During the 8th century,Senegal was part of the great Ghana empire and with its decline rose the Djolof kingdom flourishing during the 13th and 14th centuries to encompass the area between the Senegal River and modern-day Dakar.Through the 16th century,respectively the Portuguese,British, French and Dutch fought to gain control of St-Louis and Gor�e Island, strategic points where slaves bound for the Americas could be collected. By the end of the 19th France controlled all of Senegal, and Dakar was built as the administrative center of the AOF (French Occidental Africa).
Senegal became a republic under the presidency of Leopold Senghor in 1960.At the end of 1980, Senghor stepped down as president and was replaced by Abdou Diouf who was to remain in power until 2000. In the early 1990s, serious clashes started in the Casamance region between the army and separatist rebels. The sudden devaluation of the CFA in January 1994 accentued the weakened Senegalese economy and resulted in angry demonstrations. In 2000, the popular opposition leader Abdou-laye Wade many times arrested and accused of conspiracy won the democratic elections and became the third president of Senegal.