French Western Africa

The French Western Africa ( AOF ) was a Fédération of eight territories French in Africa: the Mauritania, the Senegal, the French Sudan (become Mali), the Guinea, the Ivory Coast, the Niger, the the Upper Volta (become Burkina Faso) and the Dahomey (become Benign).

Created the June 16th 1895 by the union of Senegal, French Sudan, of Guinea and the Ivory Coast only, the federation was final in 1904 with a general governor residing initially at Saint-Louis, then (starting from 1902) with Dakar, cities being both in Senegal, the oldest French counter. The federation ceased existing after the Référendum of September 1958 on future the French Communauté, by which the territories members voted their transformation into République S autonomous, except for Guinea, which voted for independence. The Ivory Coast, Niger, the Upper Volta and Dahomey formed the Sahel-Benign Union thereafter, which lasted little of time, then the Conseil of the Agreement.

With a surface of 4.689.000 km ² (mainly the desert or the interior semi-desert of Mauritania, Sudan and Niger) extending from the point more in the west of Africa in Cape Verde with the depths of the the Sahara, the federation had more than 10 million inhabitants to his creation and approximately 25 million with its dissolution.

Operation

A.O.F was placed under the authority of a general governor (called High-Commissioner later) on which several lieutenant governors depended. The borders of each colony composing a.O.F were negotiated with the close colonial powers by conventions. In the event of Franco-French vicinity, they were defined by administrative decision. Progressively of the French establishment, the cutting of the territory was managed by administrative units, circles and subdivisions.

General governors

  • Jean Chaudier Baptist: 1895-1900

  • No5el Ballay: 1900-1902
  • Ernest Roume : 1902-1907
  • William Merlaud-Ponty: 1908-1915
  • François Joseph Clozel: 1916
  • Joost van Vollenhoven : 1917-1918
  • Martial Merlin: 1918-1923
  • Jules Cards: 1923-1930
  • Jules Brévie: 1930-1936
  • Marcel de Coppet: 1936-1938
  • Leon Cayla: 1939-1940
  • Pierre Drink: 1940-1943
  • Pierre Cournarie: 1943-1946
  • Rene Barthès: 1946-1948
  • Paul Béchard: 1948-1951
  • Bernard Cornut-Nice: 1952-1956
  • Gaston Custin: 1956-1957.

High-Commissioner

See too

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