During the 1800s, Western North Africa was largely colonized by France.
By the early years of the twentieth century the French held most of the African territory that eventually would become their colonial territory in West Africa; including those lands knon today as Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Niger. A governor-general of French West Africa was appointed to administer the federation and was based in Senegal.