Niger or the Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger,is a landlocked country in West Africa named after the Niger River. Several European countries already possessed littoral colonies in Africa, and in the latter half of the century they began to turn their eyes towards the interior of the continent. As a result of this, France gained control of the upper valley of the Niger River.
The Military Territory of Niger was subsequently created within the Upper Senegal and Niger colony in December 1904. The border with Britain’s colony of Nigeria to the south was finalised in 1910, a rough delimitation having already been agreed by the two powers via several treaties during the period 1898–1906. In 1912 the Niger Military Territory was split off from Upper Senegal and Niger and in 1922 when Niger became a fully-fledged colony within French West Africa (Afrique-Occidentale Française).
During the Second World War, during which time mainland France was occupied by Nazi Germany, Charles de Gaulle issued the Brazzaville Declaration, declaring that the French colonial empire would be replaced post-war with a less centralised French Union. Following the Overseas Reform Act (Loi Cadre) of 23 July 1956 and the establishment of the Fifth French Republic on 4 December 1958, Niger became an autonomous state within the French Community.
On 18 December 1958, an autonomous Republic of Niger was officially created under the leadership of Hamani Diori. On 11 July 1960, Niger decided to leave the French Community and acquired full independence on 3 August 1960.
- France & French Colony Stamps
- French Colonies Stamp Group
- French Stamps – Timbres Français
- Stamps of the French Colonies
- Stamp Thing – France and Colonies
Websites
