Send this page to a friend Contact the Webmaster VOTE FOR SUNUGAL	Home > Saint-Louis Saint-Louis, a prestigious past The history of Saint-Louis starts in 1659 when the clerk Louis Caullier obtained from Jambar Diop, representative of the Brack of Waalo, the right to set up a commercial counter on the island of Ndar, wich was at that time a simple cotton field. The island is therefore called Saint-Louis in tribute to the king of France Louis XIII. Ndar, Saint-Louis is an island of 2500m on about 350m lying between the bigger arm and the smaller arm of the river Senegal, a few kilometers from its mouth. Real place strengthened with its first fort built in 1694, Saint-Louis was an important commercial counter for gum and the slavetrade and will be used later as a base of operations for the french colonial penetration in west africa. Like Goree, Saint-Louis knew its decline with the abolition of slavery in Senegal in 1848. It's only after the nomination of the Governor Louis Faidherbe in 1854 that Saint-Louis reached some splendour which would turn it for a longtime into the shop-window of French Africa. In 1885 (the railway running from Dakar to Saint-Louis was inaugurated). In 1886, Lat-Dior the Damel of Cayor was defeated at Dekheule battle, now there was nothing, againot the french presence in Senegal. Saint-Louis which was raised to the rank of a french common in full exercise since 1872 was therefore living its moments of glory. However, 265km more in the south, in the peninsula of Cap-vert, Dakar and its harbour took their economic take off and little by little Saint-Louis is going to be dispossessed of all its attributes of greatness. In 1902 the main town in french west Africa was transferred to Dakar. This phenomenon reached its paroxysm in 1960 when the main town of the independant Senegal was transferred to Dakar. In the 30's, Saint-Louis cameback to the forefront with the airmail. In 12th May 1930, Jean Mermoz flew to South America. Saint-Louis knew however how to cope with these difficult moments deservingly and it has never stopped being the meltingpot of the senegalese and of african brains. In 1912 the association of "the young senegaleses" was created to denounce the underprivileged situation of black in relation to half-breds and white men. In 1914 it was the seism into the colonial empire, Blaise Diagne of Goree is the first black to be a member of parliament. Saint-Louis has also in the course of its history given birth or received the calling of famous men such as El Hadj Omar Tall, Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, the father Daniel Brottier, Louis Faidherbe, Blaise Diagne, Jean Mermoz, Batlin Siki alias Mbarick Fall, Gaston Berger, Lamine Gueye, Charles De Gaulle and so on. Today Saint-Louis claims proudly more than three centuries of history. Point of contact, it has become the hyphen between black Africa and white Africa, Europe and Africa, the savanna and the desert, the ocean and the river, Islam and Christianism tradition and modernity. Behind its houses with balcons, its deserted quays and its fabulous past, Saint-louis is preparing the future. Door open on to the back land of Futa and Walo, where the dams of the river Senegal have finally harnessed the whims of the river, and remodeled the economic landscape of the valley. Saint-Louis is also a pole of excellency and the University Gaston Berger is promised to a fine future. The city finds an expansion field on the mainland. The people from Saint-Louis, they who consider Ndar as the birthplace of senegalese Teranga, will tell you that : "noone comes to Ndar without falling in love with her". Discover all the postcards of Saint-Louis with our search engine  Home > Saint-Louis
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