Mauritania Before Indepedence

The Berbers were the first people in Mauritania. The country was named after the Berber kingdom of Mauretania. Mauritania has long history of battles, especially between the Berbers and the Arabs. Starting in the mid-13th century, Arabs moved into Mauritania and created many conflicts between tribes. Loyalties between tribes changed quickly and raids to capture blacks for enslavement started.

From 1644-1674 there was the Mauritania Thirty-Year War. This was the final unsuccessful effort by the Berbers to repel the Arabs. At the end of the war the social status in Mauritania was established at the end of the war. The Arabs placed themselves highest on the scale. Below them were the Berbers then the Blacks. The Berbers were divided into two classes, the zawiyas and znaga. The zawiyas are religious scholars. They helped the Berbers to retain some influence because they were teaching the history of the country instead of the Arab version. The Znaga were farmers and herders, composed primarily of tribes who couldn't defend themselves against Hassan or assert themselves culturally or religiously. At the bottom of the social ladder are the Blacks. They are also divided into two classes, the haratani and abid. The haratani are former slaves and the abid are still slaves.

In the late 17th century the French, English, and Dutch entered Mauritania. The slave trade became economically important to the Mauritanians, because they were given firearms, cloth, and sugar for slaves. In the mid-18th century the Dutch pulled out and the country was divided into four emirates. The country survived relatively peacefully until the 19th century when a civil war broke out between the four emirates. Tensions were encouraged by the French. In 1814, the Treaty of Paris gave Mauritania to the French without consulting the Mauritanians. Six years later, the official end of commercial slavery occurred. The British finally pulled out in 1857, leaving the country to be governed by the French.

France didn't begin to exert control over Mauritania until the early 20th century, and finally gained full control around 1934. The country was run primarily by tribal chiefs and emirs of the emirates. In 1958 Mauritania became a part of the French Community as an autonomous, but not fully sovereign state. In November of 1958 the Islamic Republic of Mauritania was proclaimed. Then two years later Mauritania became an independent state.

information from: http://lexicorient.com/e.o/mauritania_5.htm