French West Africa and Talk:Diablito: Difference between pages

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'''French West Africa''' (''Afrique occidentale française'', ''AOF'') was a [[federation]] of eight [[France|French]] territories in [[Africa]]: [[Mauritania]], [[Senegal]], [[French Sudan]] (now [[Mali]]), [[French Guinea]] (now [[Guinea]]), [[Côte d'Ivoire]], [[Niger]], [[Upper Volta]] (now [[Burkina Faso]]) and [[Dahomey]] (now [[Benin]]).

Originally created in [[1895]] as a union of Senegal, French Sudan, French Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire only, the federation was placed on a permanent footing in [[1904]] with a governor-general based first in [[Saint-Louis, Senegal|Saint-Louis]], then (from [[1902]]) in [[Dakar]], both in Senegal, the oldest French settlement.

The federation ceased to exist after the September [[1958]] [[referendum]] on the future [[French Community]], in which the constituent territories voted to became autonomous [[republic]]s except for Guinea, which voted overwhelmingly for independence. Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, Upper Volta and Dahomey subsequently formed the short-lived [[Sahel-Benin Union]], later the [[Conseil de l'Entente]].

With an area of some 4,689,000 km² (mostly the [[desert]] or semi-desert interior of Mauritania, Soudan and Niger) extending from Africa's westernmost point at [[Cape Verde]] to the depths of the [[Sahara]], the federation contained rather more than ten million inhabitants at its creation and some 25 million at its dissolution.

== Postage stamps ==

The territories issued their own [[postage stamp]]s until [[1943]], although in many cases the stamps were inscribed with the name of the federation as well as the colony's own name. In 1943 and [[1944]], stamps of Senegal and Mauritania were [[overprint]]ed with new values and valid throughout French West Africa. The first issues printed specifically for the federation were the [[Eboue]] [[common design type]] and a [[definitive series]] depicting colonial soldiers, both in [[1945]].

A series of [[1947]] featured 19 scenes and people of the various colonies, then during the [[1950s]] there were about 30 various [[commemorative stamp|commemoratives]]. The last issue inscribed "Afrique occidentale française" and "RF" was the [[Human Rights issue]] of December [[1958]]; it was followed by a [[Stamp Day]] issue on [[March 21]], [[1959]], which omitted the federation's name and was inscribed "CF" along with "Dakar-Abidjan".

All of the stamps of French West Africa are common and inexpensive, both mint and used, many of them valued at the minimum price. The most expensive is the [[Vridi Canal]] [[airmail]] stamp of [[1951]], which is about 10 US$ in mint condition.

{{Former French colonies}}

[[Category:Former French colonies|Africa, West]]

[[de:Französisch-Westafrika]]

[[es:África Occidental Francesa]]

[[fr:Afrique occidentale française]]

[[nl:Frans West-Afrika]]

[[pl:Francuska Afryka Zachodnia]]

[[ru:Французская Западная Африка]]