Bakel, Senegal
Town andcommune
Bakel
Coordinates:14°54′15″N12°27′30″W / 14.90417°N 12.45833°W /14.90417; -12.45833
Country	Senegal
Region	Tambacounda
Department	Bakel
Area [1]
• Town andcommune	5.858 km2 (2.262 sq mi)
Elevation [2]	23 m (75 ft)
Population  (2023 census)[1]
• Town andcommune	18,939
• Density	3,200/km2 (8,400/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)

Bakel is a town and urban commune, with a population of 18,939, located in the eastern part ofSenegal,West Africa. The town is located on the left bank of theSénégal River, 65 kilometers (40 mi) from the Malian border and linked by canoe ferry to the village ofGouraye inMauritania.

Bakel is one of the four eponymous departmental capitals in the region ofTambacounda, the other three beingTambacounda,Goudiry andKoumpentoum. Bakel is known for its French fort (Fort Bakel), whichRené Caillié visited in 1819.^[3] It was also the area where the Mauritanian crisis occurred, a dispute over grazing rights that led to a war between Senegal and Mauritania in 1989.^{[citation needed]} As a result of this conflict, many people around the area moved abroad or emigrated to Senegal.^{[citation needed]}

The majority of the population belong to theSoninke-speaking ethnic group, a dialect of the largerMande Languages language family. There is also a substantial Pulaar (Fula) speaking minority as well as a significant amount ofBambara andWolof (or Oulof) speakers, while most people learn some French in school.^{[citation needed]} A large permanent market serves the department's inhabitants along with a weekly "Lumo" (similar to a flea market). Most inhabitants are subsistence farmers and herders, while the people in town are employed in informal businesses that range from carpentry, masonry and transportation of goods to selling fruit and produce on the street.^{[citation needed]} Due to its location in theSahel, the area is semi-arid with little vegetation outside of the rainy season. Various hills surround the town, which are known locally as "little mountains."

Bakel served as fodder forBakel City Gang, a song by French rapperBooba whose father is from the town.

The area that would become Bakel was first settled by amarabout named Abdoulaye Wane fromFouta Toro, along with his students, known astalibes.^[4]

At the beginning of the 17th century, members of the Ndiaye family fleeing succession disputes in theJolof Empire moved to the area, then part of the Kingdom of Galam, also calledGajaaga, (see:Royaume de Galam), eventually integrating into the localSoninke population.^[5] Gajaaga and the neighboringFula state ofBundu would compete for control over Bakel for the next century, as it was already an important trade depot.^[6]: 80

The French began to penetrate the region in the 18th century, purchasing slaves from the Gajaaga monarchs to export fromSaint Louis at the mouth of the river.

In 1818, after the restoration of France's West Africa territories (which at the time consisted only inSaint-Louis andGorée) in the 1815Treaty of Paris,Auguste Jacques Nicolas Peureux de Mélay led a small flotilla up the Senegal . Blocked from going past Bakel by the seasonal drop in water level, they chose the spot to build a fort.^[7] The fort was established to counter growing British penetration of the West African market, attracting trade ingum arabic, gold, leather, and ivory. It also served to establish closer relations with the powerful, gold-rich Kingdom ofBundu further south. The fort became a base for promoting French influence, playing local leaders off of each other.Liberalization of trade after 1848 intensified the competition between native chiefs and groups vying for access to markets and imported goods.

In the 1850s, the Bakel garrison was strengthened asOmar Saidou Tall's jihad gained strength in the region and presented over-matched local tribes with a way to undermine French power. In 1855, the fort was officially annexed, following pressure from Saint Louisian merchants. In 1858, upper Gajaaga, between Bakel and theFaleme river, was annexed to the French colony.^[8]

In 1886 the town was besieged briefly by the forces ofMahmadu Lamine.^[9] In 1891, in the aftermath of the fall ofNioro du Sahel to French forces, the colonial garrison of Bakel launched a massacre of formerToucouleur Empire soldiers, forcing many local inhabitants to participate.^[10]

Sénégal River at Bakel
(before construction ofManantali Dam)

Average monthly flow (m³/s) at the Bakel hydrometric station over the period 1904-1984^[11]

Bakel is also the site of a study of annual flow volumes of the Senegal river from 1904 to 1990 which showed a dramatic reduction in the river's volume especially in the past twenty years.^[12]

• Bakel Senegal

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• Populated places in Tambacounda region
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• Human trophy collecting
• 19th-century scandals

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