Dakar

Dakar is Senegal’s capital and largest city, occupying the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast. Its port and location at Africa’s westernmost point have shaped its role as a regional hub.

Cap-Vert Peninsula: A peninsula in western Senegal that projects into the Atlantic Ocean and includes Dakar. Dakar occupies this peninsula, whose headlands define the city’s Atlantic setting.
Lebou people: A Senegalese ethnic group with historic communities along the Cap-Vert Peninsula. Lebou fishing settlements preceded Dakar’s rise as a colonial city.
Blaise Diagne International Airport: Senegal’s principal international airport, located near the town of Diass outside Dakar. It connects the capital region to international destinations and replaced Dakar’s former main airport.
Saint-Louis, Senegal: A historic city in northern Senegal that served as the country’s colonial capital before Dakar. Saint-Louis preceded Dakar as the principal French administrative center in Senegal.
Negritude: A literary and political movement that affirmed Black identity and African cultural heritage, especially among francophone writers. Dakar became an important setting for the movement through Senegalese writers and cultural institutions.
Atlantic Ocean: The ocean separating the Americas from Europe and Africa. Dakar faces the Atlantic on the western edge of Senegal.
French colonization of Senegal: France’s establishment and expansion of colonial rule over Senegal, beginning in the seventeenth century. French colonial administration and infrastructure drove Dakar’s growth as a port and capital.
Dakar–Niger Railway: A railway linking Dakar with Bamako, Mali, built during French colonial rule. The line connected Dakar’s port to inland trade routes across West Africa.
Abidjan: The largest city and economic center of Côte d’Ivoire, situated on the Gulf of Guinea. Abidjan offers a contrasting model of a major West African coastal metropolis and port.
Léopold Sédar Senghor: A Senegalese poet and politician who became the country’s first president after independence. As president, Senghor shaped Dakar’s institutions and promoted its role as a center of African culture.

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