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Ziguinchor
Ziguinchor (French: [ziɡɛ̃ʃɔʁ]; Wolof: Siggcoor [siɡˑcɔːɾ]; Arabic: زيغينكور) is the capital of the Ziguinchor Region, and the chief town of the Casamance area of Senegal, lying at the mouth of the Casamance River. It has a population of 214,874 (2023 census). It is the eighth largest city of Senegal, but is nearly separated from the north of the country by the nation of The Gambia.
Unlike the semi-arid to arid north of Senegal, Ziguinchor has a tropical savanna climate, as it is under the influence of the West African Monsoon. It has an average annual accumulated rainfall of approximately 1,547 millimetres or 61 inches.
There are several competing etymologies for Ziguinchor's name. The best known comes from the time when Portuguese traders and explorers came to the region to form a trading post. It is derived from a Portuguese phrase, Cheguei e choram, "I came and they cry". The local people, seeing the Europeans, began crying, thinking they were about to be enslaved. Other scholars believe that the name likely predates the Portuguese arrival.
The earliest sources mention the Bainuk of Ezigichor. The term may come from the Bainuk language words "asi nin core," meaning "places to go are finished," relating to the end of the Bainuk migrations in their traditional history. It could also come from "ji gi cor," meaning "place of several fields."
The oldest habitation of the area was a Jola village.[citation needed] The first European settlement in the area was founded by the Portuguese in 1645 as a dependency of Cacheu populated by settlers from Cape Verde, and lancados and other Afro-Europeans.
The Portuguese objective was to found a trading post and establish an alliance with the local mansa or king of the Kasa kingdom. Chroniclers described him as the ruler most friendly to the Portuguese along the Guinean coast. The king started to live in a European manner, with table, chairs and western clothing. His court included several Portuguese merchants.[citation needed] One of the commodities for trade was enslaved Africans, and Ziguinchor became a slave port during much of the Portuguese rule.
The post boasted a fort with a few pieces of artillery by 1700, but was never an important economic center. The French occupied Carabane island downstream in 1836, forcing Portuguese ships to pay duties there. Despite frantic diplomatic efforts by governor Honório Barreto, Portugal never really tried to defend its claim to the region. Ziguinchor was eventually transferred to France on 22 April 1888, fulfilling a deal brokered at the Berlin Conference of 1886.
Under the French, Ziguinchor became a major trade port, mostly due to the intensive groundnut cultivation which the colonial government encouraged in the interior. By 1900, the area was largely converted to Christianity, although significant Syncretist and Muslim communities flourish.
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Ziguinchor
Ziguinchor (French: [ziɡɛ̃ʃɔʁ]; Wolof: Siggcoor [siɡˑcɔːɾ]; Arabic: زيغينكور) is the capital of the Ziguinchor Region, and the chief town of the Casamance area of Senegal, lying at the mouth of the Casamance River. It has a population of 214,874 (2023 census). It is the eighth largest city of Senegal, but is nearly separated from the north of the country by the nation of The Gambia.
Unlike the semi-arid to arid north of Senegal, Ziguinchor has a tropical savanna climate, as it is under the influence of the West African Monsoon. It has an average annual accumulated rainfall of approximately 1,547 millimetres or 61 inches.
There are several competing etymologies for Ziguinchor's name. The best known comes from the time when Portuguese traders and explorers came to the region to form a trading post. It is derived from a Portuguese phrase, Cheguei e choram, "I came and they cry". The local people, seeing the Europeans, began crying, thinking they were about to be enslaved. Other scholars believe that the name likely predates the Portuguese arrival.
The earliest sources mention the Bainuk of Ezigichor. The term may come from the Bainuk language words "asi nin core," meaning "places to go are finished," relating to the end of the Bainuk migrations in their traditional history. It could also come from "ji gi cor," meaning "place of several fields."
The oldest habitation of the area was a Jola village.[citation needed] The first European settlement in the area was founded by the Portuguese in 1645 as a dependency of Cacheu populated by settlers from Cape Verde, and lancados and other Afro-Europeans.
The Portuguese objective was to found a trading post and establish an alliance with the local mansa or king of the Kasa kingdom. Chroniclers described him as the ruler most friendly to the Portuguese along the Guinean coast. The king started to live in a European manner, with table, chairs and western clothing. His court included several Portuguese merchants.[citation needed] One of the commodities for trade was enslaved Africans, and Ziguinchor became a slave port during much of the Portuguese rule.
The post boasted a fort with a few pieces of artillery by 1700, but was never an important economic center. The French occupied Carabane island downstream in 1836, forcing Portuguese ships to pay duties there. Despite frantic diplomatic efforts by governor Honório Barreto, Portugal never really tried to defend its claim to the region. Ziguinchor was eventually transferred to France on 22 April 1888, fulfilling a deal brokered at the Berlin Conference of 1886.
Under the French, Ziguinchor became a major trade port, mostly due to the intensive groundnut cultivation which the colonial government encouraged in the interior. By 1900, the area was largely converted to Christianity, although significant Syncretist and Muslim communities flourish.