Senegal
Overview
 
Senegal officially the Republic of Senegal (République du Sénégal, ʁepyblik dy seneɡal), is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River
Sénégal River
The Sénégal River is a long river in West Africa that forms the border between Senegal and Mauritania.The Sénégal's headwaters are the Semefé and Bafing rivers which both originate in Guinea; they form a small part of the Guinean-Malian border before coming together at Bafoulabé in Mali...

 that borders it to the east and north. Senegal is externally bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...

 to the north, Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...

 to the east, and Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...

 and Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....

 to the south; internally it almost completely surrounds The Gambia
The Gambia
The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambia , is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west....

, namely on the north, east and south, exempting Gambia's short Atlantic Ocean coastline.
Timeline

1857    Louis Faidherbe, French governor of Senegal, arrives to relieve French forces at Kayes, effectively ending El Hajj Umar Tall's war against the French.

1957    Senegalese political party Democratic Rally merges into the Senegalese Party of Socialist Action (PSAS).

1960    Senegal independence day.

1960    Independence of Mali and Senegal.

1960    Communist Party of Independence and Work is banned in Senegal.

1960    Senegal breaks from the Mali federation, declaring its independence.

1960    The Sudanese Republic is renamed Mali after the withdrawal of Senegal from the Mali Federation.

1960    Mali and Senegal join the United Nations.

1974    Senegalese marxist group ''Reenu-Rew'' founds the political movement And-Jëf at a clandestine congress.

1976    The Senegalese political party ''PAI-Rénovation'' is legally recognized. PAI-Rénovation thus becomes the third legal party in the country.

 
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