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Mauritania: Independence
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Mauritania's mineral wealth has been exploited since Neolithic times. Archeological evidence of a copper mining and refining site near Akjoujt in west-central Mauritania dates from 500 to 1000 B.C. Modern exploitation of copper at Akjoujt and the more important iron ore deposits between Fdérik and Zouîrât began after independence.
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Although Mauritania's economy has become substantially liberalized since the early 1980s, the economic structure still presents a sharp contrast between a relatively small modern sector and traditional subsistence sectors. Mauritania has a very narrow economic base, with an industrial sector dominated by mining and fisheries activities, which together provide all export earnings, and a rural sector which employs an estimated 64 percent of the labor force. Despite considerable changes since independence, its economy remains vulnerable to external shocks, including climatic changes and related plagues such as locusts, and fluctuations in world prices for its principal exports. The development objective of the Government's reform program is to reduce poverty through accelerated private sector-led growth, by encouraging a stronger response from the rural sector, developing basic urban infrastructure, promoting private sector development, encouraging employment creation and modernizing the public sector.
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In the early 1800s amirs and Islamic religious leaders controlled the area that is now Mauritania. France gradually expanded its military and economic presence from Senegal into Maure areas. Between 1901 and 1912 France gained control of all major regions of Mauritania and declared it a protectorate, ruling indirectly through traditional leaders. After World War II, nationalist parties became active. Under the leadership of Mokhtar Ould Daddah and his Mauritanian Regroupment Party, Mauritania declared its independence from France in 1960. Since independence, Mauritania has faced severe problems with national unity, desertification (enlargement of desert areas), and economic stability.
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Former cabinet minister Sidi Ould Sheikh Abdellahi has won Mauritania's historic presidential election. He gained 53% of the ballots, against 47% for opposition leader Ahmed Ould Daddah. The elections were seen as the fairest since the largely desert country gained independence from France in 1960.
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White Maures attempted to give Mauritania a distinct Arab-Berber character and in doing so often alienated the black population. At the same time, Maures developed a sense of ethnic identity and unity that had not existed before independence.
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