Arguin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arguin (Portuguese: Arguim) is an island off the western coast of Mauritania in the Bay of Arguin, at 20° 36' N., 16° 27' W. It is six km long by two broad. Off the island are extensive and dangerous reefs. It is now part of The Banc d'Arguin National Park.
[edit] History
Arguin has long been coveted by seafaring nations for its strategic location, and control over the island has changed hands numerous times. The first European to visit the island was the Portuguese explorer Nuno Tristão in 1443. In 1445, Prince Henry the Navigator set up a trading post on the island, which acquired gum arabic and slaves for Portugal. By 1455, 800 slaves were shipped from Arguin to Portugal every year.
In 1633, during its war against Spain (which then controlled Portugal), the Netherlands seized control of Arguin. It remained under Dutch rule until 1678, although Dutch governance was interrupted by English rule in 1665. France briefly controlled the island in September 1678, but the island was then abandoned until 1685.
Arguin was an early colony of the German electorate of Brandenburg, and its succeeding Kingdom of Prussia from 1685 – 1721. France then took control of the island, only to lose it the following year to the Netherlands, before regaining it in 1724. This next period of French rule lasted four years; in 1728 it reverted to Mauritanian tribal chiefs. The island became a French possession once more during the early 20th century, as part of French-colonized Mauritania; it remained under Mauritanian rule when that country became independent in 1960.
[edit] Sources
- 1911 Britannica article
- Lander's Travels—The Travels of Richard Lander into the Interior of Africa
- Portuguese slave routes
- Rulers of Arguin
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Territories and Provinces of Prussia (1525 – 1947)
Before 1701: Prussia | Brandenburg | Farther Pomerania | Magdeburg | Halberstadt | Cleves | Mark | Ravensberg | Minden |
Colonies of Brandenburg-Prussia: Groß Friedrichsburg | Arguin | Crab Island | Tertholen
After 1701: Neuchâtel | Hither Pomerania | East Frisia | Silesia (1740) | Glatz (1763) | Polish Prussia, Netze District (1772) |
South Prussia (1793) | New East Prussia, New Silesia (1795)
Reorder after 1814–5: East Prussia & West Prussia (1824–78 joined to Prussia) | Brandenburg | Pomerania | Posen | Saxony | Silesia | Westphalia | Rhine Province (1822, Lower Rhine & Jülich-Cleves-Berg) | Hohenzollern (1850, Hohenzollern-Hechingen & Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen) | Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, Hesse-Nassau (1866–8)
Later administrational reforms: Lower Silesia, Upper Silesia (1919) | Greater Berlin, West Prussia (district) (1920) | Posen-West Prussia (1922) |
Halle-Merseburg, Magdeburg, Electoral Hesse, Nassau (1944)
| Dutch empire |
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| Former colonies |
| Africa: Arguin Island - Cape Colony - Lydsaamheid fort & factory in Delagoa Bay - Dutch Gold Coast - Gorée - Mauritius |
| The Americas: Berbice - New Holland (in Brazil) (part), Dutch Brazil - Dutch Guiana - Demerara - Essequibo annex Pomeroon New Netherland (New Amsterdam, New Sweden) - Tobago - Virgin Islands (part) |
| Asia & Oceania: Ceylon - Dutch India (Dutch Bengal - Coromandel Coast - Malabar Coast) - Deshima island, Japan - Dutch East Indies - Malacca - Netherlands New Guinea - Taiwan |
| Artic: Smeerenburg on Amsterdam island |
| See also: Dutch East India Company - Dutch West India Company |
| Present colonies |
| Kingdom of the Netherlands: Netherlands Antilles - Aruba |
