Postage stamps and postal history of French Sudan issue of December 1958. It was followed by a Stamp Day issue on March 21, 1959, which omitted the federation's name and was inscribed "CF" along with "Dakar-Abidjan" for use in Ivory Coast and Senegal. French Sudan joined in a short-lived federation with Senegal in 1959, but ties to both countries quickly weakened. In 1960, the French Sudan formally became the Republic of Mali. Postage stamps and postal history of French Sudan French Sudan (Soudan Francais) was established in the late nineteenth century and occupied roughly the same territory as modern Mali. From 1894 to 1902, the colony of French
Sudan (region) Sudan (region) The Sudan is the geographic region to the south of the Sahara, stretching from Western to eastern Central Africa. The name derives from the Arabic "" (), or "the lands of the blacks", referring to West Africa and northern Central Africa. The Arabic name was translated as "Negroland" on older English maps. Historically, the name was understood to denote the western part of the Sahel region. It thus roughly encompassed the geographical belt between the Sahara and the coastal West Africa. In modern usage, the phrase "The Sudan" is also used in a separate context to refer specifically