Senegal - The Escales of the Senegal River

Stopovers on the Senegal River were the natural backcountry of Saint-Louis of Senegal already on the World Heritage List. The stopovers were originally seen as adaptations of the ladders with consuls and commissionaires, shops and offices for use by Europeans. In Senegal they were called stopovers to better reflect the fact that it was primarily temporary floating scales where gum, skins, ivory, slaves, etc. were treated. Some stopovers such as the Red Terrier, the Desert, The Cock, Donaye etc., played an important role in trade on the Senegal River, but they have not been the subject of significant adjustments, the bulk of trade being on board the boats. However forts and counters were installed on the Haut-Fleuve and Falémé, for the slave trade. It is only gradually that more or less perennial development will see the light of day on certain sites that posterity will retain under the name of stopovers of the river. They will remain dynamic throughout European colonization, making the river a vital axis of movement of people and goods. The most important stopovers were Dagana, Podor, Richard Toll, Salde and Matam. Each of these localities had a dock, and a number of commercial facilities whose architecture and functionality were of the same inspiration. In some cases, fortified posts and cantonments, and then the administrative infrastructure, have been installed. The history of these settlements is remarkably described, since the 17th century, by many cartographic documents which make it one of the best known parts of the continent. This coherent set of stops along the Senegal River was the real raison d'être of the ocean city of Saint-Louis which owes most of its economic appeal.