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Séminaire consacré à l'histoire de la Zone franc aura lieu le lundi 1er décembre prochain, de 16h à 18h. Nous accueillerons : Leigh Gardner (London School of Economics) : Markets, States and Money in West Africa: Evidence from the Partition of SenegambiaAu Ministère des Finances (139, rue de Bercy) - Salle Vauban 1060 Nord 3Pensez à prendre avec vous une pièce d'identité. Abstract: The impact of colonial boundaries on African economic and political development is the subject of a substantial literature. Less attention has been paid to their impact on the continent’s monetary geography. This paper examines the changing monetary systems of Senegambia, one of the commercial hubs of pre-colonial West Africa, before and after colonial partition. During the nineteenth century, Senegambia was split into what became the Gambia, a long and narrow British colony following the course of the Gambia river, and Senegal, which formed part of French West Africa. As in other parts of the continent, colonial borders cut across existing trade routes as well as a cloth currency area of long standing, and separate colonial currencies were introduced. This paper argues that the partition of the Senegambian currency area had two key impacts. First, cross-border trade and migration remained essential, particularly for the Gambia and as a result, the currency of Senegal circulated widely in the Gambia before, during and after the colonial period. While this presented few problems during the gold standard era, it left both sides vulnerable to exchange rate shifts in the inter-war period and beyond. Second, differences in the political and institutional foundations of colonial currency systems in British and French Africa limited prospects for monetary union after independence. This case provides an illustration of the lasting influence of colonial policies on current monetary institutions.-- Vincent Duchaussoy. Docteur en histoire économique contemporaineChargé de recherches et animation scientifiqueUniversité de RouenHIZOF &#38; @HIZOF on Twitter@VDuchaussoy