Mauritania (môrĭtā'nēə) , officially Islamic Republic of Mauritania, republic (2005 est. pop. 3,087,000), 397,953 sq mi (1,030,700 sq km), NW Africa. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean in the west, on Western Sahara in the northwest and north, on Algeria in the northeast, on Mali in the east and southeast, and on Senegal in the southwest. Nouakchott is the capital and largest town.

Land and People

Most of Mauritania is made up of low-lying desert, which comprises part of the Sahara. Along the Senegal River (which forms the border with Senegal and is Mauritania's only perennial river) in the southwest is the semiarid Sahel with some fertile alluvial soil. A wide sandstone plateau (rising to c.1,500 ft/460 m) runs through the center of the country from north to south. In the southeast is the Hodh, a large basin in the desert. The country is divided into 12 administrative regions. In addition to the capital, other towns include Atar and Kaédi.
The majority of the population is made up of nomadic and seminomadic persons of Berber, Arab, Tuareg, and Fulani descent. Those of Berber, Arab, and mixed Berber-Arab background are sometimes called Moors, Maurs, or Maures. The remainder of the population mostly belong to the Tukolor, Soninke, Bambara, and Wolof ethnic groups and live as sedentary agriculturalists near the Senegal River. Recurrent droughts have forced many nomads from the countryside into the urban area of Nouakchott.
Virtually all the inhabitants of the country are Muslim, and many belong to the Qadiriyya brotherhood. The great majority of Mauritanians use Hasaniya Arabic, which, along with Wolof, is an official language. Other indigenous languages such as Pular and Soninke are also widely spoken. The country has a complex social caste system, with light-skinned Moors usually in positions of power and black Africans often at the bottom of the social ladder. In 1980, Mauritania became the world's last nation to officially ban slavery. Nonetheless, the institution reputedly persists, with thousands of Haratines, the Arabicized Africans known as black Moors, held in involuntary servitude.

Economy

Mauritania's economy is sharply divided between a traditional agricultural sector and a modern mining industry that was developed in the 1960s. The great majority of the country's workers are engaged either in raising crops or pasturing livestock and are largely unaffected by the mining industry. The principal agricultural products, produced chiefly near the Senegal River and in scattered oases, are millet, dates, sorghum, and yams. In times of drought food production levels can drop dangerously low. Sheep, goats, cattle, and camels are raised. There is a growing fishing industry based in the Atlantic and on the Senegal River. Since 1980, all foreign commercial fishing in Mauitanian territorial waters must be carried out jointly with Mauritania; this policy has increased export earnings.
A large deposit of high-grade iron ore was discovered in N Mauritania in the late 1950s, and production for export began in 1963; the iron industry was nationalized in 1974. Foreign sales of iron ore account for about half of the country's export earnings. Gypsum and salt are also mined. There are large copper ore reserves, but difficult mining conditions and low world commodity prices have resulted in mine closures. There are also offshore oil deposits, which the country began exploiting in 2006. The country's few manufactured goods are made up principally of processed food (especially fish) and clothing. The Trans-Mauritania highway connects the capital with the southeast regions. There is a deepwater port at Nouakchott.
The chief exports, in addition to iron ore, are processed fish, gold, and cattle (the latter sent mainly to Senegal); the leading imports are foodstuffs, machinery, transportation equipment, consumer goods, and refined petroleum. The principal trade partners are France, Japan, Italy, and Algeria. Mauritania has a large foreign debt.

Government

Politics of Mauritania takes place in a framework of a military ruled republic, whereby the Chairman of the Military Council for Justice and Democracy is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the National Assembly and the Senate.
Personalities have long exercised an important influence in the politics of Mauritania - the effective exercise of political power in the country depends on control over resources; perceived ability or integrity; and tribal, ethnic, family, and personal considerations. Conflict between white Moor, black Moor, and non-Moor ethnic groups, centering on language, land tenure, and other issues, continues to pose challenges to the idea of national unity.

History

Early History through Colonialism
By the beginning of the 1st millennium A.D. Sanhaja Berbers had migrated into Mauritania, pushing the black African inhabitants (especially the Soninké) southward toward the Senegal River. The Hodh region, which became desert only in the 11th cent., was the center of the ancient empire of Ghana (700–1200), whose capital, Kumbi-Saleh, located near the present-day border with Mali, has been unearthed by archaeologists. Until the 13th cent., Oualata, Awdaghost, and Kumbi-Saleh, all in SE Mauritania, were major centers along the trans-Saharan caravan routes linking Morocco with the region along the upper Niger River.
In the 11th cent. the Almoravid movement was founded among the Muslim Berbers of Mauritania. In the 14th and 15th cent., SE Mauritania was part of the empire of Mali, centered along the upper Niger. By this time the Sahara had encroached on much of Mauritania, consequently limiting agriculture and reducing the population. In the 1440s, Portuguese navigators explored the Mauritanian coast and established a fishing base on Arguin Island, located near the present-day boundary with Western Sahara.
From the 17th cent., Dutch, British, and French traders were active along the S Mauritanian coast; they were primarily interested in the gum arabic gathered near the Senegal River. Under Louis Faidherbe, governor of Senegal (1854–61; 1863–65), France gained control of S Mauritania. The region was declared a protectorate in 1903, but parts of the north were not pacified until the 1930s.
Until 1920, when it became a separate colony in French West Africa, Mauritania was administered as part of Senegal. Saint-Louis, in Senegal, continued to be Mauritania's administrative center until 1957, when it was replaced by Nouakchott. The French ruled through existing political authorities and did little to develop the country's economy or to increase educational opportunities for the population. National political activity began only after World War II. In 1958, Mauritania became an autonomous republic within the French Community.