Thiès (; ar, ثيس, Ṯyass; Noon: ''Chess'') is the third largest city in

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

with a population officially estimated at 320,000 in 2005. It lies east of

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 ...

on the

N2 road This is a list of roads designated N2. Roads entries are sorted in alphabetical order by country. * N2 (Bangladesh), connects Dhaka and Tamabil via Sylhet * N2 road (Belgium), connects Brussels and Maastricht * National Road 2 (Democratic Repub ...

and at the junction of railway lines to

Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on t ...

and St-Louis. It is the capital of

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

and is a major industrial city.

History

Before

colonization Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

, the Thiès Plateau was a wooded frontier between the kingdoms of Cayor and

Baol The Kingdom of Baol or Bawol in central Senegal was one of the kingdoms that arose from the split-up of the Empire of Jolof (Diolof) in 1555. The ruler ( Teigne or Teen) reigned from a capital in Diourbel. The Kingdom encompassed a strip of l ...

inhabited by the

Serer-Noon The Serer-Noon also called Noon (sometimes spelt ''Non'' or ''None'') are an ethnic people who occupy western Senegal. They are part of the Serer people though they do not speak the Serer-Sine language natively. Territory They are found primari ...

, an ethnic sub-group of the

Serer people The Serer people are a West African ethnoreligious group.

. The Serer-Noon still inhabit the Thiès-Nones neighborhood of the south-west city today. They speak the

Noon language Noon (''Non, None, Serer-Noon, Serer-Non'') is a Cangin language of Senegal spoken in the Thiès region (14°47'0"N / 16°55'0"W). There is an estimated population of 10,000''-'' 50,000 speakers worldwide, rendering this language to be vulnerab ...

, one of the Cangin languages. The village of Dianxene, belonging to the kingdom of Cayor, was founded on the strategically important plateau in the 17th century. In 1860, it had only 75 inhabitants. The

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

founded a military post there in 1864, becoming an important force in the city's development ever since. The Spiritans founded a mission there in the late 19th century to help protect the local population from raids out of

Mauretania Mauretania (; ) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It stretched from central present-day Algeria westwards to the Atlantic, covering northern present-day Morocco, and southward to the Atlas Mountains. Its native inhabitants, ...

seeking to capture slaves. In 1885, the

Dakar–Saint-Louis railway The railroad linking Dakar (Senegal) to Saint-Louis, Senegal, Saint-Louis was the first railroad line in French West Africa when it opened in 1885. It is no longer in service. References Further reading

*. Metre gauge railways in Sene ...

, the first rail line in French West Africa, opened with a stop in Thiès. The French colonial administration created the commune of Thiès in 1904. As an important railway junction, the city was an important site during the general strikes of 1945-1946 and 1947-1948. Léopold Sédar Senghor, later the first president of independent Senegal, was elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Thiès in November 1956.

Transport

At first a simple rail stop, or "escale", on the Dakar-Saint Louis line (completed in 1885) Thiès became a rail junction with the Dakar-Niger line (built 1906–1923). The national network of paved roads created after World War II likewise converged on Thiès (the N3 road joins the

in the town), which thus commands nearly all access to the Cap-Vert

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 ...

(Dakar and

Rufisque Rufisque ( ar, روفيسك; Wolof: Tëngeéj) is a city in the Dakar region of western Senegal, at the base of the Cap-Vert Peninsula. It has a population of 179,797 (2002 census). In the past it was an important port city in its own right, but ...

). The railways brought commercial development and migrant laborers, including Bambara from eastern regions of Senegal and from

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

. The rail workers of Thiès played a key role in the emergence of Senegal's

labor movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

. Their strikes in 1937 and again from 1947 to 1948 also marked the development of the independence movement across

French West Africa French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burki ...

Economy

Thiès is best known for its

tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

-making industry, an exclusive factory having been set up in 1966, producing work designed by Senegal's top artists. The famous Birds of Paradise tapestry was manufactured in Thiès. The city also contains a polytechnic school, the University of Thiès. Thiès is the transportation hub of a productive agricultural hinterland, producing

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

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 ...

manioc ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated a ...

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...

, and

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

. The city is also a leading

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

-trading and

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

-packing center. It has rail yards and repair shops, and

aluminum phosphate Aluminium phosphate is a chemical compound. In nature it occurs as the mineral berlinite. Many synthetic forms of aluminium phosphate are known. They have framework structures similar to zeolites and some are used as catalysts, ion-exchangers or ...

deposits are worked at nearby Palo Dial and Taïba. The phosphate mined here is valuable as a fertiliser and is one of Senegal's largest exports. Today, Thiès is developing increasingly as an extension of the congested Cap-Vert Peninsula. It is attracting industrial investments (electrical and mechanical engineering) and there are plans to link it to Dakar by highway and commuter train. Other attractions in Thiès include a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

, an artisanal and crafts village and a few remains of old

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

Education

École Française Docteur René Guillet, a French international school, is located in Thiès.Home page
. École Française Docteur René Guillet. Retrieved on 3 May 2015. Malick Sy high school is the largest school in the city and one of the biggest of Senegal. Many Senegalese politicians were trained in this school which also produced many laureates of the Senegalese General Contest.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Thiès is twinned with: *

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Sousse Sousse or Soussa ( ar, سوسة, ; Berber:''Susa'') is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

Solingen Solingen (; li, Solich) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located some 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and, with a 2009 population of 161,366, ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

References

External links

Thiès public services
*

*

*
''Situation économique et sociale'' (For year 2004)
(Local government, Service régional de Thiès, September 2005) {{DEFAULTSORT:Thies Populated places in Thiès Region Regional capitals in Senegal French West Africa Populated places established in 1864 Communes of Senegal