A tiny fishing town of 200 people until 1958, Nouakchott was little
mentioned during pre-colonial and colonial history. It is possible that the Berber
Muslim Almoravids were originally from the area. Despite its name, based on a
Berber expression meaning "place of the winds", the city was selected
as the capital city for its moderate climate and central location within the
country. It did, however, sit on one of the most valuable trade routes to West
Africa. Mauritania was part of the larger French colony of French West Africa,
and as such had no capital during the colonial period: Saint-Louis, in Senegal,
held that
