Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1899 American Edition.djvu/918

 562 FRANCE: — SENEGAL, ETC.

5,617 natives of Madaj^asear, 9,769 Africans, 510 Chinese). The towns are iinder the French municipal law. The chief port, Pointe-des-Galets, is con- nected by a railway of 78 miles with St. Benoit and St. Pierre. The chief productions are sugar (45,700 tons exported in 1896), coffee, cacao, vanilla, spices. In 1895 the live stock on the island was 2,650 horses, 2,700 mules, 5,315 oxen, 8,750 sheep, and 7,800 goats. Imports in 1895, 18,650,000 francs ; exports, 21,734,520 francs. Imports from Reunion into France in 1897 :— General, 20,678,910 francs ; special, 15,922,391 francs. Exports from France to Reunion : — General, 19,477,945 francs ; special, 8,485,837 francs. Shipping entered (1896), 164 vessels of 180,289 tons. The local budget for 1898 showed income and expenditure, 5,211,508 francs. The expenditure of France (budget 1899) was 4,514,942 francs.

St. Paul and Amsterdam, small islands in the Indian Ocean, belong to France.

Kerguelen, a desolate island, about 50 S. lat. and 70 E. long, was annexed by France in 1893.

OBOCK AND SOMALI COAST PROTECTORATE.

Obock, with the French Somali coast and dependencies on the Red Sea coast of Africa, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bay of Tajurah, has an area esti- mated at 8,640 square miles, with a population of 30,000 natives There is a trade with Slioa and other countries in the interior, but as there is no custom house, no trade statistics are published. Local budget (revenue and ex- penditure), 617,307 francs. Expenditure of France (budget of 1899), 587,500 francs,

SENEGAL, FRENCH SUDAN, FRENCH GUINEA, IVORY COAST,

AND DAHOMEY.

With the exception of the British colonies of Gambia, Sierra Leone, and the Gold Coast, Portuguese Guinea, and Liberia, France claims the whole of West Africa from Cape Blanco to Togo Land, and inland to the Upper and Middle Niger, and considerable areas to the east of the Upper Niger, including the Kingdom of Kong and neighbouring territories. By the Anglo-French arrangement of August 5, 1890, Great Britain recognised as within the French s])here of influence the whole region to the south of Tunis and Algeria north of a line from Say, on the Middle Niger, to Barrawa, on Lake Chad, including all the territories which belong to Sokoto. This was modified by the agree- ment of 1898, by which 150,000 square miles was acquired by France from the British Niger Territories. This agreement must be ratified by June 14, 1899. The French Sahara may embrace about 1^ million square miles, mostly desert. Several railway ]»rojects from Algeria to the Niger are under consideration. The total area claimed by France in West Africa is about 650,000 s(|uare miles. It is divided into Senegal, French Sudan, French Guinea and Dependencies, the Ivory Coast, and Daliomey.

Senegal proper (the colony) includes several stations on the river as far as Matam, with a certain area of land around each, and the coast from the north of Cape A^'crd to Gambia in the south. These, with the settled portion of French Guinea, embrace over 14,700 square miles, with a })Opulation of 174,000, of whom 135,000 are in Senegal, ]>ut included in the protectorate are various states, which give a total area of 115,800 sipiare miles, with a liopulation of 2,000,000. There is a Governor-General in Senegal, assisted l>y a Colonial Council. There are 2,508 troops (including natives) with 66 officers. The chief town of Senegal is St. Louis ; i>opulation, 20,000. Dakar (population, 2,000) and Rufis(j[ue are important centres. The colony is