DAKAR, UN PUERTO AL SERVICIO DEL IMPERIO: INFRAESTRUCTURAS, INSTITUCIONES Y ADMINISTRACIÓN PORTUARIA EN ÁFRICA OCCIDENTAL (1857-1939).

West Africa's colonial ports played a decisive role in introducing these territories to international raw-material trade routes. The port of Dakar in Senegal centralized regional foreign trade, going on to become the main trade hub of French West Africa. This importance was reflected in the investments poured into improving the port's infrastructure, as well as in the construction of transport links to the interior of the country, where the growing of crops for export was developed. This continual modernization of the port infrastructure was reflected in the growth of trade activities in the region, as well as in the orientation of the productive economy to the export sector of colonial commodities. This article outlines the main phases in the modernization of Dakar's port infrastructures, and also discusses its relationship with the growth of corporate activities and the increasing regional importance of the Western African metropolis. The article also analyses the main institutions and the port management model, closely related to metropolitan interests and the legal status of Senegal as a colony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]