Bamako
[key], city (2020 est. pop. 2,710,000), capital of Mali and of the Bamako
district, SW Mali, on the Niger River. It is the nation's administrative
center, as well as a river port, a junction on the Dakar-Niger RR, and a
major regional trade center. Manufactures include textiles, processed meat,
and metal goods. Bamako ships shea-nut oil, kapok, cotton, and peanuts.
There is commercial fishing on the Niger. Bamako was a leading center of
Muslim learning under the Mali empire (c.11th–15th cent.) but by the
19th cent. had declined into a small village. In 1883 it was occupied by
French troops. In 1908, Bamako became the capital of the French Sudan (see
Mali) and began to
develop into a major city. As a result of a conference of Africans from
French West and Equatorial Africa, held in Bamako in 1946, the Rassemblement
démocratique africain, an important regional political party, was
founded. Bamako is a picturesque city, with a botanical and zoological park
and many decorative gardens. Bamako's educational institutions include
schools of administration, medicine, and engineering. The city also has an
international airport.
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