Editing Casamance

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Casamance
| native_name        = {{llang|wo|Kasamansa}}<br>{{llang|ff|𞤑𞤢𞤧𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤲𞤧𞤢}}
| other_name         = {{llang|pt|Casamansa}}
| settlement_type    = [[Geography of Senegal|Geographical region]]
<!-- images, nickname, motto -->| image_skyline      = Senegal Casamance.png
| image_caption      = Casamance in Senegal
| image_flag         = 
| image_shield       = 
| motto              = 
| nickname           = 
| etymology          = <!-- location -->
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = [[Senegal]]
| subdivision_type1  = 
| subdivision_name1  = 
| subdivision_type2  = 
| subdivision_name2  = 
| subdivision_type3  = 
| subdivision_name3  = 
| subdivision_type4  = 
| subdivision_name4  = 
| parts_type         = Parts
| parts_style        = para
| p1                 = [[Kolda Region]], [[Sédhiou Region]] and [[Ziguinchor Region]]s
<!-- maps and coordinates -->| image_map          = 
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| coordinates_footnotes = <!-- established -->
| established_title  = 
| established_date   = <!-- area -->
| area_footnotes     = 
| area_total_km2     = 28,464
| area_total_sq_mi   = 
| area_land_sq_mi    = 
| area_water_sq_mi   = <!-- elevation -->
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 
| elevation_ft       = <!-- population -->
| population_as_of   = 
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| population_density_km2 = auto
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| population_demonym = <!-- time zone(s) -->
| timezone1          = 
| utc_offset1        = 
| timezone1_DST      = 
| utc_offset1_DST    = <!-- postal codes, area code -->
| postal_code_type   = 
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| iso_code           = <!-- website, footnotes -->
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}}

'''Casamance'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|æ|z|ə|m|æ|n|s|,_|ˈ|k|æ|s|ə|m|æ|n|s}} {{respell|KAZ|ə|manss|,_|KASS|ə|manss}}, {{IPA|fr|kɑzamɑ̃s|lang|small=no}}; {{langx|wo|Kasamansa}}; {{langx|ff|𞤑𞤢𞤧𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤲𞤧𞤢|Kasamansa}}; {{langx|pt|Casamansa}} or {{lang|pt|Casamança}} {{IPA|pt|kɐzɐˈmɐ̃sɐ|}}.<ref>
*[[Novo Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa]], verbete '''criol:''' Língua derivada do português e de várias línguas africanas, falada pela maior parte da população da Guiné-Bissau e da Casamansa (S. do Senegal)
*{{ill|Dicionário Onomástico Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa|pt}}
*Vocabulário Onomástico da Língua Portuguesa da [[Academia Brasileira de Letras]]
*{{cite web|url = http://www.infopedia.pt/$descobrimento-da-guine|title= Língua Portuguesa com Acordo Ortográfico [em linha]. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003-2015.}}</ref>}} is the area of [[Senegal]] south of [[the Gambia]], including the [[Casamance River]]. It consists of the Lower Casamance ({{lang|fr|Basse Casamance}}, {{lang|pt|Baixa Casamança}}—i.e. [[Ziguinchor Region]]) and the Upper Casamance ({{lang|fr|Haute Casamance}}, {{lang|pt|Alta Casamança}}—i.e. [[Kolda Region|Kolda]] and [[Sédhiou Region]]s). The largest city of Casamance is [[Ziguinchor]].

== Etymology ==
Because this southern region of Senegal boasts a coastline that was early visited by Portuguese navigators, there has long been speculation about a [[Portuguese language|Lusophone]] influence in its name. In his Wolof-French Dictionary published in 1923 by the Catholic Mission of Dakar, Aloyse Kobès provides the following definition: "Kasamansa (Casamance), derived from {{lang|pt|casa}} (Portuguese), meaning house, dwelling, and {{lang|mnk|ߡߊ߲߬ߛߊ}} ''mansa'' {{IPA|mnk|maⁿsa|}} ([[Mandinka language|Mandingo]]), meaning king, chief."<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 2, 2006 |title=D’où vient le nom de Casamance |url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/224161/archives-thematique/d-o-vient-le-nom-de-casamance/ |website=[[Jeune Afrique]]}}</ref>

== Peoples ==
Casamance is mainly inhabited by the [[Jola people|Jola]] and [[Bainuk people|Bainuk]]. Significant minority populations include the [[Balanta people|Balanta]], [[Mandé peoples|Mande]] and [[Fula people|Fulani]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Minahan|first=James|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OLKKVXgEpkoC&dq=casamancais&pg=PA396|title=Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: A-C|date=2002|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-32109-2|pages=396–397}}</ref> Casamance is religiously diverse, with the inhabitants practicing Islam, Christianity, and traditional African religions.<ref name=":0" />

==History==
{{See also|Jola people}}
According to local legends, the Jola and Bainuk people are said to have inhabited Casamance for over a thousand years. Jola leaders ruled portions of Casamance, frequently under the nominal rule of [[Wolof people|Wolof]] and [[Serer people|Serer]] kingdoms to the north.<ref name=":0" /> From the 15th to 18th century, the Bainuk [[Kasa kingdom]] located in the Lower Casamance was the dominant state in the south.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Olson|first1=James Stuart|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MdaAdBC-_S4C&dq=banun+people&pg=PA70|title=The Peoples of Africa: An Ethnohistorical Dictionary|last2=Meur|first2=Charles|date=1996|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-27918-8|pages=70|language=en}}</ref> In the 15th century, Portuguese slave traders and navigators established a trading station in the area. They also formed trade relations with local Jola chiefs and the king of Kasa.<ref name=":0" />

The Casamance was subject to both French and Portuguese colonial efforts before a border was negotiated in 1888 between the French colony of [[Senegal]] and [[Portuguese Guinea]] (now [[Guinea-Bissau]]) to the south. Portugal lost possession of Casamance, then the commercial hub of its colony.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} Casamance, to this day, has preserved the local variant of [[Guinea-Bissau Creole|Upper Guinea Creole]] known as [[Casamance Creole]], and the members of the deep-rooted [[Creole peoples|Creole]] community carry Portuguese surnames like Da Silva, Carvalho and Fonseca. The historical ties to Portugal were a factor in Senegal's decision to seek membership of the [[Community of Portuguese Language Countries]] (CPLP), becoming an [[Community of Portuguese Language Countries#Associate observers|associate observer]] in 2008.<ref name="CPLP_Observ.">{{cite web |url=http://www.cplp.org/id-2765.aspx |title=OBSERVADORES ASSOCIADOS |language=pt |publisher=CPLP |date=10 July 2008 |access-date=14 November 2016}}</ref> Interest in Portuguese heritage has been revived in order to exert a distinct identity,{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} particularly in Baixa Casamança.

Bissau-Guineans are also present in the region, as expatriates, immigrants, and refugees from the poverty and instability that since long affects the neighbouring country, including the 1998–1999 [[Guinea-Bissau Civil War]].

===Separatist movement===
{{Further|Casamance conflict}}
[[File:Flag of Casamance (2012).svg|thumb|Flag used by several separatist organisations]]
Though the [[Jola people|Jola]] are the dominant [[ethnic group]] in the Casamance, they represent only 4% of the total population of Senegal. The Jola's sense of economic disenfranchisement within greater Senegal{{citation needed|date=December 2010}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Programs|first=United States Congress House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l2_TxcVkK5MC&q=casamance+senegal+economic+disenfranchisement+contributed+to+the+found&pg=PA778|title=Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations for 2007: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Ninth Congress, Second Session|date=2006|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|isbn=978-0-16-071921-9 |language=en}}</ref> contributed to the founding of a [[separatism|separatist]] movement advocating the [[independence]] or [[autonomous administrative division]] of the Casamance, the [[Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance]] (MFDC), in 1982.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalia.info/en/news/702 |title=New clashes between the Senegalese army and Casamance pro-independence militias |publisher=Nationalia|date=23 March 2010 |access-date=11 April 2010 }}</ref>

The MFDC's armed wing was established in 1985, and in 1990 the [[Casamance conflict]] began: a low-level insurgency led by the MFDC against the government of Senegal. The conflict has been characterized by sporadic violence and frequent but unstable ceasefire agreements. An illegal shipment of weapons hailing from Iran was seized in [[Lagos]], [[Nigeria]] in October 2010, and the Senegalese government suspected the MFDC of having been the intended recipient of the weapons in The Gambia, which had cut ties with Iran the previous month. Senegal recalled its ambassador to [[Tehran]] over the incident.<ref>{{cite news |work=BBC News |date=15 December 2010 |access-date= 15 December 2010 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11998752 |title=Senegal recalls Tehran ambassador over arms shipment}}</ref>

==Geography and climate==
[[File:FEMME S'ACTIVANT DANS UN CHAMPS DE RIZ.jpg|thumb|Woman working in a paddy field]]
The region is low-lying and hot, with some [[mountain|hill]]s to the southeast. The entire Casamance region experiences a [[tropical savanna climate]], with average [[rainfall]] greater than the rest of Senegal. The region is like the rest of Senegal: rainless from November to May, but during the rainy season from June to October, most areas receive over {{convert|50|in|mm|-1|disp=or}}, and the furthest southwest as much as {{convert|70|in|mm|-1|disp=or}}.

==Economy==
The economy of the Casamance relies largely on [[rice]] cultivation and [[tourism]]. It also has excellent [[beach]]es along its coastline, particularly at [[Cap Skirring]].

==Ecology==
{{Further|Environmental issues in Senegal|Basse Casamance National Park}}

Tree cover in Casamance is severely threatened by [[illegal logging]].<ref name="AfricaNews 2016">{{cite web | author=AfricaNews | title=Senegal govt warns against Casamance deforestation | website=Africanews | date=19 June 2016 | url=http://www.africanews.com/2016/06/19/senegal-govt-warns-against-casamance-deforestation/ | access-date=15 March 2018}}</ref><ref name="Sciences et Avenir 2016">{{cite web | title=Trafic de bois au Sénégal: la Casamance menacée de déforestation d'ici deux ans | website=Sciences et Avenir | date=26 May 2016 | url=https://www.sciencesetavenir.fr/nature-environnement/trafic-de-bois-au-senegal-la-casamance-menacee-de-deforestation-d-ici-deux-ans_18344 | language=fr | access-date=15 March 2018}}</ref>

==Note==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Vincent Foucher, "Church and nation. The Catholic contribution to war and peace in Casamance (Senegal)", [https://web.archive.org/web/20110723173757/http://www2.unil.ch/lefaitmissionnaire/pages/tables_publi/lfm13_tbl.html LFM. Social Sciences and Missions] N°13/October 2003

==External links==
{{Portal|Senegal}}
* [http://www.casamance.net/ Casamance.net] {{in lang|fr}}
* Oxfam America, [https://web.archive.org/web/20080807155235/http://www.oxfamamerica.org/whatwedo/where_we_work/west_africa/news_publications/feature_story.2006-10-20.2656008657 Background on the Casamance Conflict]
* Alassane Diop, [https://web.archive.org/web/20131105154729/https://www.zidisha.org/microfinance/loan/alassanediop/165.html Weblog Commentary]

{{Senegal topics|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Casamance| ]]
[[Category:Geography of Senegal]]
[[Category:Separatism in Senegal]]