FRENCH WEST AFRICA. French West Africa comprises an area of about 4,665,000 sq.km., or eight times that of France, one-half that of Europe, and one-sixth of that of Africa. It ex tends from Senegal to the Gulf of Guinea, and from the Atlantic to Lake Chad. It is bounded on the north by Rio-de-Oro, by the territories of South Algeria and by Italian Libya, on the east by French equatorial Africa, on the south by Nigeria, and on the west by the Atlantic. There are certain foreign enclaves : Gambia, Portuguese Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Gold Coast and Togoland (the latter is partly under French and partly under British mandate). In addition to the districts of the Sahara which form part of it, French West Africa comprises the districts through which the Niger flows in the great bend which it makes towards Timbuctoo, and the coast districts of Senegambia and Guinea, which include the four colonies of Senegal, French Guinea, the Ivory Coast and Dahomey.
The country is in the form of a plateau, broken up by two systems of fractures, one running south-west and north-east, and the other at right angles, north-west and south-east. The heights are domes of granite or diorite, which are remains of older chains of mountains now worn away, and the cliffs in which the plateau ends. The most mountainous regions are Futa Jallon (height 700-1,500 metres), which runs parallel to the coast for a dis tance of about 700 km., Mount Nimba (1,600 metres) on the frontier of Liberia and the Ivory Coast, and the Atacora chain (700-800 metres) in Dahomey. In the districts of the Sahara which are attached to French West Africa there are three princi pal mountain regions: the Adrar of Mauretania (500 metres), the Adrar of Ifoghas (I,000 metres) and the Air (1,70o metres).
The coast is straight and sandy from Cape Blanco to Cape Verde, which shelters the port of Dakar ; after this it is cut up by estuaries, especially between Cape Verde and the island of Sherbro. After Cape Palmas the coast line runs from west to east and is bordered by an almost uninterrupted series of lagoons.
Rivers.—The Niger (see NIGER), the third longest river of Africa (4,200 km.) and the second in volume of water (minimum of 30,00o cu.m. at the mouth) is the main artery of French West Africa. It rises at an altitude of 86o metres, not far from the frontier of Sierra Leone, and at first flows from south-west to north-east, and then takes a great bend which brings it into the Sahara in the neighbourhood of Timbuctoo. After Burem it turns in a north-west to south-east direction, and finally runs into the Gulf of Guinea. In its upper reaches, from its source to Kuli koro, it receives tributaries from the right, particularly the Tan kisso. In the middle reaches, from Kulikoro to Say, it receives its chief tributary, the Bagoe or Bani, and spreads out into a sort of wide inland delta, a great area subject to flooding, which in the rainy season is 140 kilometres wide at Mopti, and narrows in again of ter Tosaye and Burem. The lower part of the river, from Say to the sea, belongs to British Nigeria; it is separated from the middle reaches by the Bussa rapids. The upper course of the Niger is subject to summer floods between June and September; the floods arrive gradually and late in the Timbuctoo district, where the maximum is not reached until January. The middle reaches of the Niger are of great importance from the point of view of navigation, which is possible over a distance of 1,30o km., from Kulikoro to Ansongo, as well as for irrigation; the Niger has been called "the French Nile." The most important of the coast rivers is the Senegal (1,70o km.), formed by the junction of the Bakhoy, with its tributary the Baule, and the Bafing ; it is navigable up to Kayes in the wet season (Aug. 15 to Oct. I) and up to Podor in the dry season. The Casamance, the Cavally, the Sassandra, the Bandama, the Comoe, the Volta and the Ueme should also be mentioned.
Climate.—North of the eighth parallel of latitude the year is divided into two seasons, the rainy and the dry season; the latter is longer the nearer we approach the Sahara. On the banks of the Senegal the north-east trade wind blows for eight months, and the moist south-west wind only for four months ; in French Guinea the contrary is the case. Saint-Louis has a rainfall of 423 mm. per annum, Dakar 514, Sedhiu 1,532, and Konakry 4,431. The high est temperatures occur at the end of the dry season, in April and May, and in northern Sudan, near the Sahara, whence blows the harmattan, a wind resembling the sirocco which raises a red dust. South of the eighth parallel there are two rainy seasons separated by a short dry season ; in Dahomey the rains last from March to July and from September to December; Grand-Bassam has an annual rainfall of 1,077 mm., and Porto-Novo of 1,259. In the district enclosed by the bend of the Niger there is less rain than on the coast ; the average is from 600 to 1,200 mm. ; at Timbuctoo the tropical rains, which only last for three months (June to August) only give a rainfall of 229 mm.
From the point of view of vegetation, a distinction may be drawn between the Saharan zone (rainfall of less than 20 cm.), the Sahelian zone (rainfall of less than 6o cm.), which is a region of steppes in which grow dum palms and narrow-leaved acacias, the Sudanese zone (rainfall of 6o cm. to 1.50 metres), a country of savannas with forest belts, which is the principal agricultural region, and the Guinea zone (rainfall of over 1.50 metres) which is occupied by the great forest, attaining a width of 30o km. at Cape Palmas, and the characteristic feature of which is the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). In this district there are no real moun tains, and the various zones of vegetation shade gradually off into one another.
Population.—There is no racial unity among the populations of French West Africa ; they differ in physique, physiognomy, manners and dialect, and they are of very mixed stock. They have spread mainly in two directions, towards the south and towards the west. Some of them are not connected with the negro races; these include the Saharans, Moors and Tuaregs, and the Fulbe or Peuhl, who, with their reddish-brown colouring and only slightly woolly hair, appear to be of Ethiopian or Hamitic, or possibly of Semitic stock. Among the strictly negro populations, a dis tinction may be made between those of the region enclosed by the bend of the Niger and of Senegal on the one hand, and those of the Gulf of Guinea on the other. The former include the great group of the Mande, which extends over the whole of the plateau within the bend of the Niger north of the great forest ; it is sub divided into a number of tribes, including the Malinke or Man dingo, the Soninke, the Bambara and the Susu ; then there are the Wolof of Senegal, the Tukulor of Segu, the Sonrhai (Songhai) of the district of Gao, the Mossi of Haute Volta, and the Senufo of the upper Ivory Coast. The coast negroes are generally shorter than the Sudanese ; their heads are not so long and their colour is lighter. Of this type are the Agni, the Dahomi, the Kru, etc. In the forest region there dwell small groups of inhabitants of an exceedingly primitive type; they appear to be related to the Pygmies or Negrillos.
The religion of the Sudanese tribes is animism, or belief in the omnipotence of spirits. About one-half of the population is Mus sulman, in name at any rate ; for the negro manages to reconcile Islam with his ancient superstitions, and it is only the popula tions in the neighbourhood of the Sahara which have really been profoundly affected by Mohammedanism. The Guinea tribes, as well as the Mossi, have for the most part remained animists.
French West Africa, the capital of which is Dakar (with 72,00o inhabitants, including approximately ten thousand Europeans), includes eight colonies administered by lieutenant-governors who are subordinate to the Governor-general. The colonies are as follows : Senegal, French Guinea, the Ivory Coast, Dahomey, the French Sudan, Mauretania, Niger and the Circonscription of Dakar and Dependencies. There are four coast colonies as fol lows : Senegal, French Guinea, the Ivory Coast and Dahomey; one inland colony, the French Sudan, occupying the region enclosed in the bend of the Niger river; and two Saharan districts, Mauretania and Niger. The population figures for the above named colonies are Senegal 1,620,000 (chief town St. Louis, 29,82o) ; French Guinea, 2,120,000 (chief town Konakry) ; Ivory Coast 3,860,000 (chief town Abidjan, 17,800) ; Dahomey 1,133,00o (chief town Porto Novo, 25,700) ; French Sudan 3,527,000 (chief town Bamako, 21, 000) ; Mauretania 351,000 (the lieutenant-governor resides in St. Louis) ; Niger 1,722,000 (chief town Niamey) . The former colony of Upper Volta was, by a decree of Sept. 5, 1932, which came into force on January I, 1933, divided between Niger, French Sudan, and the Ivory Coast.
History.—The French have been established on the west coast of Africa since very early times, but if we except a few attempts at colonisation such as that of Andre Brue at the end of the seven teenth century their only object, until the middle of the nineteenth century, was to carry on the slave trade; in this respect their prac tice was similar to that of other European states. A new era was inaugurated by Faidherbe, who, in 1854, conceived the scheme of linking up the upper Senegal with the Upper Niger. From 1876 onwards the coast settlements were considerably extended into the hinterland by a series of campaigns and missions, and at the same time the possessions of other European Powers in the same region were reduced to the state of enclaves by a number of conventions. The most important events were the campaigns of the Upper Niger (1876-9o), which resulted in the destruction of the old native kingdoms, the Binger mission to the Ivory Coast (1887-90, the campaigns of Dahomey (1889-94), the occupation of Timbuc too (1894) and the Franco-British Conventions of 1890 and 1898. By about 1900 the period of expansion may be regarded as over and the period of organization and development begun.
French W'r'est Africa was constituted in 1895 by the grouping of the various territories of which it is composed under one Governor general. Endeavours have been made to encourage the develop ment of the colonies which make up French West Africa as parts of a united whole, under a single government which looks after their common interests while leaving them a large measure of autonomy.
The colonies of French West Africa have now entered upon an agricultural era, and their development in recent years has been remarkable. The European inhabitants are few in number—about 12,000—and the progress of cultivation depends mainly on the natives, among whom agricultural work is as a rule held in high esteem. This applies both to the cultivation of food crops and of crops for export. The principal foodstuffs grown are millet, rice and maize. Cattle breeding is carried on to a considerable extent in the northern part of the country, in the relatively dry districts. There are 1 oo,000 horses, 8 million head of cattle, and 5 million sheep. The Europeans are making efforts to improve the quality of the wool produced.
Vegetable oils are among the most important products of French West Africa. The ground nut is the principal source of the prosperity of Senegal, where it has been cultivated since about 1890; the production is 400,00o tons. The Ivory Coast and Dahomey produce principally palm oil and palm kernels; the production of the latter is 35,000 tons out of a world total of tons, and of the latter 100,00o tons out of a world pro duction of 300,00o tons.
The European inhabitants are specially anxious to develop the cultivation of cotton, both with and without irrigation. The whole of the Sudan appears to be suitable for this crop with the excep tion of the excessively dry districts near the Sahara and the ex cessively wet districts near the coast. The most suitable parts of the country seem to be the middle basin of the Niger for cultivation by means of irrigation, and Haute-Volta for cultiva tion without irrigation. For cotton cultivation there might be three zones: in the north, Egyptian cotton cultivated with irriga tion; further south, American cotton cultivated without irriga tion; further south again, improved native cotton cultivated with out irrigation. It will however be necessary to find a solution for a number of problems connected with agricultural methods, labour and communications; and a considerable time must elapse before this work is completed. It will be necessary to establish ginning stations, to arrange for the transport of the cotton after ginning, to improve the native cotton, to introduce American cotton, and to provide a supply of water for irrigation purposes. Up to the present the amount of cotton exported has not exceeded 3,000 tons (15,000 bales) .
In French Guinea there appears to be a great future for the export of fruit, including pineapples and above all bananas. There are cocoa and coffee plantations in the Ivory Coast as well as in Dahomey.
Gold is found in alluvial deposits in Senegal (the Bambuk and Brue deposits) and in veins in the Ivory Coast (Bule, Indenie), but its exploitation is not of great importance. The native in dustries, which produce leather and cotton goods, are interesting hut of little economic importance; they are more highly de veloped among the Mande of the interior than among the popu lations of the coast, because the latter for many years have been able to obtain the clothing and other objects which they require from the European trading stores. There is a great deal of in ternal trading and certain tribes are specially active in this re spect. The principal objects of commerce are salt, kola nuts and European trade goods.
French West Africa is served by a large number of French and foreign shipping lines (Chargeurs Reunis, Fraissinet, Cyprien Fabre, Maurel et Prom, Deves et Chaumet, Linea Italiana, Elder Dempster, Woermann, Compagnie beige du Congo, etc.). Its main shipping connections are with Bordeaux and Marseilles. Sub marine cables run to St. Louis, Dakar, Konakry and Kotonu. There are 16 wireless stations, of which the most important are those of Dakar and Bamako.