Senegal Gambia

Author: Zhang Xiang, Jia Xiping, Xing Fuhua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-02-01
Features: Senegal is located at the western tip of Sub-Saharan Africa. The peninsula where the capital, Dakar, is situated extends into the Atlantic Ocean, connected to inland areas by railways and highways, making it an international transportation hub. It was once the political, economic, and cultural center of French West Africa. After gaining independence in 1960, poet Léopold Sédar Senghor became the country's first president. His theory of the "African Traditional Spirit" and democratic socialist policies gave the country a unique development path. Each successive government has pursued a policy of peace and actively participated in peacekeeping operations, earning a good international reputation. Gambia shares a border with Senegal, and its territory is even embedded within Senegal. However, long-term British colonial rule has made this microcountry, established in 1965, linguistically and developmentally distinct from Senegal. The Gambia River basin constitutes the entirety of the country. The three major pillars of the economy are reexport trade, peanut farming, and tourism. The American novel Roots, which depicts the transatlantic slave trade, has drawn countless African Americans to the region annually in search of their roots.