Rufisque ( ar, روفيسك;

Wolof Wolof or Wollof may refer to: * Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...

: Tëngeéj) is a city in the

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

region of western

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

, at the base of the

Cap-Vert Cap-Vert, or the Cape Verde Peninsula, is a peninsula in Senegal and the westernmost point of the continent of Africa and of the Afro-Eurasia mainland. Portuguese explorers called it Cabo Verde or "Green Cape". The Cape Verde islands, further ...

Peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

. It has a population of 179,797 (2002 census). In the past it was an important port city in its own right, but is now a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

of Dakar. Rufisque is also the capital of the

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of the same name and lies east of

, the capital of

History

Originally a

Lebou The Lebu (Lebou, ''Lébou'') are an ethnic group of Senegal, West Africa, living on the peninsula of Cap-Vert. The Lebu are primarily a fishing community, but they have a substantial business in construction supplies and real estate.Keese, Alexan ...

fishing village called Tenguedj ( wo, Tëngéej), Rufisque became important in the 16th century as the principal port of the kingdom of

Cayor Cayor ( wo, Kajoor; ar, كاجور) was the largest and most powerful kingdom (1549–1879) that split off from the Jolof Empire in what is now Senegal. Cayor was located in northern and central Senegal, southeast of Walo, west of the kingdom o ...

, being frequented by Portuguese (who named it ''Rio Fresco'', in which the name of the city originated from, meaning in English:"Freshwater River"), Dutch, French and English traders. A Euro-African Creole, or

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

, community of merchants grew up there, in close contact with similar communities in Saint Louis,

Gorée (; "Gorée Island"; Wolof: Beer Dun) is one of the 19 (i.e. districts) of the city of Dakar, Senegal. It is an island located at sea from the main harbour of Dakar (), famous as a destination for people interested in the Atlantic slave trade ...

and other places along the Petite Côte (Portudal, Joal) south to the

Gambia River The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra) is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul. It is navigable f ...

In 1840 a couple of Saint Louis merchants built warehouses on the waterfront to stock

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...

s. 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 1909 Galandou 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 A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...

Administration

Ndiawar Touré took office as Mayor of Rufisque on 8 June 2002. Previously,

Mbaye-Jacques Diop Mbaye-Jacques Diop (15 January 1936 – 11 September 2016), government website . was a Senegalese politician. He served as a Deputy in the National Assembly of Senegal from 1983 to 2004, as Mayor of Rufisque from 1987 to 2002, and as President of ...

was Mayor from 1987 to 2002, and he was subsequently designated as Honorary Mayor.

Notable people

Papa Bouba Diop Papa Bouba Diop (28 January 197829 November 2020) was a Senegalese professional footballer. His preferred position was defensive midfield but he could also play as a centre back, where he previously played at Lens. Diop was considered a strong ...

- footballer *

Mamadou Seck (footballer) Mamadou Seck (born 23 August 1979) is a Senegalese former professional footballer who played as a defender. Club career Born in Rufisque, Seck started his career as a youth in August 1998 for Toulouse and was signed by Nîmes Olympique at th ...

- footballer * Ousmane Diop Socé - writer and politician * Thierno Youm - footballer *

Abdoulaye Sadji Abdoulaye Sadji (1910 in Rufisque, Senegal – 25 December 1961 in Dakar) was a Senegalese writer and teacher. The son of a Muslim priest, a ''marabout,'' Sadji was educated in a Quranic schoolWästberg, s. 292 before attending French schools. ...

- Writer * Ismaila Lo - Musician

References

External links

Rufisque News
online version of Rufisque-based newspaper. * Portions of this article were translated from French language Wikipedia's :fr:Rufisque. {{Authority control