Thiès Region

Thiès Region
Région de Thiès
Region

Location of Thiès in Senegal

Thiès région, divided into 3 départements
Coordinates: 14°46′N 16°54′W / 14.767°N 16.900°W / 14.767; -16.900Coordinates: 14°46′N 16°54′W / 14.767°N 16.900°W / 14.767; -16.900
Country Senegal
Capital Thiès
Départements
List
Area
 • Total 6,670 km2 (2,580 sq mi)
Population (2013 census)
 • Total 1,709,112
 • Density 260/km2 (660/sq mi)
Time zone GMT (UTC+0)

Thiès is a region of western Senegal. The capital is also called Thiès.

Geography

It has two coastlines, one in the north with the Grande Côte housing the Niayes vegetable market, one to the south with the Petite Côte, one of the tourist areas of Senegal.

Principally the main passageway between the peninsula and the rest of the country, the region of Thies has received a communication route connected to the first rail line and new road infrastructure.

Relatively small, yet it is the most populous region after the Dakar, with a population of 1,709,112 inhabitants at the end 2007.[1]

The coastal communities dependent on fishing, growing crops and coastal tourism for subsistence. The interior of the region was the peanut basin. Phosphates are also mined there.

History

The Thiès Region has always been occupied by the Serer people since the ancient Serers and their ancestors. However, in the pre-colonial period, more so around the 16th century, the Wolof immigrants among others have settled in.[2][3][4] Like the Fatick Region, the entire Thiès Region is strongly Serer and one of the most important of Serer country.[2][3][4][5] It is also where many of the Serer sacred and historical sites are found. The area is well represented by the Cangin, a sub-group of the Serers, who had a fierce reputation for protecting their country from outsiders in precolonial times as well as during the colonial-era (see Timeline of Serer history and Serer medieval history).

Geographically, the region partially overlaps with the precolonial Kingdoms of Cayor and Baol.[6] The Kingdom of Baol was ruled by the Joof family for several centuries until c 1549. During the colonial-era, its development was supported by the railway line - the Dakar-Saint-Louis railway in the late nineteenth century, and then with the Dakar-Niger railway. Thus Administratively, it is one of the oldest in the country.

Administrative divisions

Thiès region is divided into 3 departments (départements), 14 communes, 12 arrondissements, 32 communautés rurales and 3 communes d'arrondissement.

Departments

The region is divided[7] into 3 departments as follows':

Communes

In M'bour:

In Thiès:

In Tivaouane:

Arrondissements

In M'bour:

In Thiès:

In Tivaouane:

Communautés rurales

Keur Simbara is a tiny village in Thiès near Dakar

In M'bour:

In Thiès:

In Tivaouane:

In 2003, the rural population was 769,884,[8] grouped in 31 villages, in communautés rurales.

References

  1. ↑ Senegal at Geohive
  2. 1 2 Klein, Martin A., "Islam and Imperialism in Senegal Sine-Saloum, 1847–1914", p. 7, Edinburgh University Press (1968), ISBN 0-85224-029-5
  3. 1 2 Diange, Pathé. "Les Royaumes Sérères", Présence Africaine. No.54 (1965) p-p 142-72
  4. 1 2 Ba, Abdou Bouri, "Essai sur l’histoire du Saloum et du Rip", Avant-propos par Charles Becker et Victor Martin. Publié dans le Bulletin de l’Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire (IFAN), pp 10-13
  5. ↑ Encyclopaedia Britannica, inc, "The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Volume 29", ed : 13, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2003, p 855-6, ISBN 0-85229-961-3
  6. ↑ (French) Djibril Diop, "Décentralisation et gouvernance locale au Sénégal". Quelle pertinence pour le développement local ?, Paris, L'Harmattan, 2006, p. 69 ISBN 2-296-00862-3
  7. ↑ (French) Decree n°2002-166 of 21 February 2002 fixant le ressort territorial et le chef lieu des régions et des départements
  8. ↑ (French) Source : PEPAM
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