- Rufisque
Infobox Settlement
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settlement_type = Town
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image_caption = Industrial Rufisque, 2006
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = SEN
subdivision_type1 = Region
subdivision_name1 =Dakar Region
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latd=14 |latm=43|lats= |latNS=N
longd=17 |longm=16 |longs= |longEW=W
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footnotes =Rufisque is a city in the
Dakar region of westernSenegal , at the base of theCap-Vert Peninsula. It has a population of 179,797 (2002 census). [See French language Wikipedia's , 2008-04-08.] In the past it was an important port city in its own right, but is now a suburb of Dakar.Rufisque is also the capital of the department of the same name.
History
Originally a
Lebou fishing village called Tenguedj (Wolof:Tëngéej), Rufisque became important in the 16th century as the principal port of the kingdom ofCayor , being frequented by Portuguese (who named it Rio Fresco or “Freshwater River”), Dutch, French and English traders. A Euro-African Creole, orMétis , community of merchants grew up there, in close contact with similar communities in Saint Louis,Gorée and other places along the Petite Côte (Portudal,Joal ) south to theGambia River . In 1840 a couple of Saint Louis merchants built warehouses on the waterfront to stockpeanuts . Gorée merchants followed suit. There followed a period of commercial expansion as peanut production in Cayor boomed. In 1859 a fort was built by the French and Rufisque was annexed to the Colony of Senegal. The "Escale" commercial and administrative neighborhood along the waterfront was laid out in 1862---the African inhabitants being pushed out in the process. Rufisque became a “commune” in 1880 and its port was connected to the Dakar-Saint Louis railroad in 1885. In 1909Galandou Diouf (died 1941) was elected to represent Rufisque in the General Council of the colony in Saint Louis, being the first African elected to that position.Decline of Port
Early in the 20th century the growth of neighboring Dakar, with its superior port facilities, signaled the decline of Rufisque. No longer an active port, Rufisque has experienced steep decline of industrial activities and is certainly the most neglected of Senegal’s four historic “communes”, with no tourism sector and a chronic lack of investment in public infrastructure
Industry
Rufisque has a cement works. [ http://books.google.com.au/books?id=jj4J-AXGDaQC&pg=PA937&lpg=PA937&dq=senegal+cement+plant&source=web&ots=JHmhA4tfDw&sig=4u-XKdiC6KlqWlRj4HpNYE0wnN0&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA706,M1 ]
See also
*
Railway stations in Senegal References
* [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/SG/1/Rufisque.html FallingRain Map - elevation = 1m (Red dots are railways)]
* [http://www.rufisquenews.com/rufisque.html Rufisque News] , online version of Rufisque based newspaper.
* Portions of this article were translated from French language Wikipedia's .
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