Dakar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Dakar (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Dhaka.

Dakar

Place de l'Indpendance

Coat of arms

City of Dakar, divided into 19 communes d'arrondissement

Dakar

Location within Senegal

Coordinates: 144134N 172648WCoordinates:

144134N 172648W

Country Senegal

Rgion Dakar

Dpartement Dakar

Settled 15th century

Communes

d'arrondissement 19[show]

Government

Mayor Khalifa Sall (2009)[1]

(BSS/PS)

Regional president Macky Sall (since 2012)

Area

City 83 km2 (32 sq mi)

Elevation[2] 22 m (72 ft)

Population (2011 estimate)[3]

City 1,056,009

Density 12,510/km2 (32,400/sq mi)

Metro 2,452,656

Metro density 4,484/km2 (11,610/sq mi)

Data here are for the administrative

Dakar rgion, which matches almost

exactly the limits of the metropolitan

area

Time zone GMT (UTC+0)

Website villededakar.org

Dakar (English pronunciation: /dkr, dkr/;[5][6] French: [da.ka])[7] 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 and on the African mainland. Its position, on the western edge of Africa, is an

advantageous departure point for trans-Atlantic and European trade; this fact aided its growth

into a major regional port.

According to 31 December 2005 official estimates, the city of Dakar proper has a population of

1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 2.45 million

people.[8]

Dakar is a major administrative center, home to the Senegal National Assembly and the

Presidential Palace.

Contents

1 History

o 1.1 Early history

o 1.2 Recent history

2 Geography and climate

3 Administration

4 Notable places

5 Notable natives and residents

6 International relations

7 References

8 External links

History

See also: Timeline of Dakar

Early history

The Cap-Vert peninsula was settled, no later than the 15th century, by the Lebou people, an

aquacultural ethnic group related to the neighboring Wolof and Sereer. 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, but were

repulsed by the natives on the shores.[9][10][11] Peaceful contact was finally opened in 1456 by

Diogo Gomes, and the bay was subsequently referred to as the "Angra de Bezeguiche" (after the

name of the local ruler).[12] The bay of "Bezeguiche" would serve as a critical stop for the

Portuguese India Armadas of the early 16th century, where large fleets would routinely put in,

both on their outward and return journeys from India, to repair, collect fresh water from the

rivulets and wells along the Cap-Vert shore and trade for provisions with the local people for

their remaining voyage.[12] (It was famously during one of these stops, in 1501, where the

Florentine navigator Amerigo Vespucci began to construct his "New World" hypothesis about

America.[13])

The Portuguese eventually founded a settlement on the island of Gore (then known as the island

of Bezeguiche or Palma), which by 1536 they began to use as a base for the export of slaves. 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 Gore in the 17th century to service the

European trading factory with food and drinking water. Gore was captured by the United

Netherlands in 1588, which gave it its present name (spelled Goeree, after Goeree-Overflakkee

in the Netherlands). 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, mtis

families, descended from Dutch and French traders and African wives, dominated the slave

trade. The infamous "House of Slaves" was built here 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 (which they

called "Dakar") and annexed the Lebou Republic, though its institutions continued to function

nominally. The Serigne (also spelled Sri, "Lord") of Ndakaaru is still recognized as the

traditional 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. Despite Napoleon's abolition, a

clandestine slave trade continued at Gore until 1848, when it was abolished throughout all

French territories. To replace trade in slaves, the French promoted peanut cultivation on the

mainland. As the peanut trade boomed, tiny Gore Island, whose population had grown to

6,000 residents, proved ineffectual as a port. Traders from Gore decided to move to the

mainland and a "factory" with warehouses was established in Rufisque in 1840.

A public water well, 1899.

Large public expenditure for infrastructure was allocated by the colonial authorities to Dakar's

development. The port facilities were improved with jetties, a telegraph line was established

along the coast to Saint-Louis and the Dakar-Saint-Louis railway was completed in 1885, at

which point the city became an important base for the conquest of the western Sudan.

Dakar in 1850.

Dakar in 1888.

Dakar Entrept. ca. 1900

Gore, including Dakar, was recognised as a French commune in 1872. Dakar itself was split off

from Gore as a separate commune in 1887. The citizens of the city elected their own mayor and

municipal council and helped send an elected representative to the National Assembly in Paris.

Dakar replaced Saint-Louis as the capital of French West Africa in 1902. A second major

railroad, the Dakar-Niger built from 19061923, linked Dakar to Bamako and consolidated the city's position at the head of France's West African empire. In 1929, the commune of Gore

Island, now with only a few hundred inhabitants, was merged into Dakar.

Urbanization during the colonial period was marked by forms of racial and social segregationoften expressed in terms of health and hygienewhich continue to structure the city today. Following a plague epidemic in 1914, the authorities forced most of the African population out

of old neighborhoods, or "Plateau", and into a new quarter, called Mdina, separated from it by a

"sanitary cordon". As first occupants of the land, the Lebou inhabitants of the city successfully

resisted this expropriation. They were supported by Blaise Diagne, the first African to be elected

Deputy to the National Assembly. Nonetheless, the Plateau thereafter became an administrative,

commercial, and residential district increasingly reserved for Europeans and served as model for

similar exclusionary administrative enclaves in French Africa's other colonial capitals (Bamako,

Conakry, Abidjan, Brazzaville). Meanwhile, the Layene Sufi order, established by Seydina

Mouhammadou Limamou Laye, was thriving among the Lebou in Yoff and in a new village

called Cambrne. Since independence, urbanization has sprawled eastward past Pikine, a

commuter suburb whose population (2001 est. 1,200,000) is greater than that of Dakar proper, to

Rufisque, creating a conurbation of almost 3 million (over a quarter of the national population).

In its colonial heyday Dakar was one of the major cities of the French Empire, comparable to

Hanoi or Beirut. French trading firms established branch offices there and industrial investments

(mills, breweries, refineries, canneries) were attracted by its port and rail facilities. It was also

strategically important to France, which maintained an important naval base and coaling station

in its harbor and which integrated it into its earliest air force and airmail circuits, most notably

with the legendary Mermoz airfield (no longer extant).

Recent history

During the Battle of Dakar, which took place off the coast of Dakar on September 2325, 1940, the British navy attempted to rally the colonial administration in Dakar to the Allied cause and

detach it from Vichy. In November 1944 West African conscripts of the French army mutinied

against poor conditions at the Thiaroye camp, on the outskirts of the city. The mutiny was seen

as an indictment of the colonial system and constituted a watershed for the nationalist movement.

Dakar was the capital of the short-lived Mali Federation from 1959 to 1960, after which it

became the capital of Senegal. The poet, philosopher and first President of Senegal Lopold

Sdar Senghor tried to transform Dakar into the "Sub-Saharan African Athens" (lAthnes de lAfrique subsaharienne),[14] as his vision was for it.

Dakar is a major financial center, home to a dozen national and regional banks (including the

BCEAO which manages the unified West African CFA currency), and to numerous international

organizations, NGOs and international research centers. Dakar has a large Lebanese community

(concentrated in the import-export sector) that dates to the 1920s, a community of Moroccan

business people, as well as Mauritanian, Cape Verdean, and Guinean communities. The city is

home to as many as 20,000 French expatriates. France still maintains an air force base at Yoff

and the French fleet is serviced in Dakar's port.

Beginning 1978 and until 2007, Dakar was frequently the ending point of the Dakar Rally. The

rally brought worldwide attention to the poverty of Senegal and Dakar.[citation needed]

Geography and climate

View of Dakar from Earth Orbit

The Dakarian climate is generally warm. Dakar has a hot semi-arid climate (Kppen climate

classification: BSh), with a short rainy season and a lengthy dry season. Dakars rainy season lasts from July to October while the dry season covers the remaining eight months. The city sees

approximately 495 mm (19.5 in) of precipitation per year.

Dakar between December and May is usually pleasantly warm with daily temperatures around

2427 C (7581 F). Nights during this time of the year are comfortable, some 1720 C (6368 F). However, between May and November the city becomes decidedly warmer with daily

highs reaching 2931 C (8488 F) and night lows a little bit above 2324 C (7375 F). Notwithstanding this hotter season Dakars weather is far from being as hot as that of African cities inland, such as Niamey and N'Djamena, where temperatures hover above 36 C (97 F) for

much of the year. Dakar is cooled year-round by sea breezes.

[hide]Climate data for Dakar, Senegal

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Record

high C

(F)

37

(99)

40

(104)

40

(104)

39

(102)

37

(99)

39

(102)

40

(104)

40

(104)

42

(108)

40

(104)

43

(109)

39

(102)

43

(109)

Average

high C

(F)

25

(77)

24.6

(76.3)

25

(77)

25.3

(77.5

)

26.3

(79.3

)

28.9

(84)

30

(86)

30.1

(86.2)

30.4

(86.7)

30.4

(86.7)

29

(84)

26.5

(79.7)

27.6

(81.7)

Daily

mean

C (F)

22

(72)

21.7

(71.1)

22.2

(72)

22.6

(72.7

)

23.4

(74.1

)

26.5

(79.7)

27.4

(81.3)

27.4

(81.3)

27.8

(82)

28.1

(82.6)

26.4

(79.5)

23.6

(74.5)

24.93

(76.9)

Average

low C

(F)

17.4

(63.3)

17

(63)

17.4

(63.3

)

18.4

(65.1

)

20.2

(68.4

)

23.1

(73.6)

24.5

(76.1)

24.6

(76.3)

24.4

(75.9)

24.3

(75.7)

22.5

(72.5)

19.6

(67.3)

21.1

(70)

Record

low C

(F)

11

(52)

10

(50)

10

(50)

10

(50)

17

(63)

17

(63)

13

(55)

19

(66)

17

(63)

18

(64)

16

(61)

12

(54)

10

(50)

Average

rainfall

mm

(inches)

2.1

(0.083

)

1.3

(0.051

)

0.0

(0)

0.0

(0)

0.0

(0)

10.2

(0.402

)

83.4

(3.283

)

184.0

(7.244

)

156.5

(6.161

)

51.6

(2.031

)

2.6

(0.102

)

2.6

(0.102

)

494.3

(19.459

)

Average

rainy

days (

1 mm)

0 0 0 0 0 1 4 9 8 2 0 0 24

Average

relative

humidit

y (%)

69 75 76 79 79 78 77 79 81 79 74 66 76

Mean

monthly

sunshin

e hours

244.9 245.8 276.0 288.0 291.4 252.0 232.5 223.2 219.0 257.3 249.0 238.7 3,017.8

Percent

possible

sunshin

e

70 74 74 74 73 65 58 57 60 70 73 69 68.1

Source #1: Spiegel Online Wetter[15]

Source #2: Climate-Data.org for mean temperatures,[16] Voodoo Skies for records[17]

Dakar mean sea temperature[18]

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

21 C

(70 F)

20 C

(68 F)

20 C

(68 F)

21 C

(70 F)

22 C

(72 F)

25 C

(77 F)

27 C

(81 F)

28 C

(82 F)

28 C

(82 F)

28 C

(82 F)

27 C

(81 F)

24 C

(75 F)

Administration

Market street in the working class Gueule Tape quarter

Typical souvenirs in the street market

The city of Dakar is a commune (also sometimes known as commune de ville), one of the

67 communes of Senegal. The commune of Dakar was created by the French colonial

administration on June 17, 1887 by detaching it from the commune of Gore. The commune of

Gore, created in 1872, was itself one of the oldest Western-style municipalities in Africa (along

with the municipalities of Algeria and South Africa).

The commune of Dakar has been in continuous existence since 1887, being preserved by the new

state of Senegal after independence in 1960, although its limits have varied considerably over

time. The limits of the commune of Dakar have been unchanged since 1983. The commune of

Dakar is ruled by a democratically elected municipal council (conseil municipal) serving five

years, and a mayor elected by the municipal council. There have been 20 mayors in Dakar since

1887. The first black mayor was Blaise Diagne, mayor of Dakar from 1924 to 1934. The longest

serving mayor was Mamadou Diop, mayor for 18 years between 1984 and 2002.

The commune of Dakar is also a department, one of the 34 departments of Senegal. This

situation is quite similar to Paris, which is both a commune and a department. However, contrary

to French departments, departments in Senegal have no political power (no departmental

assembly), and are merely local administrative structures of the central state, in charge of

carrying out some administrative services as well as controlling the activities of the communes

within the department.

The department of Dakar is divided into four arrondissements: Almadies, Grand Dakar, Parcelles

Assainies (which literally means "drained lots"; this is the most populous arrondissement of

Dakar), and Plateau/Gore (downtown Dakar). These arrondissements are quite different from

the arrondissements of Paris, being merely local administrative structures of the central state, like

the Senegalese departments, and are thus more comparable to French departmental

arrondissements.

Residential street in the upscale Mermoz quarter

The Assemble nationale on the Plateau, the heart of old Dakar

In 1996 a massive reform of the administrative and political divisions of Senegal was voted by

the Parliament of Senegal. The commune of Dakar, whose population approached 1 million

inhabitants, was deemed too large and too populated to be properly managed by a central

municipality, and thus on August 30, 1996 Dakar was divided into 19 communes

d'arrondissement. These communes d'arrondissement were given extensive powers, and are very

much like regular communes. They have more powers than the arrondissements of Paris, and are

more akin to the London boroughs. The commune of Dakar was maintained above these

19 communes d'arrondissement, and it coordinates the activities of the communes

d'arrondissement, much as Greater London coordinates the activities of the London boroughs.

The 19 communes d'arrondissement belong to either of the four arrondissements of Dakar, and

the sous-prfet of each arrondissement is in charge of controlling the activities of the communes

d'arrondissement in his arrondissement.

The commune d'arrondissement of Dakar-Plateau (34,626 inhabitants), in the arrondissement of

Plateau/Gore, is the historical heart of the city, and most ministries and public administrations

are located there. The densest and most populous commune d'arrondissement is Mdina

(136,697 inhabitants), in the arrondissement of Plateau/Gore. The commune d'arrondissement

of Yoff (55,995 inhabitants), in the arrondissement of Almadies, is the largest one, while the

smallest one is the commune d'arrondissement of le de Gore (1,034 inhabitants), in the

arrondissement of Plateau/Gore.

Dakar is one of the 14 rgions of Senegal. The Dakar rgion encompasses the city of Dakar and

all its suburbs along the Cape Verde Peninsula. Its territory is thus roughly the same as the

territory of the metropolitan area of Dakar. Since the administrative reforms of 1996, the rgions

of Senegal, which until then were merely local administrative structures of the central state, have

been turned into full-fledged political units, with democratically elected regional councils, and

regional presidents. They were given extensive powers, and manage economic development,

transportation, or environmental protection issues at the regional level, thus coordinating the

actions of the communes below them.

Abdoulaye Wade was re-elected in 2007.

Notable places

The Dakar Railway Station

The Dakar Cathedral

African Renaissance Monument

Attractions in Dakar include major markets, Dakar Grand Mosque (built in 1964), Dakar

Cathedral, Gore Island, the IFAN Museum of West African culture, the newly completed

African Renaissance Monument is the tallest statue in Africa, clifftop walks and beaches, and

Parc de Hann, aka the Senegal Zoo.

The town serves as a port and is home to the Lopold Sdar Senghor International Airport. It is

also the terminus of the Dakar-Niger railroad line.

Dakar used to be the finishing point of the Dakar Rally and is a member of the Organization of

World Heritage Cities. Cheikh Anta Diop University also known as the University of Dakar, was

established in 1957.

Notable natives and residents

Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye, footballer

Akon, R&B singer (real name - Alioune Thiam)

Baaba Maal, singer and guitarist

Boris Diaw, basketball player, San Antonio Spurs

Bouna Coundoul, footballer, Achna FC

Cheikh Samb, basketball player, former Los Angeles Clippers

DeSagana Diop, basketball player, Charlotte Bobcats

lage Diouf, singer, songwriter and percussionist (real name - El Hadji Fall Diouf)

Hamady Ndiaye, basketball player Washington Wizards

Ibrahim Ba, former footballer

Ismal L, singer-songwriter

Issa, R&B singer

Macoumba Kandji, footballer, Colorado Rapids

Mamadou N'Diaye, former basketball player for Auburn University and the Toronto

Raptors

Mame Biram Diouf, footballer, Stoke City

Marc Livremont, former rugby player and former head coach of the France national

rugby union team

Mbaye Diagne, United Nations military observer and hero during the Rwandan genocide

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, foreign correspondent for NPR News

Orchestra Baobab

Ousmane Barro, basketball player, Marquette University

Papa Bouba Diop, former footballer

Pape Pat Diouf, football player

Papiss Cisse, footballer, Newcastle United

Patrice Evra, footballer, Juventus

Patrick Vieira, former footballer

Sgolne Royal, French politician born in Dakar

Tacko Fall, high school basketball player

Thione Seck, singer and songwriter

Wasis Diop, musician

Youssou N'Dour, singer and percussionist