colony · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan

French Mauritania

1903 CE – 1960 CE · capital Saint-Louis

France's Saharan colony between Senegal and Morocco, governed for most of its history from Saint-Louis, outside its own borders.

Origins

From 1902 Xavier Coppolani pursued a policy of peaceful penetration, using alliances with religious leaders to bring the Emirate of Trarza and the Emirate of Brakna under French protection in 1903. After Coppolani's assassination in 1905, military campaigns, including Henri Gouraud's conquest of the Emirate of Adrar in 1909, extended control northward.

Rule and society

Mauritania became a civil territory and, in 1920, a colony within French West Africa, administered from Saint-Louis in French Senegal. French rule was light, relying on emirs, chiefs and religious leaders, and nomadic herding society changed slowly. Resistance in the far north continued into the 1930s, and investment was minimal.

Decline and legacy

In 1957 to 1958 France built Nouakchott as a new capital. Mauritania became an autonomous Islamic Republic in 1958 and independent on 28 November 1960 under Moktar Ould Daddah, despite Moroccan claims to its territory.

Connections (6)

More states of Egypt, North Africa and Sudan →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). French Mauritania. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-mauritania
MLA
“French Mauritania.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-mauritania. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “French Mauritania.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-mauritania.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘French Mauritania’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-mauritania (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻