FRENCH WEST AFRICA

'French West Africa' () was a federation of eight French colonial 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).

Contents

History

Governers General of the AOF

High Commissioners of the AOF

Size and borders

Postage stamps

History

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, then (from 1902) in Dakar (both in Senegal, the oldest French settlement). The AOF subsequently expanded to neighbouring French-ruled territories: Dahomey was added in 1904, after having been put under colonial tutelage in 1892; Mauritania in 1920,[1] and when the territory of Upper Volta was created by colonial decree in 1921, it automatically also entered the AOF.[2]
The federation ceased to exist after the September 1958 referendum on the future French Community, in which the constituent territories voted to became autonomous republics except for Guinea,[3] 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.

Governers General of the AOF

★ Jean Baptiste Chaudier : 1895-1900

★ Noel Ballay : 1900-1902

★ Ernest Roume : 1902-1907

★ William Merlaud-Ponty : 1908-1915

★ François Joseph Clozel : 1916

★ Joost van Vollenhoven : 1917-1918

★ Martial Merlin : 1918-1923

★ Jules Carde : 1923-1930

★ Jules Brévie : 1930-1936

★ Marcel de Coppet : 1936-1938

★ Léon Cayla : 1939-1940

★ Pierre Boisson : 1940-1943

★ Pierre Cournarie : 1943-1946

★ René Barthès : 1946-1948

★ Paul Béchard : 1948-1951

★ Bernard Cornut-Gentille : 1952-1956

★ Gaston Custin : 1956-1957.

High Commissioners of the AOF

★ Gaston Custin : 1957-1958

★ Pierre Messmer : 1958

Size and borders

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

Postage stamps

The territories issued their own postage stamps 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 overprinted 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 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.