French coastal colony centered on Saint-Louis and Goree, reconstituted as a formal Crown colony in 1817 when Britain returned it under the Treaty of Paris (1814); expanded inland into the Senegal River valley and beyond under Governor Louis Faidherbe from the 1850s-60s.
Became the anchor territory of the newly federated French West Africa (AOF) in 1895, when Jean-Baptiste Chaudie became the first governor-general; Senegal continued to exist as a constituent colony within the federation thereafter.
Direct economic/political history of the Senegal River valley colony through the Faidherbe-era expansion, covering the bulk of this record's span.
Long-run history of the Senegambian coast including the French colonial enclaves' rise; broader regional context by a leading Senegalese historian.