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Geography |
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Capital |
Nouakchott (pop. 708,000). |
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Area |
1,030,070 sq. km. (419,212 sq. mi.); slightly larger than Texas and
New Mexico combined. |
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Terrain |
Northern four-fifths barren desert; southern 20% mainly Sahelian with small-scale irrigated and rain-fed agriculture in the
Senegal River basin. |
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Climate |
Predominantly hot and dry. |
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People |
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Nationality |
Noun and adjective--Mauritanian(s). |
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Population |
(2005): 2,906,000. |
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Groups |
Arab-Berber (White Moor), Arab-Berber-Negroid (Black Moor), Haalpulaar, Soninke, Wolof (Black African Mauritanians). |
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Religions |
Islam. |
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Languages |
Arabic (official), Hassaniya (Arabic dialect), French,
Pulaar, Wolof, and Soninke. |
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Government &
History |
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Official Name |
Islamic Republic of Mauritania |
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Government |
Republic. |
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Independence |
November 28, 1960. |
From the 3rd to 7th centuries, the migration of Berber tribes from
North Africa displaced the Bafours, the original inhabitants of
present-day Mauritania and the ancestors of the Soninke. Continued
Arab-Berber migration drove indigenous black Africans south to the
Senegal River or enslaved them. By 1076, Islamic warrior monks (Almoravid
or Al Murabitun) completed the conquest of southern Mauritania,
defeating the ancient Ghana empire. Over the next 500 years, Arabs
overcame fierce Berber resistance to dominate Mauritania. The
Mauritanian Thirty-Year War (1644-74) was the unsuccessful final
Berber effort to repel the Maqil Arab invaders led by the Beni
Hassan tribe. The descendants of Beni Hassan warriors became the
upper stratum of Moorish society. Berbers retained influence by
producing the majority of the region's Marabouts--those who preserve
and teach Islamic tradition. Hassaniya, a mainly oral,
Berber-influenced Arabic dialect that derives its name from the Beni
Hassan tribe, became the dominant language among the largely nomadic
population. Within Moorish society, aristocratic and servant classes
developed, yielding "white" (aristocracy) and "black" Moors (the
enslaved indigenous class).
French colonization at the beginning of the 20th century brought
legal prohibitions against slavery and an end to interclan warfare.
During the colonial period, the population remained nomadic, but
sedentary black Africans, whose ancestors had been expelled
centuries earlier by the Moors, began to trickle back into southern
Mauritania. As the country gained independence in 1960, the capital
city of Nouakchott was founded at the site of a small colonial
village. Ninety percent of the population was still nomadic. With
independence, larger numbers of ethnic Sub-Saharan Africans (Haalpulaar,
Soninke, and Wolof) entered Mauritania, moving into the area north
of the Senegal River. Educated in French, many of these recent
arrivals became clerks, soldiers, and administrators in the new
state.
Moors reacted to this change by trying to Arabicize much of
Mauritanian life, such as law and language. A schism developed
between those who considered Mauritania to be an Arab country
(mainly Moors) and those who sought a dominant role for the
Sub-Saharan peoples. The discord between these two conflicting
visions of Mauritanian society was evident during intercommunal
violence that broke out in April 1989 (the "1989 Events").
The country's first president, Moktar Ould Daddah, served from
independence until ousted in a bloodless coup on July 10, 1978.
Mauritania was under military rule from 1978 to 1992, when the
country's first multi-party elections were held following the July
1991 approval by referendum of a constitution.
The Democratic and Social Republican Party (PRDS), led by President
Maaouiya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, dominated Mauritanian politics from
April 1992 until he was overthrown in August 2005. President Taya,
who won elections in 1992 and 1997, first became chief of state
through a December 12, 1984 bloodless coup which made him chairman
of the committee of military officers that governed Mauritania from
July 1978 to April 1992. A group of current and former Army officers
launched a bloody but unsuccessful coup attempt on June 8, 2003.
On November 7, 2003, Mauritania's third presidential election since
adopting the democratic process in 1992 took place. Incumbent
President Taya was reelected. Several opposition groups alleged that
the government had used fraudulent means to win the elections, but
did not elect to pursue their grievances via available legal
channels. The elections incorporated safeguards first adopted in
2001 municipal elections--published voter lists and hard-to-falsify
voter identification cards.
On August 3, 2005, President Taya was deposed in a bloodless coup.
Military commanders, led by Colonel Ely Ould Mohammed Fal
(alternative spelling: Vall) seized power while President Taya was
attending the funeral of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd. Colonel Fal
established the ruling Military Council for Justice and Democracy to
run the country. The council dissolved the Parliament and appointed
a transitional government. The Transitional Government quickly
established a timetable for the establishment of democratic rule
within two years' time that led to successful parliamentary
elections in November 2006, and free and transparent presidential
elections in March 2007. A new democratically elected government
under President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was inaugurated
on April 19, 2007.
On August 6, 2008, President Abdallahi was overthrown in a bloodless
coup. General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz seized power after President
Abdallahi issued a decree dismissing General Aziz and three other
senior military officers. The country is currently run by a
12-member "High State Council" composed entirely of military
officers. As of mid-December 2008, President Abdallahi remained
under house arrest in his native village of Lemden. |
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