The Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border is 341 km (212 m) in length and runs from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

in the west to the

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

with

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

in the east.

Description

The border starts in the west at Cape Roxo on the Atlantic coast, and the proceeds overland in a north-easterly directions via a series of irregular and straight lines past the 12th parallel north; at 12°40N it turns east and then follows a straight line to the Guinean

History

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

began exploring the coastal areas of modern Guinea-Bissau in the mid-1400s;

Bissau Bissau () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Guinea-Bissau. it had a population of 492,004. Bissau is located on the Geba River estuary, off the Atlantic Ocean, and is Guinea-Bissau's largest city, major port, its administr ...

was founded in 1765 and became the centre of the Portuguese trade in slaves, gold and ivory along a vaguely defined area along the coast referred to as

Portuguese Guinea Portuguese Guinea (), called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a Portuguese overseas province in West Africa from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as G ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

had also taken an interest in the region, settling on the coast of modern Senegal in the 17th century; the French gradually extended their rule further inland from the mid-1800s onward. The 1880s saw an intense competition between the European powers for territories in Africa, a process known as the

Scramble for Africa The Scramble for Africa was the invasion, conquest, and colonialism, colonisation of most of Africa by seven Western European powers driven by the Second Industrial Revolution during the late 19th century and early 20th century in the era of ...

. The process culminated in the

Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 was a meeting of colonial powers that concluded with the signing of the General Act of Berlin,

of 1884, in which the European nations concerned agreed upon their respective territorial claims and the rules of engagements going forward. As a result, France and Portugal signed a treaty on 12 May 1886 delimiting a border between their West African colonies (i.e. the modern Guinea-Bissau–Senegal and

Guinea–Guinea-Bissau border The Guinea–Guinea-Bissau border is 421 km (262 m) in length and runs from the Atlantic Ocean in the south-west to the tripoint with Senegal in the north-east. Description The border starts in the southwest at the Atlantic coast near the m ...

). A joint Franco-Portuguese commission than demarcated the boundary on the ground during the period 1900–05, marking it with 184 numbered pillars (pillars 58-184 covered the Portuguese Guinea-Senegal boundary). This final boundary was then approved by an exchange of notes in 1905–06. Senegal gained independence from France in 1960, followed by Portuguese Guinea (as Guinea-Bissau) in 1974 after a prolonged war against Portuguese forces; the border became an international one between two sovereign states. The border region has been used by various armed groups involved in the Casamance conflict and the

Guinea-Bissau Civil War The Guinea-Bissau Civil War was fought from 7 June 1998 to 10 May 1999 and was triggered by an attempted 1998 Guinea-Bissau coup attempt, coup d'état against the government of Heads of State of Guinea-Bissau, President João Bernardo Vieira led ...

in the late 1990s.

Settlements near the border

Guinea-Bissau

* Varela * Susana * São Domingos * Sedendal * Ingore * Barro * Bigene * Dungal * Cuntima * Cambaju * Sare Bacar * Pirada

Senegal

* Kabrousse * * Mpack * * Kamboua * * Koumbakara

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guinea-Bissau-Senegal border Borders of Guinea-Bissau Borders of Senegal International borders