Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
French West Africa
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images
French West Africa French West Africa
Read Next
Olduvai Gorge or Olduwai Gorge, Tanzania, Africa (eastern Serengeti Plain) Where fossil remains of more than 60 hominins provides the most continuous known record of human evolution. Mary Leakey and Louis Leakey made discoveries here. Archaeology
7 Amazing Historical Sites in Africa
Namib desert, Namibia.
8 Amazing Physical Features of Africa
Battle of Fleurus (June 16, 1794), the most significant battle in the First Coalition phase of the French Revolutionary Wars; by Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse, 19th century.
What Led to France’s Reign of Terror?
Discover
King Cobra snake in Malaysia. (reptile)
9 of the World’s Deadliest Snakes
Small, white rat (genus Rattus) on a glass table. (rodent, laboratory, experiment)
Cruel and Unusual Punishments: 15 Types of Torture
Two chicks near an egg with a white background (poultry, chick, chickens, birds).
What Do Eggs Have to Do with Easter?
Groups of depositors in front of the closed American Union Bank, New York City. April 26, 1932. Great Depression run on bank crowd
Causes of the Great Depression
Easter Procession of Maria Santisima del Sacromonte in Granada, Spain. This statue is known as Virgen de los Gitanos or The Virgin of the Gypsies.
What is Holy Week?
Lusitania sinking, illustration from The War of the Nations (New York), December 31, 1919. World War I, WWI. This image is one of three on the page. (See source file for the other two.)
7 of the World’s Deadliest Shipwrecks
Entrants falling and tumbling over while chasing the cheese at the 2016 'Cheese Rolling' held at Cooper's Hill, in the Cotswolds, Brockworth England
7 of the World’s Most Dangerous Festivals

French West Africa: Facts & Related Content

verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/facts/French-West-Africa
Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As Afrique Occidentale Française • AOF
Date 1895 - 1958

Photos

French West Africa
French West Africa
See All Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics

Related Places

Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Senegal
Senegal
Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire
Mali
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritania
Niger
Niger

Key People

Hanotaux, detail of an engraving by Dujardin after a portrait by Benjamin Constant
Gabriel Hanotaux
French statesman and historian
Pierre de Brazza
French explorer