Postage stamps and postal history of French Sudan 1931 became the most common. They include a Fulani milkmaid, the door of the Djenne residence, and a boatman on the river Niger. From 1944 to 1959, the French West Africa issues were used in the French Sudan. Various territories were joined in 1895 by the French colonial authorities in a federation known as French West Africa (AOF). These territories included Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) and Dahomey (now Benin). The French colonial territories in the federation issued their own postage stamps until 1943. In many cases
What Is a Nation? What Is a Nation? "What is a Nation?" ("Qu'est-ce qu'une nation?") is an 1882 lecture by French historian Ernest Renan (1823–1892), known for the statements that a nation is "a daily referendum", and that nations are based as much on what the people jointly forget, as what they remember. It is frequently quoted or anthologized in works of history or political science pertaining to nationalism and national identity. Renan wrote "What is a Nation" in order to symbolize the nationalism which was born in France as a result of the French Revolution of 1789. Renan begins his essay by noting