Canadian Medical Guide > Geographic Locations > Geographic Locations > Africa > Africa South of the Sahara > Africa, Western Terms and Definitions




Africa, Western

Medical Definition: The geographical area of Africa comprising BENIN; BURKINA FASO; COTE D'IVOIRE; GAMBIA; GHANA; GUINEA; GUINEA-BISSAU; LIBERIA; MALI; MAURITANIA; NIGER; NIGERIA; SENEGAL; SIERRA LEONE; and TOGO.
Guide Notes: a geog area: prefer specific countries
Also Called: Cape Verde
Africa, Western Categories.
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Benin - A republic in western Africa, south of NIGER and between TOGO and NIGERIA. Its capital is Porto-Novo. It was formerly called Dahomey. In the 17th century it was a kingdom in the southern area of Africa. Coastal footholds were established by the French who deposed the ruler by 1892. It was made a French colony in 1894 and gained independence in 1960. Benin comes from the name of the indigenous inhabitants, the Bini, now more closely linked with southern Nigeria (Benin City, a town there). Bini may be related to the Arabic bani, sons. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p136, 310 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p60)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Burkina Faso - A republic in western Africa, south and east of MALI and west of NIGER. Its capital is Ouagadougou. It was formerly called Upper Volta until 1984. A French protectorate was established over the region 1895-97. It was part of Upper Senegal-Niger colony until 1919 when it became a separate colony. Burkina Faso remained under French jurisdiction with varied status until it became totally independent in 1960. Its name is native, meaning land of worthy men, from burkina (worthy) + faso (land, literally father village from fa (father) + so (village)). (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p191, 1273 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p85)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Cote d'Ivoire - A republic in western Africa, south of MALI and BURKINA FASO. Its capital is Abidjan. It was formerly called Ivory Coast. From 1842 the French had a treaty with the native rulers. By 1889 a French protectorate was established and in 1893 it was made a colony. Cote d'Ivoire achieved self-government in 1958 and became an independent republic in 1960. It is named for the ivory first traded by the Portuguese there in the 16th century. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p295, 560 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p264)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Gambia - A republic in western Africa, constituting an enclave within SENEGAL extending on both sides of the Gambia River. Its capital is Banjul, formerly Bathurst. The mouth of the river was discovered in 1455 by the Portuguese and the English ascended the river 1618-19. The British claim to the region was recognized by the Treaty of Versailles in 1783. Its status under the British and Sierra Leone changed several times from 1807 until 1965 when it became independent. The country is named for the river and is a Portuguese corruption of the native name Ba-Dimma, meaning river. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p426 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p200)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Ghana - A republic in western Africa, south of BURKINA FASO and west of TOGO. Its capital is Accra. It was called the Gold Coast until 1957, from the gold discovered there by the Portuguese in the late 15th century. A center for slave trade, it was acquired by the British in the 19th century and became independent in 1957. Ghana took its name from a tribal leader that stands for king. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p441 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p206)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Guinea - A republic in western Africa, south of SENEGAL and MALI, east of GUINEA-BISSAU. Its capital is Conakry. Its coastal region was proclaimed a French protectorate in 1849, was established as a separate colony called French Guinea in 1893, and gained its independence in 1958. This Guinea gave its name to the coin originally made out of gold coming from there. Guinea is from a Tuareg word aginaw, meaning black people. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p474 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p222)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Guinea-Bissau - A republic in western Africa, south of SENEGAL and west of GUINEA. Its capital is Bissau. It was discovered by the Portuguese in 1446. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was active in slave trading. Its boundaries were established by convention with France in 1886 and 1902-05 and in 1974 it gained its independence. As a Portuguese overseas province, the country was called Portuguese Guinea; it was named Guinea-Bissau in 1974. The name Guinea is from the Tuareg word Aginaw, meaning black people. Bissau is from the native name of the people there, the Bijuga, whose meaning is uncertain. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p975 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p222)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Liberia - A republic in western Africa, south of GUINEA and east of COTE D'IVOIRE. Its capital is Monrovia, named for the U.S. President James Monroe. Liberia was projected as a settlement of freed American slaves by the American Colonization Society in 1817 and hence named from the Latin liber, free. In 1847 it was established as the Free and Independent Republic of Liberia. Liberia is the only black African state never to have been subjected to colonial rule. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p668 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p307)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Mali - A country in western Africa, east of MAURITANIA and north of SUDAN. Its capital is Bamako. Its earlier names give a clue to its African and overseas connections: 1904-1920 it was known as Upper Senegal-Niger; prior to 1958, as French Sudan; 1958-1960 as the Sudanese Republic and 1959-1960 it joined Senegal in the Mali Federation. It became an independent republic in 1960 but the government is at present in transition. Mali was the name of a former empire, extinct from the 17th century. It may be derived from Malinke, an indigenous people of this region or from a Mandingo word meaning hippopotamus. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, p717 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p329)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Mauritania - A republic in western Africa, southwest of ALGERIA and west of MALI. Its capital is Nouakchott. Its coast was opened by the Portuguese in the 15th century. Although recognized as in the French sphere from 1817, it did not become a French colony until 1921. It gained independence in 1960. Mauritania takes its name from the Moors, either from the Greek mauros, dark, with reference to their skin or from the Punic mahurim or mauharin, western, with reference to the geographical area of North Africa that they occupied. It should not be confused with the ancient country of Mauretania in northern Africa, although both share a common derivation for their names. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p742 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p361)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Niger - A republic in western Africa, north of NIGERIA and west of CHAD. Its capital is Niamey. It was first explored by the Europeans in the late 18th century. It became part of the French sphere of influence in the latter part of the 19th century and was formally constituted as part of French West Africa in 1904. Nigeria gained independence in 1960. The country took its name from the river Niger flowing through it. The river's name came from the Tuareg egereou n-igereouen, river of rivers, the second part of the name giving the modern European form Niger. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p847 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p379)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Nigeria - A republic in western Africa, south of NIGER between BENIN and CAMEROON. Its capital is Lagos. From the time it was visited in the 18th and 19th centuries by many European explorers, figuring in its administrative history were Great Britain, the native king, Sierra Leone, and the Gold Coast colony. Nigeria gained independence in 1960, becoming a republic in 1961. Nigeria derives its name from the Niger River which flows through it. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p848 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p379)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Senegal - A republic in western Africa, southwest of MAURITANIA and east of MALI. Its capital is Dakar. The first settlements were by the Portuguese in the 15th century and the French in the 17th century, with the coastal region becoming the object of much rivalry and conflict between the two until French possession was recognized in 1814. Senegal became independent in 1960. The nation was named for the Senegal River, its main river, which possibly derived its name from a local African word meaning navigable. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1097 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p493)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Sierra Leone - A republic in western Africa, south of GUINEA and west of LIBERIA. Its capital is Freetown. Its coast was first visited by the Portuguese in 1462, later by English slave traders. In 1787 English philanthropists sponsored settlements on the coast for runaway and freed slaves. After a clash with the French in 1893 the region was acquired by treaty in 1895, proclaimed a protectorate in 1896, and achieved independence in 1961. The name is from the Spanish sierra (mountain chain) + leone (lion), meaning Lion Mountains, which refers not to the roar of lions (they are not found in this part of Africa) but to the noise from claps of thunder from storm clouds constantly surrounding the mountains. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1114 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p504)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Togo - A republic in western Africa, lying between GHANA on its west and BENIN on its east. Its capital is Lome. Togo was the eastern part of the German protectorate of Togoland from 1884 until it was captured by Anglo-French forces in 1914. It became an autonomous republic within the French Union in 1956, achieving independence in 1960. The country probably derives its name from Lake Togo, to (water) + go (edge or shore). (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1216 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p548)

Africa, Western Medical Definitions and Terms

CANADIAN MEDICAL GUIDE

Thank you for visiting Canadian Medical Guide .com





Wildlife On Video »

Canadian Medical Guide Canada's Great Outdoors
Tour Canadian Rockies »
Book Banff »
Book Jasper »
Maligne Lake Boat Cruise »
Gondola Banff »
Hike Jasper »
Jasper Columbia Icefield »