Organiser et réguler les marchés de captifs et de gomme arabique en Sénégambie

Abstract

In 1659, the French settled in Saint-Louis, Senegal, which became the capital of the “Senegal concession.” In order to better control and administer trade, they divided Senegambia into two administrative zones, which were more or less fictitious in the eyes of the local chiefs: “Saint-Louis and its dependencies” and “Gorée and its dependencies.” In the slave and gum markets, the trade goods imported by Europeans served as a means of exchange, functioning as a kind of fictitious currency. Local chiefs and intermediaries took part in organizing commercial activities: they imposed taxes on Europeans and monitored both the currency rate (the “bar”) and the prices of goods. In these markets, local traders often complained about cases of fraud that disrupted trade.