Island with the Snakes (Senegal)

The island with the Snakes is an island in the south-west of Dakar to the Senegal, which belongs to the islands of the Madeleine.

Origin of the name

On the island the ruins of its hut are which would have been the box built by certain Lacombe, inhabitant of Gorée which attended the island of the Madeleine where it took blocks of basalt for his constructions. It also transplanted a baobab tree which it transplanted on the public place of the island to the slaves and which one can still admire nowadays.

History

If one makes go up the human presence on the islands with 1000-2000 years, the existence of this one is announced since good before the discovery of the area by Dinis Dias in 1444.

1649 : Valentine Fernandez mentions “two small islands with many birds, shells and green trees”. Other explorers and travellers speak about it in their notes always with this mention about the presence about the birds whose droppings give this white color to the basaltic rocks which constitute it. Thus the Dutchmen called them “the conchiées islands”, whereas at the 17th century D' Arbancourt speaks about “Isles de Merde”.
1749 : Michel Adanson visit the island and discovers the Baobab which will bear from now on the scientific name of Adansonia digitata .
1765 : the islands “are yielded to perpetuity with the crown of France” by the Damel.
1770 : the sior Lacombe builds his box on the island. He tries to cultivate vegetables there and fails, in the same manner as the attempts the preceding one. The following attempts will be also balanced by a failure.
1944 : Project to transform the island into a center héliomarin of AOF, with football field, cinema, beach of underwater hunting, etc
1949: a decree is taken for the protection of the fauna and the flora of the park
1976: Creation of the National park of the islands of the Madeleine.

See too

Internal bonds

List of the islands of Senegal

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