The Portugese were the first Europeans to make contact with the territory which would later become Senegal. They were followed by the French, who established a trading station in 1569, and the Dutch. In the later seventeenth century, the Dutch were pushed out of Senegal, and for the next two centuries the French, in competition with other European powers, operated slave trading outposts along the Senegal river. | The Portugese were the first Europeans to make contact with the territory which would later become Senegal. They were followed by the French, who established a trading station in 1569, and the Dutch. In the later seventeenth century, the Dutch were pushed out of Senegal, and for the next two centuries the French, in competition with other European powers, operated slave trading outposts along the Senegal river. |