Total population | |
---|---|
50,000 - 150,000 [1] | |
Languages | |
Arabic ( Lebanese Arabic) · French · Wolof [1] | |
Religion | |
Sunni · Shia · Maronite · Eastern Orthodox [1] [2] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Lebanese diaspora |
Part of a series of articles on |
Lebanese people |
---|
Lebanon portal |
There is a significant community of Lebanese people in Senegal. [1]
The first trader from Ottoman Lebanon arrived in French Senegal in the 1860s. However, early migration was slow; by 1900, there were only about one hundred Lebanese living in the country, mostly Shiite Muslims from the vicinity of Tyre. They worked as street vendors in Dakar, Saint-Louis and Rufisque. After World War I, they began to move into the peanut trade. With the establishment of the French Mandate of Lebanon, Lebanese immigration expanded sharply. [3] During the Great Depression and again after World War II, French traders lobbied the government to restrict Lebanese immigration; however, the government generally ignored such lobbying. [4]
During the colonial period, the Lebanese tended to support independence movements. [4] Their social position outside of the colonial relationship, as neither colonist nor colonised, enabled them to maintain good relations with both Senegalese consumers as well as the large French businessmen. [5] After Senegal gained independence in 1960, most French small traders left the country; however, indigenous Senegalese people began to compete increasingly with the Lebanese in the peanut sector, and soon after, the whole peanut marketing sector was nationalised. [4]
Lebanese migrants and their descendants have tended to maintain dual citizenship of both Lebanon and Senegal. [6] Most speak Arabic, Wolof and French, and some have become involved in Senegalese politics. However, they are a fairly endogamous community. [1]
In the early 2000s, the Lebanese began to be displaced from their position as a market-dominant minority by the influx of Chinese traders and the cheap goods they brought from China; as a result, the Lebanese began to shift to a pattern of buying goods from the Chinese and reselling them in remote areas of the country where no Chinese migrants lived. [7]
Total population | |
---|---|
50,000 - 150,000 [1] | |
Languages | |
Arabic ( Lebanese Arabic) · French · Wolof [1] | |
Religion | |
Sunni · Shia · Maronite · Eastern Orthodox [1] [2] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Lebanese diaspora |
Part of a series of articles on |
Lebanese people |
---|
Lebanon portal |
There is a significant community of Lebanese people in Senegal. [1]
The first trader from Ottoman Lebanon arrived in French Senegal in the 1860s. However, early migration was slow; by 1900, there were only about one hundred Lebanese living in the country, mostly Shiite Muslims from the vicinity of Tyre. They worked as street vendors in Dakar, Saint-Louis and Rufisque. After World War I, they began to move into the peanut trade. With the establishment of the French Mandate of Lebanon, Lebanese immigration expanded sharply. [3] During the Great Depression and again after World War II, French traders lobbied the government to restrict Lebanese immigration; however, the government generally ignored such lobbying. [4]
During the colonial period, the Lebanese tended to support independence movements. [4] Their social position outside of the colonial relationship, as neither colonist nor colonised, enabled them to maintain good relations with both Senegalese consumers as well as the large French businessmen. [5] After Senegal gained independence in 1960, most French small traders left the country; however, indigenous Senegalese people began to compete increasingly with the Lebanese in the peanut sector, and soon after, the whole peanut marketing sector was nationalised. [4]
Lebanese migrants and their descendants have tended to maintain dual citizenship of both Lebanon and Senegal. [6] Most speak Arabic, Wolof and French, and some have become involved in Senegalese politics. However, they are a fairly endogamous community. [1]
In the early 2000s, the Lebanese began to be displaced from their position as a market-dominant minority by the influx of Chinese traders and the cheap goods they brought from China; as a result, the Lebanese began to shift to a pattern of buying goods from the Chinese and reselling them in remote areas of the country where no Chinese migrants lived. [7]