Founding of Saint-Louis

1659 · Saint-Louis

In 1659, French merchants founded a trading post on N'Dar Island, in the Senegal River valley. There the city of Saint-Louis was born. It became the main port of exchange between West Africa and Europe, then the capital of French West Africa until 1902. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it remains one of the most beautiful cities in Africa.

Sources

• Persée — Roger Pasquier, « Villes du Sénégal au XIXe siècle » (Outre-Mers, 1960)
• Ndarinfo — Saint-Louis, carrefour d'histoire

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