On January 17, 1959 the French Sudan and the Republic of Senegal became the Federation of Mali. On June 20, 1960 the Federation broke into Senegal and the Republic of Mali (formerly the French Sudan). The stamp was issued on November 7, 1959 to mark the founding of the Federaton.
     The large outlined area encloses the area of French colonial control. The red area on the map is the Federation of Mali. The three outlined areas on the southern coastline are Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Nigeria, members of the British Commonwealth. The outlined area on the northwest coastline is Morocco (made up of French Morocco, Spanish Morocco, and Tangier), including Morocco's claim to Spanish Western Sahara, which is also claimed by Mauritania and Algeria, both former French colonies.