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Upper Senegal and Niger

Upper Senegal and Niger in French West Africa was a colony established in October 1904 comprising the old territories of Upper Senegal, the Middle Niger, and the military Niger. 

The Upper Senegal and Niger region faced violence during colonial reorganization and taxation. Notable uprisings included the Kobkitanda rebellion led by Alfa Saibou and the Karma revolt led by Oumarou Karma. French forces suppressed the Karma revolt with columns from Dori, Gao, Tahoua, and Zinder. In 1912, Niger became a separate colony from Upper Senegal and Niger. The Volta-Bani War between 1915 and 1917 saw prolonged armed opposition in the western Volta region. The resistance's unexpected success led to the division of the colony, creating French Upper Volta and renaming the remaining territory French Sudan in 1921.

 In 1895, French West Africa was formed. It consisted of eight territories, namely, Ivory Coast, Dahomey which is now Benin, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea, Mauritania, Senegal, Niger, and Upper Volta which is now Burkina Faso. Banknotes from the Bank of Senegal were in use in the region until the Banque de l’Afrique Occidentale started issuing its own banknotes.

During World War I, a special decree for the issuance of emergency banknotes was passed in February 1917. The obverse of these banknotes depicts a French coin bearing the denomination. Their reverse displays the decree in French. Each territory introduced its own notes. The issuing colony would be determined by the banknote’s color and the name printed on the obverse. The notes were also signed by the member state’s paymaster and lieutenant governor. The 50-centime banknote issued by Upper Senegal and Niger has a color combination of brown and tan. It has a watermark of a laurel leaf pattern.  

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