Senegal is located at the westernmost point of the continent and has been an important node on trans-Saharan caravan routes, known as the “Gateway to Africa.” Most of the population is Wolof, whose traditional structure includes a hereditary nobility and a class of musicians and storytellers called <i>griots</i>. Archaeological findings show that Senegal was already inhabited in prehistoric times. The region was for a long time part of the Mandingo empires to the east, like the ancient Ghana and Djolof kingdoms, but soon represented an early point of European contact, contested by England, France, Portugal, and the Netherlands. In the late 19th century, it ultimately fell under French control. In the late 19th century, it ultimately fell under French control. Under the leadership of the writer and statesman Léopold Senghor, also a leader in the Négritude movement (a protest against the French policy of assimilation and a reassertion of the positive values of African culture) the country achieved its independence in 1960, first as part of the Mali Federation and then as a whole sovereign state.