the Convention came into force on 17 December 1975. As of June 2016, it has been ratified by 192 states, including 188 UN member states plus the Cook Islands, the Holy See, Niue, a country must first list its significant cultural and natural sites, the result is called the Tentative List. A country may not nominate sites that have not been first included on the Tentative List, next, it can place sites selected from that list into a Nomination File. The Nomination File is evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and these bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. There are ten selection criteria – a site must meet at least one of them to be included on the list, up to 2004, there were six criteria for cultural heritage and four criteria for natural heritage. In 2005, this was modified so there is now only one set of ten criteria. Nominated sites must be of outstanding value and meet at least one of the ten criteria. Thus, the Geneva Convention treaty promulgates, Article 53, PROTECTION OF CULTURAL OBJECTS AND OF PLACES OF WORSHIP. There are 1,052 World Heritage Sites located in 165 States Party, of these,814 are cultural,203 are natural and 35 are mixed properties
4.
Wolof language
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Wolof is a language of Senegal, the Gambia, and Mauritania, and the native language of the Wolof people. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the Senegambian branch of the Niger–Congo language family, unlike most other languages of Sub-Saharan Africa, Wolof is not a tonal language. Wolof originated as the language of the Lebu people and it is the most widely spoken language in Senegal, spoken natively by the Wolof people but also by most other Senegalese as a second language. Wolof dialects vary geographically and between rural and urban areas, dakar-Wolof, for instance, is an urban mixture of Wolof, French, and Arabic. Wolof is the spelling and may refer to the Wolof people or to Wolof culture. Variants include the older French Ouolof and the principally Gambian Wollof, Jolof, jollof, etc. now typically refers either to the Jolof Empire or to jollof rice, a common West African rice dish. Now-archaic forms include Volof and Olof, the English language is believed to have adopted some Wolof words, such as banana, via Spanish or Portuguese, and yum/yummy, from Wolof nyam to taste, nyam in Barbadian English meaning to eat. Wolof is spoken by more than 10 million people and about 40 percent of Senegals population speak Wolof as their native language, in the whole region from Dakar to Saint-Louis, and also west and southwest of Kaolack, Wolof is spoken by the vast majority of the people. Typically when various groups in Senegal come together in cities and towns. It is therefore spoken in almost every regional and departmental capital in Senegal, nevertheless, the official language of Senegal is French. In Serekunda, the Gambias largest town, although only a minority are ethnic Wolofs. The official language of the Gambia is English, Mandinka, Wolof, in Mauritania, about seven percent of the population speak Wolof because of the river that is shared with Senegal. There, the language is used only around the coastal regions. Wolof is one of the Senegambian languages, which are characterized by consonant mutation and it is often said to be closely related to the Fula language because of a misreading by Wilson of the data in Sapir that have long been used to classify the Atlantic languages. Senegalese/Mauritanian Wolof and Gambian Wolof are distinct national standards, they use different orthographies, however, both the spoken and written languages are mutually intelligible. Lebu Wolof, on the hand, is unintelligible with standard Wolof. Note, Phonetic transcriptions are printed between square brackets following the rules of the International Phonetic Alphabet, the Latin orthography of Wolof in Senegal was set by government decrees between 1971 and 1985. The language institute Centre de linguistique appliquée de Dakar is widely acknowledged as an authority when it comes to spelling rules for Wolof, Wolof is most often written in this orthography, in which phonemes have a clear one-to-one correspondence to graphemes
5.
Senegal River
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The Senegal River is a 1,086 km long river in West Africa that forms the border between Senegal and Mauritania. The Senegals headwaters are the Semefé and Bafing rivers which originate in Guinea, they form a small part of the Guinean-Malian border before coming together at Bafoulabé in Mali. From there, the Senegal river flows west and then north through Talari Gorges near Galougo and over the Gouina Falls, then more gently past Kayes. The Senegal further flows through semi-arid land in the north of Senegal, forming the border with Mauritania, in Kaedi it accepts the Gorgol from Mauritania. Flowing through Bogué it reaches Richard Toll where it is joined by the Ferlo coming from inland Senegals Lac de Guiers and it passes through Rosso and, approaching its mouth, around the Senegalese island on which the city of Saint-Louis is located, to then turn south. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a strip of sand called the Langue de Barbarie before it pours into the ocean itself. In between Manantali and Maka-Diama is the Félou Hydroelectric Plant which was completed in 1927 and uses a weir. The power station was replaced in 2014, in 2013, construction of the Gouina Hydroelectric Plant upstream of Felou at Gouina Falls began. The Senegal River has a basin of 270,000 km2, a mean flow of 680 m3/s. Important tributaries are the Falémé River, Karakoro River, and the Gorgol River, downstream of Kaédi the river divides into two branches. The left branch called the Doué runs parallel to the river to the north. After 200 km the two branches rejoin a few kilometres downstream of Pondor, the long strip of land between the two branches is called the Île á Morfil. In 1972 Mali, Mauritania and Senegal founded the Organisation pour la mise en valeur du fleuve Sénégal to manage the river basin, at the present time, only very limited use is made of the river for the transport of goods and passengers. The OMVS have looked at the feasibility of creating a navigable channel 55 m in width between the town of Ambidédi in Mali and Saint-Louis, a distance of 905 km. It would give landlocked Mali a direct route to the Atlantic Ocean, although the species richness is moderately high, only three species of frogs and one fish are endemic to this ecoregion. The existence of the Senegal River was known to the early Mediterranean civilizations and it was called Bambotus by Pliny the Elder and Nias by Claudius Ptolemy. It was visited by Hanno the Carthaginian around 450 BCE at his navigation from Carthage through the pillars of Herakles to Theon Ochema in the Gulf of Guinea. There was trade from here to the Mediterranean World, until the destruction of Carthage, in the Early Middle Ages, the Senegal River restored contact with the Mediterranean world with the establishment of the Trans-Saharan trade route between Morocco and the Ghana Empire
6.
Dakar
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Dakar is the capital and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city in the Old World as well as on the African mainland. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, the area around Dakar was settled in the 15th century. The Portuguese established a presence on the island of Gorée off the coast of Cap-Vert, France took over the island in 1677. Following the abolition of the trade and French annexation of the mainland area in the 19th century, Dakar grew into a major regional port. In 1902, Dakar replaced Saint-Louis as the capital of French West Africa, from 1959 to 1960, Dakar was the capital of the short-lived Mali Federation. In 1960, it became the capital of the independent Republic of Senegal, Dakar is home to multiple national and regional banks as well as numerous international organizations. From 1978 to 2007, it was also the finishing point of the Dakar Rally. The Cap-Vert peninsula was settled no later than the 15th century, by the Lebou people, the original villages, Ouakam, Ngor, Yoff and Hann, still constitute distinctively Lebou neighborhoods of the city today. In 1444, the Portuguese reached the Bay of Dakar, initially as slave-raiders, peaceful contact was finally opened in 1456 by Diogo Gomes, and the bay was subsequently referred to as the Angra de Bezeguiche. The Portuguese eventually founded a settlement on the island of Gorée, the mainland of Cap-Vert, however, was under control of the Jolof Empire, as part of the western province of Cayor which seceded from Jolof in its own right in 1549. A new Lebou village, called Ndakaaru, was established directly across from Gorée in the 17th century to service the European trading factory with food, Gorée was captured by the United Netherlands in 1588, which gave it its present name. The island was to switch hands between the Portuguese and Dutch several more times before falling to the English under Admiral Robert Holmes on January 23,1664, and finally to the French in 1677. Though under continuous French administration since, métis families, descended from Dutch and French traders and African wives, the infamous House of Slaves was built at Gorée in 1776. In 1795 the Lebou of Cape Verde revolted against Cayor rule, a new theocratic state, subsequently called the Lebou Republic by the French, was established under the leadership of the Diop, a Muslim clerical family originally from Koki in Cayor. The capital of the republic was established at Ndakaaru, in 1857 the French established a military post at Ndakaaru and annexed the Lebou Republic, though its institutions continued to function nominally. The Serigne of Ndakaaru is still recognized as the political authority of the Lebou by the Senegalese State today. The slave trade was abolished by France in February 1794, however, Napoleon reinstated it in May 1802, then finally abolished it permanently in March 1815
7.
French West Africa
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French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa, Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan, French Guinea, Ivory Coast, Upper Volta, Dahomey 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. Anyone able to prove they were born in these towns was legally French and 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, 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 granting citizenship to all residents of the so-called Four Communes. In return, he had promised to help millions of Africans to fight in World War I. Thereafter, all black Africans of Dakar, Gorée, Saint-Louis and these conquered areas were usually governed by French Army officers, and dubbed Military Territories. The first Governor General of Senegal was named in 1895, and in 1904, Gabon would later become the seat of its own federation French Equatorial Africa, which was to border its western neighbor on the modern boundary between Niger and Chad. While the latter fell to Free France already after the Battle of Gabon in November 1940, following World War II, the French government began a process of extending limited political rights in its colonies. In 1945 the French Provisional Government allocated ten seats to French West Africa in the new Constituent Assembly called to write a new French Constitution, of these five would be elected by citizens and five by African subjects. The elections brought to prominence a new generation of French-educated Africans and they were all re-elected to the 2nd Constituent Assembly on 2 June 1946. In 1946, the Loi Lamine Guèye granted some limited rights to natives of the African colonies. The French Empire was renamed the French Union on 27 October 1946, in late 1946 under this new constitution each territory was for the first time able elect local representatives, albeit on a limited franchise, to newly established General Councils. These elected bodies had only limited powers, although they did approve local budgets. The Loi Cadre of 23 June 1956 brought universal suffrage to elections held after that date in all French African colonies, the first elections under universal suffrage in French West Africa were the municipal elections of late 1956. On 31 March 1957, under universal suffrage, territorial Assembly elections were held in each of the eight colonies, the leaders of the winning parties were appointed to the newly instituted positions of Vice-Presidents of the respective Governing Councils — French Colonial Governors remained as Presidents. The Constitution of the French Fifth Republic of 1958 again changed the structure of the colonies from the French Union to the French Community, each territory was to become a Protectorate, with the consultative assembly named a National Assembly
8.
Mauritania
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Mauritania /mɔːrɪˈteɪniə/, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in the Maghreb region of western Africa. The country derives its name from the ancient Berber Kingdom of Mauretania, approximately 90% of Mauritanias land is within the Sahara and consequently the population is concentrated in the south, where precipitation is slightly higher. The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast, the government was overthrown on 6 August 2008, in a military coup détat led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. On 16 April 2009, Aziz resigned from the military to run for president in the 19 July elections, about 20% of Mauritanians live on less than US$1.25 per day. Mauritania suffers from several human rights issues, including slavery, as at least 4% of the population are enslaved against their will, the Bafours were primarily agriculturalist, and among the first Saharan people to abandon their historically nomadic lifestyle. With the gradual desiccation of the Sahara, they headed south, many of the Berber tribes claimed Yemeni origins. There is little evidence to such claims, but a 2000 DNA study of Yemeni people suggested there might be some ancient connection between the peoples. Other peoples also migrated south past the Sahara to West Africa, in 1076, Moorish Islamic warrior monks attacked and conquered the large area of the ancient Ghana Empire. Over the next 500 years, Arabs overcame fierce resistance from the population to dominate Mauritania. The Char Bouba war was the final effort of the peoples to repel the Yemeni Maqil Arab invaders. The invaders were led by the Beni Hassan tribe, the descendants of the Beni Hassan warriors became the upper stratum of Moorish society. Hassaniya, a Berber-influenced Arabic dialect that derives its name from the Beni Hassan, berbers retained a niche influence by producing the majority of the regions marabouts, those who preserve and teach Islamic tradition. Imperial France gradually absorbed the territories of present-day Mauritania from the Senegal River area and upwards, in 1901, Xavier Coppolani took charge of the imperial mission. Through a combination of strategic alliances with Zawiya tribes, and military pressure on the Hassane warrior nomads, he managed to extend French rule over the Mauritanian emirates. Trarza, Brakna and Tagant quickly submitted to treaties with the colonial power, Adrar was finally defeated militarily in 1912, and incorporated into the territory of Mauritania, which had been drawn up and planned in 1904. Mauritania was part of French West Africa from 1920, French rule brought legal prohibitions against slavery and an end to inter-clan warfare. During the colonial period, 90% of the population remained nomadic, many sedentary peoples, whose ancestors had been expelled centuries earlier, began to trickle back into Mauritania. After gaining independence, larger numbers of indigenous Sub-Saharan African peoples entered Mauritania, educated in French language and customs, many of these recent arrivals became clerks, soldiers, and administrators in the new state
9.
Langue de Barbarie
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The Langue de Barbarie is a thin, sandy peninsula, adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, located in western Senegal, in the neighbourhood of the city of Saint-Louis. The peninsula separates the ocean from the section of the Senegal River. The Langue de Barbarie National Park is located at the edge of the peninsula. Covering an area of 2,000 hectares, it is home to an abundant variety of bird species, a 4 metres breach was cut in the peninsula near the city of Saint-Louis on 3 October 2003 to help counter possible flooding. However, the breach quickly widened to 800 m and separated the southern end of the peninsula permanently from the main country, effectively transforming it into an island. As of December 2013 the sea has claimed over 3 km of land and has caused the loss of villages and tourist resorts in addition to changes in the flora, Langue de Barbarie National Park travel guide from Wikivoyage Opening hours and pricing
10.
Salt marsh
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It is dominated by dense stands of salt-tolerant plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the marsh in trapping and binding sediments. Salt marshes play a role in the aquatic food web. They also support terrestrial animals and provide coastal protection, salt marshes occur on low-energy shorelines in temperate and high-latitudes which can be stable or emerging, or submerging if the sedimentation rate exceeds the subsidence rate. Commonly these shorelines consist of mud or sand flats which are nourished with sediment from inflowing rivers and these typically include sheltered environments such as embankments, estuaries and the leeward side of barrier islands and spits. In the tropics and sub-tropics they are replaced by mangroves, an area that differs from a marsh in that instead of herbaceous plants. Most salt marshes have a low topography with low elevations but a vast wide area, salt marshes are located among different landforms based on their physical and geomorphological settings. Such marsh landforms include deltaic marshes, estuarine, back-barrier, open coast, embayments, deltaic marshes are associated with large rivers where many occur in Southern Europe such as the Camargue, France in the Rhone delta or the Ebro delta in Spain. They are also extensive within the rivers of the Mississippi Delta in the United States, in New Zealand, most salt marshes occur at the head of estuaries in areas where there is little wave action and high sedimentation. Such marshes are located in Awhitu Regional Park in Auckland, the Manawatu Estuary, back-barrier marshes are sensitive to the reshaping of barriers in the landward side of which they have been formed. They are common along much of the eastern coast of the United States, large, shallow coastal embayments can hold salt marshes with examples including Morecambe Bay and Portsmouth in Britain and the Bay of Fundy in North America. They have a big impact on the biodiversity of the area, salt marsh ecology involves complex food webs which include primary producers, primary consumers, and secondary consumers. The low physical energy and high grasses provide a refuge for animals, many marine fish use salt marshes as nursery grounds for their young before they move to open waters. Saltmarshes across 99 countries were mapped by Mcowen et al, a total of 5,495,089 hectares of mapped saltmarsh across 43 countries and territories are represented in a Geographic Information Systems polygon shapefile. This estimate is at the low end of previous estimates. Mats of filamentous blue-green algae can fix silt and clay sized sediment particles to their sticky sheaths on contact which can increase the erosion resistance of the sediments. This assists the process of sediment accretion to allow colonising species to grow, as a result, competitive species that prefer higher elevations relative to sea level can inhabit the area and often a succession of plant communities develops. Coastal salt marshes can be distinguished from terrestrial habitats by the tidal flow that occurs
11.
Rosso
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Rosso is the major city of south-western Mauritania and capital of Trarza region. It is situated on the Senegal River at the head of year-round navigation, the town is 204 km south of the capital Nouakchott. Rosso was once the capital of the Emirate of Trarza, a Precolonial Sahrawi dominated state in Africa, under French colonial rule Senegal and Mauritania were administered as a single entity. When independence came, the new frontier was drawn along the Senegal River and this article refers to Mauritanian Rosso, on the northern bank of the river. Originally a staging-post for the gum arabic trade, Rosso has grown rapidly since independence, from a population of a mere 2300 in 1960 it has now overtaken Kaédi to become the 3rd largest city in the country with 48922 inhabitants. Rosso occupies a position at the international ferry-crossing on the main road between Nouakchott and the Senegalese capital of Dakar. Economically the town has benefited but its fortunes are very dependent on the state of relations between the two countries, from 1990-92 the border crossing was closed, due to the Mauritania–Senegal Border War, and there have been repeated movements of refugees in both directions through the town. Rosso has the highest annual rainfall in the country at 300mm/yr and is one of the towns which serve the narrow strip of agricultural land stretching along the southern frontier of Mauritania. But even here the Sahara is encroaching, major irrigation projects have been carried out on the northern bank of the Senegal River, financed by the United Arab Emirates, allowing an expansion in the production of cash crops such as mint. In 2004 however up to 80% of crops were lost as a result of the infestation of locusts which affected the whole of the western Sahel and this was followed by a severe drought. It was a bitter irony then that in August 2005 some 10,000 people were displaced by flooding, the city is near the Diawling National Park. Rosso is also known for the internationally renowned Satara Zone Housing project, a small library, set up by the local Catholic priest, has been functioning since 2005. A technology institute - ISET - was opened in 2009, offering courses in agriculture, the current Mayor, Professor Yerim Fassa, a doctor, was elected in 2007. Rosso has been twinned with Moissy-Cramayel since 1986, Rosso Town Hall Institut supérieur des études technologiques
12.
Sahel
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The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition in Africa between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian Savanna to the south. Having a semi-arid climate, it stretches across the south-central latitudes of Northern Africa between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea, the Arabic word sāḥil literally means shore, coast, while the word Sahara is derived from the Arabic word for desert. Together, these names evoke an image of the Sahels vegetation as a coastline on the Saharas ocean of sand, historically, the western part of the Sahel was sometimes known as the Sudan region. This belt was roughly located between the Sahara and the areas of West Africa. It is an ecoregion of semi-arid grasslands, savannas, steppes. The topography of the Sahel is mainly flat, most of the region lies between 200 and 400 meters in elevation, several isolated plateaus and mountain ranges rise from the Sahel, but are designated as separate ecoregions because their flora and fauna are distinct from the surrounding lowlands. Annual rainfall varies from around 100–200 mm in the north of the Sahel to around 600 mm in the south, the Sahel is mostly covered in grassland and savanna, with areas of woodland and shrubland. Grass cover is continuous across the region, dominated by annual grass species such as Cenchrus biflorus, Schoenefeldia gracilis. Species of acacia are the dominant trees, with Acacia tortilis the most common, along with Acacia senegal, other tree species include Commiphora africana, Balanites aegyptiaca, Faidherbia albida, and Boscia senegalensis. In the northern part of the Sahel, areas of shrub, including Panicum turgidum and Aristida sieberana, alternate with areas of grassland. During the long dry season, many lose their leaves. The larger species have greatly reduced in number by over-hunting and competition with livestock. The seasonal wetlands of the Sahel are important for birds moving within Africa. The Sahel has a tropical, hot steppe climate, the climate is typically hot, sunny, dry and somewhat windy all year long. The Sahels climate is similar to, but less extreme than, the Sahel mainly receives a low to a very low amount of precipitation annually. The steppe has a long, prevailing dry season and a short rainy season. The precipitation is extremely irregular, and varies considerably from season to season. Most of the rain falls during only one or two months, while the other months may remain absolutely dry
13.
Acacia
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Acacia, commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs, lianas and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australia, controversy erupted in the early 2000s when it became evident that the genus as it stood was not monophyletic, and that several divergent lineages needed to be placed in separate genera. It turned out that one lineage comprising over 900 species mainly native to Australia was not closely related to the mainly African lineage that contained A. nilotica—the first and this meant that the Australian lineage would need to be renamed. Botanist Les Pedley named this group Racosperma, which was inconsistently adopted and this was officially adopted, but many botanists from Africa and elsewhere disagreed that this was necessary. A number of species have been introduced to parts of the world. The heterogeneous group varies considerably in habit, from mat-like subshrubs to canopy trees in forest, the genus was first described from Africa by C. F. P. von Martius in 1829. Several hundred combinations in Acacia were published by Pedley in 2003, the genus of 981 species, Acacia s. l. in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae is monophyletic. All but 10 of its species are native to Australia, where it constitutes the largest plant genus, following a controversial decision to choose a new type for Acacia in 2005, the Australian component of Acacia s. l. now retains the name Acacia. At the 2011 International Botanical Congress held in Melbourne, the decision to use the name Acacia, other Acacia s. l. taxa continue to be called Acacia by those who choose to consider the entire group as one genus. Australian species of the genus Paraserianthes s. l. are deemed its closest relatives, the origin of wattle may be an Old Teutonic word meaning to weave. From around 700 A. D. watul was used in Old English to refer to the branches and sticks which formed fences, walls. Since about 1810 it refers to the Australian legumes that provide these branches, acacias in Australia probably evolved their fire resistance about 20 million years ago when fossilised charcoal deposits show a large increase, indicating that fire was a factor even then. With no major mountain ranges or rivers to prevent their spread and they began to form dry, open forests with species of the genera Casuarina, Eucalyptus and Callitris. The southernmost species in the genus are Acacia dealbata, Acacia longifolia, Acacia mearnsii and they are present in all terrestrial habitats, including alpine settings, rainforests, woodlands, grasslands, coastal dunes and deserts. In drier woodlands or forest they are an important component of the understory, elsewhere they may be dominant, as in the Brigalow Belt, Myall woodlands and the eremaean Mulga woodlands. Several of its species bear vertically oriented phyllodes, which are green, broadened leaf petioles that function like leaf blades, some phyllodinous species have a colourful aril on the seed. A few species have rather than leaves. Aborigines of Australia have traditionally harvested the seeds of species, to be ground into flour
14.
Flamingo
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Flamingos or flamingoes /fləˈmɪŋɡoʊz/ are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, the only family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four species in the Americas and two species in the Old World. A similar etymology has the Latinate Greek term Phoenicopterus, literally blood red-feathered. ]Traditionally, the long-legged Ciconiiformes, probably a paraphyletic assemblage, have considered the flamingos closest relatives. Usually the ibises and spoonbills of the Threskiornithidae were considered their closest relatives within this order, earlier genetic studies, such as those of Charles Sibley and colleagues, also supported this relationship. Relationships to the waterfowl were considered as well, especially as flamingos are parasitized by feather lice of the genus Anaticola, the peculiar presbyornithids were used to argue for a close relationship between flamingos, waterfowl, and waders. Living flamingoes based on the work by John Boyd, six extant flamingo species are recognized by most sources, and were formerly placed in one genus, Phoenicopterus. As a result of a 2014 publication, the family was reclassified into three genera, prehistoric species of flamingo, Phoenicopterus floridanus Brodkorb 1953 Phoenicopterus stocki Phoenicopterus siamensis Cheneval et al. They hold at least eleven morphological traits in common, which are not found in other birds, many of these characteristics have been previously identified on flamingos, but not on grebes. The fossil palaelodids can be considered evolutionarily, and ecologically, intermediate between flamingos and grebes, for the grebe-flamingo clade, the taxon Mirandornithes has been proposed. Alternatively, they could be placed in one order, with Phoenocopteriformes taking priority, flamingos usually stand on one leg while the other is tucked beneath their body. The reason for this behaviour is not fully understood, recent research indicates that standing on one leg may allow the birds to conserve more body heat, given that they spend a significant amount of time wading in cold water. However, the behaviour also takes place in warm water, as well as standing in the water, flamingos may stamp their webbed feet in the mud to stir up food from the bottom. Young flamingos hatch with greyish reddish plumage, but adults range from pink to bright red due to aqueous bacteria. A well-fed, healthy flamingo is more vibrantly colored and thus a more desirable mate, captive flamingos are a notable exception, many turn a pale pink as they are not fed carotene at levels comparable to the wild. Flamingos filter-feed on brine shrimp and blue-green algae and their bills are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they eat, and are uniquely used upside-down. The filtering of food items is assisted by hairy structures called lamellae which line the mandibles, the pink or reddish color of flamingos comes from carotenoids in their diet of animal and plant plankton. These carotenoids are broken down into pigments by liver enzymes, the source of this varies by species, and affects the saturation of color. Flamingos whose sole diet is blue-green algae are darker in color compared to those who get it second hand, flamingos are very social birds, they live in colonies whose population can number in the thousands
15.
Pelican
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Pelicans are a genus of large water birds that makes up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterised by a beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey. They have predominantly pale plumage, the exceptions being the brown, the bills, pouches and bare facial skin of all species become brightly coloured before the breeding season. Ibises, spoonbills, herons and the desolate bitterns have been classified in the same order, fossil evidence of pelicans dates back to at least 30 million years to the remains of a beak very similar to that of modern species recovered from Oligocene strata in France. Pelicans frequent inland and coastal waters where they feed principally on fish and they are gregarious birds, travelling in flocks, hunting cooperatively and breeding colonially. Four white-plumaged species tend to nest on the ground, and four brown or grey-plumaged species nest mainly in trees, the relationship between pelicans and people has often been contentious. The birds have been persecuted because of their competition with commercial and recreational fishing. Their populations have fallen through habitat destruction, disturbance and environmental pollution and they also have a long history of cultural significance in mythology, and in Christian and heraldic iconography. The genus Pelecanus was first formally described by Linnaeus in 1758 in the edition of his Systema Naturae. He described the characteristics as a straight bill hooked at the tip, linear nostrils, a bare face. This early definition included frigatebirds, cormorants, and sulids as well as pelicans, the name comes from the Ancient Greek word pelekan, which is itself derived from the word pelekys meaning axe. In classical times, the word was applied to both the pelican and the woodpecker, the family Pelecanidae was introduced by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815. Pelicans give their name to the Pelecaniformes, an order which has a varied taxonomic history, in their place, herons, ibises, spoonbills, the hamerkop and the shoebill have now been transferred into Pelecaniformes. Molecular evidence suggests that the shoebill and the form a sister group to the pelicans. Its beak is almost complete and is identical to that of present-day pelicans. The Late Eocene Protopelicanus may be a pelecaniform or suliform – or an aquatic bird such as a pseudotooth. The supposed Miocene pelican Liptornis from Patagonia is a nomen dubium, fossil finds from North America have been meagre compared with Europe, which has a richer fossil record. The Dalmatian, pink-backed and spot-billed were all related to one another
16.
Nouadhibou
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Nouadhibou is the second largest city in Mauritania and serves as a major commercial centre. The city itself has about 118,000 inhabitants expanding to over 140,000 in the metropolitan area. It is situated on a 65-kilometre peninsula or headland called Ras Nouadhibou, Cap Blanc, or Cabo Blanco, of which the western side, Nouadhibou is consequently located merely a couple of kilometers from the border between Mauritania and Western Sahara. Its current mayor is Mohamed Fadel ould Aboubekrine, attractions in Nouadibou include the Table Remarquable, several markets, a ships graveyard and Mediterranean monk seals. The port of Nouadhibou is the resting place of over 300 ships. The major economic activity is fishing, however, the largest industry is processing iron ore that is transported by train from the mining towns of Zouérat. The town was founded on 15 August 1907 by the general of French West Africa Ernest Roume. Later it became the town of the Arguin Bay area replacing Arguin. After Mauritania became independent in 1960, the name changed to Nouadhibou and its cape. On 30 June 1973, at the time of the second-longest solar eclipse in the 20th century, from February 2006 onwards Nouadhibou has become the departure point for African migrants trying to reach the Canary Islands. The city is also a centre of trading of meteorites found in the Sahara. Between 2010 and 2013, the city experienced huge growth, with its number of inhabitants growing by 40,000. 2000,72,3372013,118,187 Nouadhibou is linked with the Coastal Motorway RN2 to the capital Nouakchott, Nouadhibou also is connected by railway to the iron mines in Zouérat,670 km to the east. The freight trains can be as long as 3 km, reputedly the longest in the world, the railway also carries passengers and calls at Choum. The city is served by Nouadhibou Airport, plans were drawn up at the beginning of 1963 to build a port called Port Wharf in the fishing harbour, which included the construction of industrial and trade buildings. This wharf was designed to accommodate traffic of up to 50,000 tonnes, in 1977 the wharf was lengthened to provide 3 extra berths for ships of average tonnage raising its capacity to 320,000 tonnes. The most popular club is FC Nouadhibou, another club is ASC Snim both inside the Mauritanian Premier League as of the 2014/15 season. Another club is Imraguens de Nouadhibou, the club of the Imraguen people in the area, adventures of Mauritania Shipwrecks on the coast of Mauritania
17.
Casuarina equisetifolia
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Casuarina equisetifolia or Australian pine tree is a she-oak species of the genus Casuarina. The native range extends from Burma and Vietnam throughout Malaysia east to French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu, populations are also found in Madagascar, but it is doubtful if this is within the native range of the species. The species has been introduced to the Southern United States and West Africa and it is an invasive species in Florida and South Africa. Casuarina equisetifolia was officially described by Linnaeus in 1759 as Casuarina equisefolia, a type was designated by New South Wales botanist Lawrie Johnson in 1989. The specific name equisetifolia is derived from the Latin equisetum, meaning horse hair, there are two subspecies, Casuarina equisetifolia subsp. Large tree to 35 m tall, twigs 0. 5–0.7 mm diameter, small tree to 12 m tall, twigs 0. 7–1 mm diameter, downy. Eastern Australia, New Caledonia, southern Vanuatu, Casuarina equisetifolia is an evergreen tree growing to 6–35 m tall. The foliage consists of slender, much-branched green to grey-green twigs 0. 5–1 mm diameter, the flowers are produced in small catkin-like inflorescences, the male flowers in simple spikes 0. 7–4 cm long, the female flowers on short peduncles. Unlike most other species of Casuarina it is monoecious, with male and female flowers produced on the same tree, like some other species of the Genus Casuarina, Casuarina equisetifolia is an actinorhizal plant able to fix atmospheric nitrogen. In contrast to species of the Fabaceae family of plants, Casuarina harbours a symbiosis with a Frankia actinomycete, Casuarina is widely used as a bonsai subject, particularly in South-east Asia and parts of the Caribbean. Indonesian specimens and those cultivated in Taiwan are regarded among the best in the bonsai world, the wood of this tree is used for shingles, fencing, and is said to make excellent hot-burning firewood. Among the islands of Hawaii, Casuarina are also grown for erosion prevention, the legendary miraculous spear Kaumaile came with the hero Tefolaha on the South Pacific island Nanumea. He fought with it on the islands of Samoa and Tonga, as Tefolaha died, Kaumaile went to his heirs, then to their heirs, and on and on -23 generations. It is about 1.80 meters long and about 880 years old and the tree was cut on Samoa
18.
Harmattan
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The Harmattan is a season in the West African subcontinent, which occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by dry and dusty trade wind, of the same name. The name comes from or is related to Ga haramata and it is cold in most places, but can be hot in some places, according to the circumstances. On its passage over the Sahara, it picks up fine dust, the Harmattan season differs from winter, because it is characterized by cold, dry, dust-laden wind, and also wide fluctuations in the ambient temperatures of the day and night. Temperatures can easily be as low as 9 °C all day, the air is particularly dry and desiccating when the Harmattan blows over the region. The wind can increase fire risk and cause severe crop damage, the interaction of the Harmattan with monsoon winds can cause tornadoes. In some countries in West Africa, the amount of dust in the air can severely limit visibility and block the sun for several days. This effect is known as the Harmattan haze and it costs airlines millions of dollars in cancelled and diverted flights each year. When the haze is weak, the skies are clear, the dry air can break the trunks of trees growing in the region. Humidity drops to as low as 15%, which can result in spontaneous nosebleeds for some people, other health effects on humans may include conditions of the skin, eyes, and respiratory system, including aggravation of asthma
19.
Precipitation
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In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, graupel, Precipitation occurs when a portion of the atmosphere becomes saturated with water vapor, so that the water condenses and precipitates. Thus, fog and mist are not precipitation but suspensions, because the vapor does not condense sufficiently to precipitate. Two processes, possibly acting together, can lead to air becoming saturated, Precipitation forms as smaller droplets coalesce via collision with other rain drops or ice crystals within a cloud. Short, intense periods of rain in scattered locations are called showers, moisture that is lifted or otherwise forced to rise over a layer of sub-freezing air at the surface may be condensed into clouds and rain. This process is active when freezing rain is occurring. A stationary front is often present near the area of freezing rain, provided necessary and sufficient atmospheric moisture content, the moisture within the rising air will condense into clouds, namely stratus and cumulonimbus. Eventually, the droplets will grow large enough to form raindrops. Lake-effect snowfall can be locally heavy, thundersnow is possible within a cyclones comma head and within lake effect precipitation bands. In mountainous areas, heavy precipitation is possible where upslope flow is maximized within windward sides of the terrain at elevation, on the leeward side of mountains, desert climates can exist due to the dry air caused by compressional heating. The movement of the trough, or intertropical convergence zone. Precipitation is a component of the water cycle, and is responsible for depositing the fresh water on the planet. Approximately 505,000 cubic kilometres of water falls as precipitation each year,398,000 cubic kilometres of it over the oceans and 107,000 cubic kilometres over land. Given the Earths surface area, that means the globally averaged annual precipitation is 990 millimetres, Climate classification systems such as the Köppen climate classification system use average annual rainfall to help differentiate between differing climate regimes. Precipitation may occur on celestial bodies, e. g. when it gets cold, Mars has precipitation which most likely takes the form of frost. Precipitation is a component of the water cycle, and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the planet. Approximately 505,000 km3 of water falls as precipitation each year,398,000 km3 of it over the oceans, given the Earths surface area, that means the globally averaged annual precipitation is 990 millimetres. Mechanisms of producing precipitation include convective, stratiform, and orographic rainfall, Precipitation can be divided into three categories, based on whether it falls as liquid water, liquid water that freezes on contact with the surface, or ice
20.
Relative humidity
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Relative humidity is the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor to the equilibrium vapor pressure of water at a given temperature. Relative humidity depends on temperature and the pressure of the system of interest and it requires less water vapor to attain high relative humidity at low temperatures, more water vapour is required to attain high relative humidity in warm or hot air. Humans are sensitive to high humidity because the body uses evaporative cooling, enabled by perspiration. Perspiration evaporates from the more slowly under humid conditions than under arid. For example, if the air temperature is 24 °C and the humidity is zero percent. If the relative humidity is 100 percent at the air temperature. In other words, if the air is 24 °C and contains saturated water vapor, then the human body cools itself at the rate as it would if it were 27 °C. The heat index and the humidex are indices that reflect the effect of temperature. In cold climates, the temperature causes lower capacity for water vapour to flow about. Dry cracked skin can result from dry air, low humidity causes tissue lining nasal passages to dry, crack and become more susceptible to penetration of Rhinovirus cold viruses. Low humidity is a cause of nosebleeds. The use of a humidifier in homes, especially bedrooms, can help with these symptoms, indoor relative humidities should be kept above 30% to reduce the likelihood of the occupants nasal passages drying out. Humans can be comfortable within a range of humidities depending on the temperature—from thirty to seventy percent—but ideally between 50% and 60%. Very low humidity can create discomfort, respiratory problems, and aggravate allergies in some individuals, in the winter, it is advisable to maintain relative humidity at 30 percent or above. Extremely low relative humidities may also cause eye irritation, wooden furniture can shrink, causing the paint that covers these surfaces to fracture. When the temperature is low and the humidity is high. When relative humidity approaches 100 percent, condensation can occur on surfaces, leading to problems with mold, corrosion, decay, condensation can pose a safety risk as it can promote the growth of mold and wood rot as well as possibly freezing emergency exits shut. The basic principles for buildings, above, also apply to vehicles, in addition, there may be safety considerations
21.
Sunshine duration
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It is a general indicator of cloudiness of a location, and thus differs from insolation, which measures the total energy delivered by sunlight over a given period. Sunshine duration is usually expressed in hours per year, or in hours per day, the first measure indicates the general sunniness of a location compared with other places, while the latter allows for comparison of sunshine in various seasons in the same location. Another often-used measure is percentage ratio of recorded bright sunshine duration, an important use of sunshine duration data is to characterize the climate of sites, especially of health resorts. This also takes account the psychological effect of strong solar light on human well-being. It is often used to promote tourist destinations, if the Sun were to be above the horizon 50% of the time for a standard year consisting of 8,760 hours, apparent maximal daytime duration would be 4,380 hours for any point on Earth. However, there are physical and astronomical effects that change that picture, namely, atmospheric refraction allows the Sun to be still visible even when it physically sets below the horizon. For that reason, average daytime is longest in polar areas, places on the Arctic Circle have the longest total annual daytime,4,647 hours, while the North Pole receives 4,575. Because of elliptic nature of the Earths orbit, the Southern Hemisphere is not symmetrical, the Equator has a total daytime of 4,422 hours per year. Given the theoretical maximum of daytime duration for a given location, bright sunshine hours represent the total hours when the sunlight is stronger than a specified threshold, as opposed to just visible hours. Visible sunshine, for example, occurs around sunrise and sunset, measurement is performed by instruments called sunshine recorders. For the specific purpose of sunshine duration recording, Campbell–Stokes recorders are used, when the intensity exceeds a pre-determined threshold, the tape burns. The total length of the trace is proportional to the number of bright hours. Another type of recorder is the Jordan sunshine recorder, newer, electronic recorders have more stable sensitivity than that of the paper tape. In 2003, the duration was finally defined as the period during which direct solar irradiance exceeds a threshold value of 120 W/m². The sky is clear in these regions, and fair weather is virtually perpetual, the descending branch of the Hadley cell and the long-term lack of atmospheric disturbances helps to explain the seemingly endless supply of sunny, cloud-free days in the deserts. Low clouding conditions are associated with rainfall shortage, as seen in these dry regions. In the belt encompassing northern Chad and the Tibesti Mountains, northern Sudan, southern Libya, some places in the interior of the Arabian Peninsula receive 3, 600–3,800 hours of bright sunshine annually. The largest sun-baked region in the world is North Africa, the sunniest month in the world is December in Eastern Antarctica, with almost 23 hours of bright sun daily
22.
Louis IX of France
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Louis IX, commonly known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. Louis was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the death of his father Louis VIII the Lion, although his mother, Blanche of Castile, ruled the kingdom until he reached maturity. During Louiss childhood, Blanche dealt with the opposition of rebellious vassals, as an adult, Louis IX faced recurring conflicts with some of the most powerful nobles, such as Hugh X of Lusignan and Peter of Dreux. Simultaneously, Henry III of England tried to restore his continental possessions and his reign saw the annexation of several provinces, notably Normandy, Maine and Provence. Louis IX was a reformer and developed French royal justice, in which the king is the judge to whom anyone is able to appeal to seek the amendment of a judgment. He banned trials by ordeal, tried to prevent the private wars that were plaguing the country, to enforce the correct application of this new legal system, Louis IX created provosts and bailiffs. According to his vow made after an illness, and confirmed after a miraculous cure. He was succeeded by his son Philip III, Louiss actions were inspired by Christian values and Catholic devotion. He decided to punish blasphemy, gambling, interest-bearing loans and prostitution and he also expanded the scope of the Inquisition and ordered the burning of Talmuds. He is the only canonized king of France, and there are many places named after him. Much of what is known of Louiss life comes from Jean de Joinvilles famous Life of Saint Louis, two other important biographies were written by the kings confessor, Geoffrey of Beaulieu, and his chaplain, William of Chartres. The fourth important source of information is William of Saint-Parthus biography, while several individuals wrote biographies in the decades following the kings death, only Jean of Joinville, Geoffrey of Beaulieu, and William of Chartres wrote from personal knowledge of the king. Louis was born on 25 April 1214 at Poissy, near Paris, the son of Prince Louis the Lion and Princess Blanche, and baptised in La Collégiale Notre-Dame church. His grandfather on his fathers side was Philip II, king of France, while his grandfather on his mothers side was Alfonso VIII, tutors of Blanches choosing taught him most of what a king must know—Latin, public speaking, writing, military arts, and government. He was 9 years old when his grandfather Philip II died, a member of the House of Capet, Louis was twelve years old when his father died on 8 November 1226. He was crowned king within the month at Reims cathedral, because of Louiss youth, his mother ruled France as regent during his minority. Louis mother trained him to be a leader and a good Christian. She used to say, I love you, my son, as much as a mother can love her child
23.
Louis XIV of France
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Louis XIV, known as Louis the Great or the Sun King, was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France and Navarre from 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monarch of a country in European history. In the age of absolutism in Europe, Louis XIVs France was a leader in the centralization of power. Louis began his rule of France in 1661, after the death of his chief minister. By these means he became one of the most powerful French monarchs, under his rule, the Edict of Nantes, which granted rights to Huguenots, was abolished. The revocation effectively forced Huguenots to emigrate or convert in a wave of dragonnades, which managed to virtually destroy the French Protestant minority. During Louis reign, France was the leading European power, and it fought three wars, the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg. There were also two lesser conflicts, the War of Devolution and the War of the Reunions, warfare defined Louis XIVs foreign policies, and his personality shaped his approach. Impelled by a mix of commerce, revenge, and pique, in peacetime he concentrated on preparing for the next war. He taught his diplomats their job was to create tactical and strategic advantages for the French military, Louis XIV was born on 5 September 1638 in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, to Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. He was named Louis Dieudonné and bore the title of French heirs apparent. At the time of his birth, his parents had married for 23 years. His mother had experienced four stillbirths between 1619 and 1631, leading contemporaries thus regarded him as a divine gift and his birth a miracle of God. Sensing imminent death, Louis XIII decided to put his affairs in order in the spring of 1643, in defiance of custom, which would have made Queen Anne the sole Regent of France, the king decreed that a regency council would rule on his sons behalf. His lack of faith in Queen Annes political abilities was his primary rationale and he did, however, make the concession of appointing her head of the council. Louis relationship with his mother was uncommonly affectionate for the time, contemporaries and eyewitnesses claimed that the Queen would spend all her time with Louis. Both were greatly interested in food and theatre, and it is likely that Louis developed these interests through his close relationship with his mother. This long-lasting and loving relationship can be evidenced by excerpts in Louis journal entries, such as, but attachments formed later by shared qualities of the spirit are far more difficult to break than those formed merely by blood
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Seven Years' War
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The Seven Years War was a war fought between 1754 and 1763, the main conflict occurring in the seven-year period from 1756 to 1763. It involved every European great power of the time except the Ottoman Empire and spanned five continents, affecting Europe, the Americas, West Africa, India, and the Philippines. The conflict split Europe into two coalitions, led by the Kingdom of Great Britain on one side and the Kingdom of France on the other. Meanwhile, in India, the Mughal Empire, with the support of the French, faced with this sudden turn of events, Britain aligned herself with Prussia, in a series of political manoeuvres known as the Diplomatic Revolution. Conflict between Great Britain and France broke out in 1754–1756 when the British attacked disputed French positions in North America, meanwhile, rising power Prussia was struggling with Austria for dominance within and outside the Holy Roman Empire in central Europe. In 1756, the major powers switched partners, realizing that war was imminent, Prussia preemptively struck Saxony and quickly overran it. The result caused uproar across Europe, because of Austrias alliance with France to recapture Silesia, which had been lost in a previous war, Prussia formed an alliance with Britain. Reluctantly, by following the diet, most of the states of the empire joined Austrias cause. The Anglo-Prussian alliance was joined by smaller German states, Sweden, seeking to re-gain Pomerania joined the coalition, seeing its chance when virtually all of Europe opposed Prussia. Spain, bound by the Pacte de Famille, intervened on behalf of France, the Russian Empire was originally aligned with Austria, fearing Prussias ambition on the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, but switched sides upon the succession of Tsar Peter III in 1762. Naples, Sicily, and Savoy, although sided with the Franco-Spanish alliance, like Sweden, Russia concluded a separate peace with Prussia. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris between France, Spain and Great Britain and the Treaty of Hubertusburg between Saxony, Austria and Prussia, in 1763. The Native American tribes were excluded from the settlement, a subsequent conflict, Prussia emerged as a new European great power. Although Austria failed to retrieve the territory of Silesia from Prussia its military prowess was noted by the other powers. The involvement of Portugal, Spain and Sweden did not return them to their status as great powers. France was deprived of many of its colonies and had saddled itself with heavy war debts that its inefficient financial system could barely handle. Spain lost Florida but gained French Louisiana and regained control of its colonies, e. g. Cuba and the Philippines, France and Spain avenged their defeat in 1778 when the American Revolutionary War broke out, with hopes of destroying Britains dominance once and for all. The Seven Years War was perhaps the first true world war, having taken place almost 160 years before World War I and it was characterized in Europe by sieges and the arson of towns as well as open battles with heavy losses
25.
Capture of Senegal
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The Capture of Senegal took place in 1758 during the Seven Years War with France, as part of a concerted British strategy to weaken the French economy by damaging her international trade. To this end, a succession of small British military expeditions landed in Senegal and captured the French settlements of Saint-Louis and Gorée, seizing French vessels and supplies. By late 1758 the Senegalese coast was entirely in British hands with local administration controlled by the first British Governor of Senegal, the plan was devised by an American merchant Thomas Cumming who had previously visited West Africa, and extensively considered the possibilities for a British attack. The plan was built around Britains growing dominance on the Oceans which had dramatically reduced French sea power, a British naval force under Captain Henry Marsh would sail from England and head for the coast of West Africa, where it would land an amphibious force at the Senegal River. They would then capture the French fort at Saint-Louis, Cumming planned to raise support from local African forces, who would rendezvous with the British and attack the French. The French settlements in Senegal had little value, but they were important to Frances global trade in slaves. They were also home to an industry in natural gums. The principal object of the expedition was therefore to damage the French economy by cutting access to these industries, such expeditions were part of Southern Secretary William Pitts strategy of destroying Frances capacity to continue the war by draining her of funds. Two hundred troops and two warships were to part in the expedition. The forces departed from Plymouth in early 1758, and after a stop for supplies at Tenerife they reached the coast of West Africa in April. Cumming had gone ashore to secure support amongst locals, and they launched a blockade of the fort. Marsh then put his troops ashore, the sudden arrival of British troops took the garrison completely by surprise. On 1 May they surrendered the fort, and the resident traders swore allegiance to the British, not a single Briton had been killed in the taking of the settlement. Cummings ships returned home crammed with captured goods valued at hundreds of thousands of pounds, Pitt was extremely pleased at the ease with which the British forces had taken Saint-Louis. He was also impressed by the quantities of gum arabic which were brought back to Britain. In the wake of the success, two further expeditions were sent out that year, which captured the Island of Gorée and the French trading station on the Gambia. Ownership of the West African settlements became a source of contention between Britain and France during the peace talks that led to the 1763 Treaty of Paris. The negotiations centred on a return of some of the captured outposts
26.
Louis Faidherbe
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Louis Léon César Faidherbe was a French general and colonial administrator. He created the Senegalese Tirailleurs when he was governor of Senegal, Faidherbe was born into a lower-middle-class family in Lille. He was the child of Louis César Joseph Faidherde, a hosier. His father died in 1826 when he was seven and he was brought up by his mother and he received his military education at the École Polytechnique and then at the École dApplication in Metz. From 1843 to 1847 he served in Algeria, then for one year in Guadeloupe, in 1852 he was transferred to Senegal as sub-director of engineers, and in 1854 was promoted chef de bataillon and appointed governor of the colony on December 16. He held this post with one interval until July 1865. The work he accomplished in French West Africa constitutes his most enduring legacy, at that time France possessed in Senegal little else than the town of Saint-Louis and a strip of coast. Explorers had, however, made known the riches and possibilities of the Niger regions and he even dreamed of creating a French African empire stretching from Senegal to the Red Sea. The plan specified in detail the creation of forts along the Sénégal River to end African control of the gum trade from the interior. Faidherbes push to build fortifications farther out, his conflicts with Protet, within three months of his appointment as governor, he had begun work on the first in a series on inland forts up the Sénégal, at Médine just below the Félou Falls. French military forces had previously avoided conflicts with the most powerful states in the area, the Toucouleur empire along the Niger River, and the Cayor in the south. To accomplish even the first part of his design, he had very inadequate resources, especially in view of the opposition from El Hadj Umar Tall, the Muslim ruler of the countries of the middle Niger. By advancing the French outposts on the upper Senegal, and particularly by breaking Umar Talls siege of Medina Fort, striking an advantageous treaty with Umar in 1860, Faidherbe brought the French possessions into touch with the Niger. He also brought into subjection the country lying between the Senegal river and Gambia, at the Battle of Logandème, Faidherbe launched war against the Serer people of Sine, during the reign of Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof. After his victory, he gave the order for Fatick and its villages to be burned to the ground. The French government in Paris criticised him for undertaking a campaign without their authority. To answer his critics, Faidherbe claimed that he only occupied areas that belonged to France since 1679, scholars like Martin A. Kelin notes that, Faidherbe was merely playing with words and was making political decisions in Senegal without any authority whatsoever. The Kingdom of Sine nor any of its provinces never belonged to France, Saint-Louis was placed under formal military control, and a telegraph and road link was set up to the other French colonies in Gorée Island and Rufisque
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Faidherbe Bridge
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Faidherbe Bridge is a road bridge over the Sénégal River which links the island of the city of Saint-Louis in Senegal to the African mainland. The metal bridge is 507.35 metres long and 10.5 metres wide and it has eight spans, of which the longest five are 78.26 metres. Until the 19th century, access to the island was made through boats, the governor of Senegal, Henri de Lamothe decided to take a loan worth five million gold francs to construct a new metallic bridge in Saint-Louis. After the construction company was selected, they all decided to construct a new bridge with a section capable of turning 90 degrees to allow the passage of ships. The bridge was opened on July 14,1897, in the 2000s, a US$27 million rehabilitation plan has been inaugurated. The city of Saint-Louis, the first capital of the French West Africa, is situated on an island near the estuary of the Sénégal River. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a thin 40 kilometres strip of sand called the Langue de Barbarie, the suburbs of Guet Ndar and Ndar-Tout are situated in this area. Until the 19th century, access to the island was by boat, troops, horses and the equipment of the French colonial army all had to be transported by small boats. In 1858, Louis Faidherbe, the governor of Senegal, inaugurated the Bouteville boat that was capable of transporting 150 passengers, animals and all kinds of goods. The boat made ten crosses every day and the fares differed, five centimes for a person,50 centimes for a horse, cow or camel, in less than a year it was obvious that this system was overrun and a second boat was introduced but with no success. Seeing this, the frigate captain Robin, friend of Louis Faidherbe, asked Prince Jérôme Napoléon, Minister of Algeria, opened on July 2,1865, the bridge had a total length of 680 metres and a width of 4 metres. The floating part was formed from 40 metal pontoons which supported a wooden deck, three of these pontoons were specially designed so that it could be created a 20 metres gap so that large vessels could pass. The bridge was named Faidherbe Bridge by a decree of Napoleon III of France, the opening in 1885 of the Saint-Louis–Dakar railway increased the traffic over the bridge. The railway reached all the way to Sor and all the goods hauled between the coast and the station had to cross over the bridge. To prevent the breakdown of the bridge a special decree was given so that the weight for a vehicle that crosses the bridge to be less than one. With all its difficulties the bridge remained in service 32 years, in the opening of his speech in the General Council of Senegal, governor Henri de Lamothe proposed that the country should take a loan for infrastructure development. The council agreed on a loan worth five million gold francs, the loan was approved on November 2,1892, by the French president Marie François Sadi Carnot. A French bank, CDG, agreed to give the loan with a low interest of four percent
28.
Bordeaux
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Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France. The municipality of Bordeaux proper has a population of 243,626, together with its suburbs and satellite towns, Bordeaux is the centre of the Bordeaux Métropole. With 749,595 inhabitants and 1,178,335 in the area, it is the fifth largest in France, after Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Lille. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department and its inhabitants are called Bordelais or Bordelaises. The term Bordelais may also refer to the city and its surrounding region, Bordeaux is the worlds major wine industry capital. It is home to the main wine fair, Vinexpo. Bordeaux wine has been produced in the region since the 8th century, the historic part of the city is on the UNESCO World Heritage List as an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble of the 18th century. After Paris, Bordeaux has the highest number of preserved buildings of any city in France. In historical times, around 300 BC it was the settlement of a Celtic tribe, the Bituriges Vivisci, the name Bourde is still the name of a river south of the city. In 107 BC, the Battle of Burdigala was fought by the Romans who were defending the Allobroges, a Gallic tribe allied to Rome, the Romans were defeated and their commander, the consul Lucius Cassius Longinus, was killed in the action. The city fell under Roman rule around 60 BC, its importance lying in the commerce of tin, later it became capital of Roman Aquitaine, flourishing especially during the Severan dynasty. In 276 it was sacked by the Vandals, further ravage was brought by the same Vandals in 409, the Visigoths in 414 and the Franks in 498, beginning a period of obscurity for the city. In the late 6th century, the city re-emerged as the seat of a county and an archdiocese within the Merovingian kingdom of the Franks, the city started to play a regional role as a major urban center on the fringes of the newly founded Frankish Duchy of Vasconia. Around 585, a certain Gallactorius is cited as count of Bordeaux, the city was plundered by the troops of Abd er Rahman in 732 after storming the fortified city and overwhelming the Aquitanian garrison. After Duke Eudess defeat, the Aquitanian duke could still save part of its troops, the following year, the Frankish commander descended again over Aquitaine, but clashed in battle with the Aquitanians and left to take on hostile Burgundian authorities and magnates. In 745, Aquitaine faced yet another expedition by Charles sons Pepin and Carloman against Hunald, Hunald was defeated, and his son Waifer replaced him, who in turn confirmed Bordeaux as the capital city. During the last stage of the war against Aquitaine, it was one of Waifers last important strongholds to fall to King Pepin the Shorts troops. Next to Bordeaux, Charlemagne built the fortress of Fronsac on a hill across the border with the Basques, in 778, Seguin was appointed count of Bordeaux, probably undermining the power of the Duke Lupo, and possibly leading to the Battle of Roncevaux Pass that very year
29.
Pirogue
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A pirogue can be one of several kinds of small boats. One kind is associated particularly with the Cajuns of the Louisiana marsh, the early Cajun pirogues were cypress dugouts but today they are usually flat-bottomed boats. Pirogues are not usually intended for travel but are light. The design also allows the pirogue to move through the shallow water of marshes. A pirogue has hard chines which means that instead of a curve from the gunwales to the keel. The pirogue is usually propelled by paddles that have one blade and it can also be punted with a push pole in shallow water. Small sails can also be employed, outboard motors are increasingly being used in many regions. In West Africa they were used as fishing boats. The word comes from the Spanish word piragua, which comes from the Carib piraua, traditionally, it was just another name for dugout canoes, but it came to refer to a specific type of canoe. Naturally, in Louisiana the boats were constructed of cypress, plywood is the common material for modern pirogues. Many modern duck hunters and fisherman in the swamps of south Louisiana use pirogues made of fiberglass, in his 1952 classic song Jambalaya, Hank Williams refers to the pirogue in the line me gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou. Johnny Horton, an avid Louisiana fisherman who celebrated Cajun customs and culture, Hank Williams, Jr. had a hit song in 1969, Cajun Baby, which refers to the pirogue in the line ride around in my old pirogue. Doug Kershaws 1961 hit Louisiana Man includes the line. he jumps in his pirogue headed down the bayou, many online lyrics sites mis-understand this line, saying hero or sometimes biro instead. On the Lewis and Clark expedition, pirogues were among the boats used during the journey, the term usually referred to the medium-sized boats of the company carrying eight rowers and a pilot, capable of carrying eight tons of cargo. Henry D. Thoreau writes of using heavy pirogues in his book The Maine Woods, there are accounts of 17th and 18th century Caribbean pirates using pirogues to attack and take-by-force much larger vessels including sloops and even barca-longas. Pirogues were used extensively by pirates and buccaneers throughout the Caribbean, the now-Mexican and Gulf Coasts, for the most part, though, such vessels were used for scouting or as tenders. Pirogues were used by Lewis and Clark on the Missouri River and westward from 1804–1806, in addition to bateaux, there is not one pirogue design, but several. Besides small pirogues as seen above, there are also pirogues that can hold up to ten men with paddles and these too, however, are not designed for open waters
30.
Bahia
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Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the 4th-largest Brazilian state by population and the 5th-largest by area, Bahias capital is the city of Salvador, located on a spit of land separating the Bay of All Saints from the Atlantic. Once a monarchial stronghold dominated by agricultural, slaving, and ranching interests, the name of the state derives from the earlier captaincy of Bahia de Todos os Santos, named for Bay of All Saints, a major feature of its coastline. The bay itself was named by the explorer Amerigo Vespucci during his second voyage and he named it after his parish church in Florence, San Salvatore di Ognissanti. Over time, the bay became distinguished as the Bay of All Saints, the state as Bahia, Bahia is bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, with its Bay of All Saints the largest in Brazil. In the north, it is now bordered by Sergipe, Alagoas, Pernambuco, in the northwest, it is bordered by Tocantins. In the southwest, it borders Goiás, and in the south it is bordered by Espírito Santo, the state is crossed from north to south by the Diamantina Tableland, which divides it into two distinct geographical zones. To the east, the soil is fertile and the rain falls regularly, the western area is more arid and its predominate vegetation the cerrado. The natural aridity was greatly worsened over the 19th century by the habit of starting wildfires each year to improve the quality of the grass. The Green Road, a road that connects Mangue Seco in the far north to Praia do Forte, for this reason, the route is sometimes more than 10 km from the beach. At Praia do Forte, the road meets the Coconut Road leading to Salvador, passing through spots, in this region is located Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport. The largest bay on the Brazilian coast, the Bay of All Saints has a number of islands with tropical beaches. It is the largest navigable bay in Brazil and one of the most favorite spots for sports, due to its regular breezes, medium annual temperature of 26 °C. Major popular events and sport activities occur throughout the year, beginning on January 1, the islands of the bay are a separate attraction. Some are privately owned, others were declared a state heritage, other islands are the patrimony of 12 municipalities located around the bay. Only a few are uninhabited and many have small communities where the live on fishing. All have common characteristics, such a sea, dense vegetation, especially coconuts. Of the 56 islands, the most important are Itaparica, Madre de Deus, Maré, Frades, Medo, the Dendê Coast, south of Salvador, is surrounded by verdant vegetation, clear waters, islands, bays, coral reefs and a very diversified fauna
31.
Cartagena, Spain
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Cartagena is a Spanish city and a major naval station located in the Region of Murcia, by the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Spain. As of January 2011, it has a population of 218,210 inhabitants being the Region’s second largest municipality, the metropolitan area of Cartagena, known as Campo de Cartagena, has a population of 409,586 inhabitants. Cartagena has been inhabited for two millennia, being founded around 227 BC by the Carthaginian Hasdrubal the Fair as Qart Hadasht. The city had its heyday during the Roman Empire, when it was known as Carthago Nova and Carthago Spartaria and it was one of the important cities during the Umayyad invasion of Hispania, under its Arabic name of Qartayannat al-Halfa. Much of the weight of Cartagena in the past goes to its coveted defensive port. Cartagena has been the capital of the Spanish Navys Maritime Department of the Mediterranean since the arrival of the Spanish Bourbons in the 18th century, as far back as the 16th century it was one of the most important naval ports in Spain, together with Ferrol in the North. It is still an important naval seaport, the main military haven of Spain, Cartagena is now established as a major cruise ship destination in the Mediterranean and an emerging cultural focus. It is the first of a number of cities that eventually have been named Cartagena, the city of Cartagena is located in the southeastern region of Spain in the Campo de Cartagena. The dominant geology of the region is metamorphic and sedimentary, the city is located just at the end of the new AP-7 motorway. The following villages are part of Cartagena municipality, La Azohía, Isla Plana, Los Urrutias, the Old Town is limited by five small hills following the example of Rome. In the past, there was a sea between the hills called the Estero that eventually dried up. On this site, the Ensanche was built at the beginning of the 20th Century, the urban area is delimited or crossed by several watercourses, some of which go deep into the urban network during a large part of their courses. Cartagena has a hot semi-arid climate and its location near the ocean moderates the temperature, and annual precipitation typically does not surpass 300 mm. The annual average temperature goes up to around 20.4 °C, the coldest month is January, with an average of 13.7 °C. In August, the warmest month, the temperature is 28.7 °C. The wind is an important climatic factor in the region, part of its area is subject to different levels of legal protection. Cartagena’s coastal mountains have a concentration of one of the largest botanical biodiversities of the Iberian Peninsula, European and African species are both present, as well as a number of remarkable Ibero-African species, which are only found on the southern coasts of Spain and North Africa. In addition, the presence of the chameleon has been documented for about 30 years
32.
Havana
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Havana is the capital city, largest city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet, the sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay. King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City in 1592, walls as well as forts were built to protect the old city. The sinking of the U. S. battleship Maine in Havanas harbor in 1898 was the cause of the Spanish–American War. Contemporary Havana can essentially be described as three cities in one, Old Havana, Vedado and the suburban districts. The city is the center of the Cuban government, and home to various ministries, headquarters of businesses, the current mayor is Marta Hernández of the Communist Party of Cuba. In 2009, the city/province had the third highest income in the country, the city attracts over a million tourists annually, the Official Census for Havana reports that in 2010 the city was visited by 1,176,627 international tourists, a 20% increase from 2005. Old Havana was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, the city is also noted for its history, culture, architecture and monuments. As typical of Cuba, Havana also features a tropical climate, in May 2015, Havana was officially recognized as one of the New7Wonders Cities together with Vigan, Doha, La Paz, Durban, Beirut, and Kuala Lumpur. Most native settlements became the site of Spanish colonial cities retaining their original Taíno names, an alternate theory is that Habana is derived from the Middle Dutch word havene, referring to a harbour, etymologically related to the English word haven. All attempts to found a city on Cubas south coast failed, however, an early map of Cuba drawn in 1514 places the town at the mouth of this river. The town that became Havana finally originated adjacent to what was then called Puerto de Carenas, the quality of this natural bay, which now hosts Havanas harbor, warranted this change of location. Pánfilo de Narváez gave Havana – the sixth town founded by the Spanish on Cuba – its name, the name combines San Cristóbal, patron saint of Havana. Shortly after the founding of Cubas first cities, the served as little more than a base for the Conquista of other lands. Havana began as a port, and suffered regular attacks by buccaneers, pirates. The first attack and resultant burning of the city was by the French corsair Jacques de Sores in 1555, ships from all over the New World carried products first to Havana, in order to be taken by the fleet to Spain. The thousands of ships gathered in the bay also fueled Havanas agriculture and manufacture, since they had to be supplied with food, water. On December 20,1592, King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City, later on, the city would be officially designated as Key to the New World and Rampart of the West Indies by the Spanish Crown
33.
New Orleans
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New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The population of the city was 343,829 as of the 2010 U. S. Census, the New Orleans metropolitan area had a population of 1,167,764 in 2010 and was the 46th largest in the United States. The New Orleans–Metairie–Bogalusa Combined Statistical Area, a trading area, had a 2010 population of 1,452,502. The city is named after the Duke of Orleans, who reigned as Regent for Louis XV from 1715 to 1723, as it was established by French colonists and it is well known for its distinct French and Spanish Creole architecture, as well as its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. New Orleans is also famous for its cuisine, music, and its celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras. The city is referred to as the most unique in the United States. New Orleans is located in southeastern Louisiana, straddling the Mississippi River, the city and Orleans Parish are coterminous. The city and parish are bounded by the parishes of St. Tammany to the north, St. Bernard to the east, Plaquemines to the south, and Jefferson to the south and west. Lake Pontchartrain, part of which is included in the city limits, lies to the north, before Hurricane Katrina, Orleans Parish was the most populous parish in Louisiana. As of 2015, it ranks third in population, trailing neighboring Jefferson Parish, La Nouvelle-Orléans was founded May 7,1718, by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, on land inhabited by the Chitimacha. It was named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who was Regent of the Kingdom of France at the time and his title came from the French city of Orléans. The French colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire in the Treaty of Paris, during the American Revolutionary War, New Orleans was an important port for smuggling aid to the rebels, transporting military equipment and supplies up the Mississippi River. Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez successfully launched a campaign against the British from the city in 1779. New Orleans remained under Spanish control until 1803, when it reverted briefly to French oversight, nearly all of the surviving 18th-century architecture of the Vieux Carré dates from the Spanish period, the most notable exception being the Old Ursuline Convent. Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, thereafter, the city grew rapidly with influxes of Americans, French, Creoles, and Africans. Later immigrants were Irish, Germans, and Italians, Major commodity crops of sugar and cotton were cultivated with slave labor on large plantations outside the city. The Haitian Revolution ended in 1804 and established the republic in the Western Hemisphere. It had occurred several years in what was then the French colony of Saint-Domingue
34.
Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary
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The Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary lies on the southeast bank of the Senegal River in Senegal, in northern Biffeche, north east of St-Louis. It provides a range of habitats which prove very popular with migrating birds. Of almost 400 species of birds, the most visible are pelicans, less conspicuous are the aquatic warblers migrating here from Europe, for these, the park is the single most important wintering site yet discovered. A wide range of wildlife inhabits the park, which is designated a World Heritage Site. The site was added to the list of World Heritage in Danger in 2000 due to the introduction of the giant salvinia plant. However it was removed from the list in 2006, since operation of the Diama Dam on the Senegal River began in 1988, experts have observed a lowering of the water level, desalinization, and silting. The changes pose a threat to the fauna and flora, there has been in particular a proliferation of typhas and phragmites. To the left, satellite photos take by NASA in 1979 and 1999 give evidence of the significant impact on the regions ecosystem, in 2006, though no cases of avian flu had been reported in Senegal, a monitoring program was put into effect
35.
Richard Toll
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Richard Toll is a town in northern Senegal, lying on the south bank of the River Senegal, just east of Rosso. Originally a colonial town, it was named for the park of the Chateau de Baron Roger, a rice growing scheme was originally initiated by Frances colonial development organisation, FIDES, in 1949 with an initial cultivated area of 6,000 hectares. The towns main industry is sugar, marie Laforêt has a song about Richard Toll. Before Colonization there were two villages Ndiangué, and Xhouma, which were inhabited by the Mbodi people descendants of Brack. In 1817 the governor under colonial rule Schmaltz created L’Escale community on the Senegal River, in 1822, the new governor the Baron Roger sent a botanist and pépiniériste named Michelle Claude Richard to work in L’Escale and named it Richard’s Toll, meaning Richards Farm in local language. At this time there were 28 residents, and 1148 nomadic workers living in Toll, the size of toll then grew greatly in 1945 with the creation of the Mission Agricole du Senegal, which also brought other institutions such as a hospital, and chapel, and a school. By 1980 Richard Toll had six quartiers, Escale, Ndaingué, Ndiaw, Khouma Wolof, Khouma Peul, since then the city has grown and evolved into what it is today with the addition of quartiers such as Campement, Thiaback, GAE2, and Taouey. The latest estimate of the available at the mayors office with was from 2005 which was at 46,547. Women constituted 52. 01% of the population, and men 47. 99%, there are two markets in Toll, the Richard Toll market, and the Xhouma Market. The Richard Toll market is a larger than the Xhouma market. It is located in the part of the city, and encompasses about 3 square city blocks although it is hard to tell where the market ends. I would estimate that there are over 50 established stores, the Xhouma market is located on the eastern side of town in a primarily Pulaar area. It is located off the road, as opposed to the Richard Toll market which is in more of a city grid. The main economic activities in Richard Toll are agriculture, fishing, animal husbandry, less popular economic activities are transportation, tourism, and artisanal goods. Richard Toll is most known for its refinery, which is French owned
36.
Diama Dam
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The Diama Dam, sometimes referred to as the Maka–Diama Dam, is a gravity dam on the Senegal River, spanning the border of Senegal and Mauritania. It is located next to the town of Diama, Senegal and about 22 km north of Saint-Louis, additionally, a ship lock built within the dam provides for navigation upstream. Plans for the dam were first drawn in 1970 when the states within the Senegal River Basin Development Authority agreed to develop the Senegal River. The Diama Dam was to be constructed in conjunction with the Manantali Dam which was to be located upstream in Mali. Construction on the Diama Dam began on 15 September 1981 and was completed on 12 August 1986, the Manantali Dam was completed in 1988. The Diama project was funded by a US$149.5 million loan from the African Development Bank, the main section of the dam with ship lock and spillway is 170 m long while a 440 m long embankment dam section extends north to the edge of the river. A dike further extends the dam to the north, the dam is 18 m tall and it is spillway has a maximum discharge of 6,500 m3/s. Schistosomiasis Félou Hydroelectric Plant – upstream Gouina Hydroelectric Plant – upstream Manantali Dam – upstream
37.
Dama gazelle
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The dama gazelle, addra gazelle, or mhorr gazelle is a species of gazelle. It lives in Africa in the Sahara desert and the Sahel and this critically endangered species has disappeared from most of its former range due to overhunting and habitat loss, and natural populations only remain in Chad, Mali, and Niger. Its habitat includes grassland, shrubland, semi-deserts, open savanna and their diets includes grasses, leaves, shoots, and fruit. In Niger, the dama has become a national symbol, under the Hausa name meyna or ménas the dama appears on the badge of the Niger national football team, who are popularly called the Ménas. The dama gazelle is white with a head and neck. Both sexes usually have medium-length ringed horns curved like an S. Males horns are about 35 cm long, the gazelles heads are small with narrow muzzles, their eyes are relatively large, and they have longer necks and legs than most gazelles. These animals are between 90 and 120 cm tall at the shoulder, weigh between 35 and 75 kg, and have lifespans up to 12 years in the wild or 18 in captivity. A few days following birth, dama young are strong enough to follow the herd and they also tend to need more water than some of their desert relatives, but they can withstand fairly long periods of drought. Unlike many other mammals, damas are a diurnal species. Always on the alert, damas use a behavior called pronking to warn members of danger. Pronking involves the animal hopping up and down all four of their legs stiff, so their limbs all leave. Males also establish territories, and during breeding season, they actively exclude other mature males and they mark their territories with urine and dung piles and secretions from glands near their eyes. The dama gazelle is generally divided into three based on the colour of the animals back, flanks and haunches. These three subspecies occupied three blocks running along the east–west axis of the gazelles range, the easternmost is the N. dama ruficollis whose historical range was to the east of 15°E. The westernmost is the N. dama mhorr whose historical range was to the west of 7°E, between the two was the historical range of the N. dama dama. Genetic studies have raised questions over the validity of these subspecies, N. d. N. d. dama is not represented in captivity and very rare in the wild. N. d. ruficollis, the gazelle, is present in captive breeding programs in Europe, North America and the Middle East. The numbers of species in the wild have fallen by 80% over the last decade
Senegal
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}
St. Louis, United States
Lille, France, since 1978
Fes, Morocco, since 1979
Liège, Belgium, since 1980
Bologna, Italy, since 1991
Fortaleza, Brazil, since 2006 [17]
