, settlement_type =

Geographical region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

, image_skyline = Senegal Casamance.png , image_caption = Casamance in Senegal , image_flag = Flag of Casamance.svg , image_shield = , motto = , nickname = , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name =

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

, subdivision_type1 = , subdivision_name1 = , subdivision_type2 = , subdivision_name2 = , subdivision_type3 = , subdivision_name3 = , subdivision_type4 = , subdivision_name4 = , parts_type = Parts , parts_style = para , p1 =

Kolda Region Kolda is a region of Senegal (regional capitals have the same name as their respective regions). The region is also referred to historically and popularly as Haute Casamance. It's one of the 14 regions of the country and is located in the Sout ...

Sédhiou Region Sédhiou Region is a region of Senegal located in the southwest of the country in the natural region called Casamance. It was historically a department of the Kolda Region until 2008. It is located between the Kolda Region in the east and the ...

and

Ziguinchor Region Ziguinchor is a region of Senegal (regional capitals have the same name as their respective regions). The region is also referred to historically and popularly as Basse Casamance , settlement_type = Geographical region , image_skylin ...

, image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = , pushpin_relief = , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , established_title = , established_date = , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = , area_total_sq_mi = , area_land_sq_mi = , area_water_sq_mi = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = , elevation_ft = , population_as_of = , population_footnotes = , population_total = , population_density_km2 = auto , population_density_sq_mi= , population_demonym = , timezone1 = , utc_offset1 = , timezone1_DST = , utc_offset1_DST = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code_type = , area_code = , geocode = , iso_code = , website = , footnotes = Casamance (; french: Casamance ; Wolof: Kasamansa; ff, Kasamansa; pt, Casamansa or ''Casamança'' ) is the area of

south of

the Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

, including the Casamance River. It consists of the Lower Casamance (''Basse Casamance'', ''Baixa Casamança''—i.e.

) and the Upper Casamance (''Haute Casamance'', ''Alta Casamança''—i.e.

and

s). The largest city of Casamance is

Ziguinchor Ziguinchor (; wo, Siggcoor ; ar, 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 over 230,000 (2007 estimate). I ...

Peoples

Casamance is mainly inhabited by the Jola and

Bainuk The Bainuk people (also called Banyuk, Banun, Banyun, Bainouk, Bainunk, Banyum, Bagnoun, Banhum, Banyung, Ñuñ, Elomay, or Elunay) are an ethnic group that today lives primarily in Senegal as well as in parts of Gambia and Guinea-Bissau. Hist ...

. Significant minority populations include the Balanta, Mande and

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

. Casamance is religiously diverse, with the inhabitants practicing Islam, Christianity, and traditional African religions.

History

According to local legends, the Jola and Bainuk people are said to have inhabited Casamance for over a thousand years. Jola leaders ruled portions of Casamance, frequently under the nominal rule of Wolof and Serer kingdoms to the north. From the 15th to 18th century, the Bainuk

Kasa kingdom The kingdom of Kasa, also known as Kasanga, was the dominant kingdom in lower Casamance (now Senegal) during the late 15th century. Most of the inhabitants of the realm were Banun or Kasanke. In the 15th century, Portuguese slave traders and nav ...

located in the Lower Casamance was the dominant state in the south. In the 15th century, Portuguese slave traders and navigators established a trading station in the area. They also formed trade relations with local Jola chiefs and the king of Kasa. The Casamance was subject to both French and Portuguese colonial efforts before a border was negotiated in 1888 between the French colony of

and

Portuguese Guinea Portuguese Guinea ( pt, Guiné), called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a West African colony of Portugal from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as G ...

(now

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

) to the south. Portugal lost possession of Casamance, then the commercial hub of its colony. Casamance, to this day, has preserved the local variant of Upper Guinea Creole known as Ziguinchor Creole, and the members of the deep-rooted Creole community carry Portuguese surnames like Da Silva, Carvalho and Fonseca. The historical ties to Portugal were a factor in Senegal's decision to seek membership of the

Community of Portuguese Language Countries The Community of Portuguese Language Countries ( Portuguese: ''Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa''; abbreviated as the CPLP), also known as the Lusophone Commonwealth (''Comunidade Lusófona''), is an international organization and pol ...

(CPLP), becoming an associate observer in 2008. Interest in Portuguese heritage has been revived in order to exert a distinct identity, particularly in Baixa Casamança. Bissau-Guineans are also present in the region, as expatriates, immigrants, and refugees from the poverty and instability that since long affects the neighbouring country, including the 1998–1999 Guinea-Bissau Civil War.

Separatist movement

Though the Jola are the dominant

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

in the Casamance, they represent only 4% of the total population of Senegal. The Jola's sense of economic disenfranchisement within greater Senegal contributed to the founding of a

separatist Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seeking greate ...

movement advocating the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

autonomous administrative division An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy ...

of the Casamance, the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC), in 1982. The MFDC's armed wing was established in 1985, and in 1990 the

Casamance conflict The Casamance conflict is an ongoing low-level conflict that has been waged between the Government of Senegal and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) since 1982. On May 1, 2014 the leader of the MFDC sued for peace and declared ...

began: a low-level insurgency led by the MFDC against the government of Senegal. The conflict has been characterized by sporadic violence and frequent but unstable ceasefire agreements. An illegal shipment of weapons hailing from Iran was seized in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

in October 2010, and the Senegalese government suspected the MFDC of having been the intended recipient of the weapons. Senegal recalled its ambassador to

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

over the incident.

Geography and climate

The region is low-lying and hot, with some

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not a ...

s to the southeast. The entire Casamance region experiences a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of ...

, with average

rainfall Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

greater than the rest of Senegal. The region is like the rest of Senegal: rainless from November to May, but during the rainy season from June to October, most areas receive over , and the furthest southwest as much as .

Economy

The economy of the Casamance relies largely on

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

cultivation and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

. It also has excellent

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc s ...

es along its coastline, particularly at

Cap Skirring Cap Skirring, also spelled Cap Skiring, is a town on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the Basse Casamance (Ziguinchor) region of Senegal. It is a popular seaside resort with Europeans and has an airport and a golf course. The town was first occupi ...

Ecology

Tree cover in Casamance is severely threatened by

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a ...

References

* Vincent Foucher, "Church and nation. The Catholic contribution to war and peace in Casamance (Senegal)"
LFM. Social Sciences and Missions
N°13/October 2003

External links

Casamance.net
* Oxfam America
Background on the Casamance Conflict
* Alassane Diop

{{Coord, 13.0152, N, 15.3176, W, source:placeopedia, display=title Geography of Senegal Separatism in Senegal