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122-475: Until 1995 the division was known as MacCarthy Island Division, which had been established as one of five administrative areas of Gambia Protectorate in the early 20th century. It is located on both sides of the Gambia River , and its total population according to the 2013 census is 226,018. The total number of households is 17,399 as of 2003. As of 2003, the total area of the region is 2894.3 km. The Gambia

244-674: A British colony. It was once again handed back to the Royal African Company. However, they made no attempt to administer the Gambia. In 1785, Lemain Island was acquired by the British government with the view of the establishment of a convict settlement, but nothing came of the plan. For the next thirty years, British influence in the Gambia was confined to the operations of a small number of traders. Settlements were established by these traders along

366-479: A British colony. Following the cessation of Senegambia, the colony was in effect abandoned. The only Europeans were traders who existed in a few settlements on the river banks, such as Pisania. Following the end of the Napoleonic Wars , Alexander Grant was sent to re-establish a presence in the Gambia. He established Bathurst and the British possessions continued to grow in size through a series of treaties. It

488-744: A Constitutional Conference arranged by the Secretary of State for the Colonies . Trans-Saharan trade Trans-Saharan trade is trade between sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa that requires travel across the Sahara . Though this trade began in prehistoric times , the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the early 17th century CE. The Sahara once had a different climate and environment . In Libya and Algeria , from at least 7000 BCE, pastoralism (the herding of sheep and goats), large settlements and pottery were present. Cattle were introduced to

610-810: A French privateer in Swedish service. The Dutch thereafter abandoned the fort and the Courlanders resumed possession. After the Restoration of the English monarchy in 1660, English interest in the Gambia was revived due to the reported existence of a gold mine in the upper reaches of the river. A new patent was granted to a number of people who were styled as the Royal Adventurers in Africa Company . The most prominent among them were James, Duke of York , and Prince Rupert. At

732-588: A Venetian called Luiz de Cadamosto to take a single ship on an expedition in search of the river. Later in the same year, he sent a Genoese trader called Antoniotto Usodimare with two ships on the same quest. The two joined forces near Cape Verde and, by keeping close to the coast, easily found the mouth of the Gambia River. They arrived at the River Gambia in June 1455 and proceeded a short way upstream. They repeated

854-405: A common soldier had succeeded to the command. By 1750, the position had become critical and an Act of Parliament was passed divesting the Royal African Company of its charter and divesting its forts and settlements into a new company, controlled by a committee of merchants. The Act prohibited the new company from trading in its corporate capacity but allowed it an annual subsidy for the upkeep of

976-525: A constitutional monarchy that remained part of the Commonwealth, but in 1970 became a presidential republic. Dawda Jawara was elected the first president and remained in this position until 1994. A coup, led by Kukoi Sanyang , was attempted in 1981 but failed after Senegalese intervention. From 1981 to 1989, the Gambia entered into the Senegambia Confederation , which collapsed. In 1994, Jawara

1098-542: A much smaller scale. The spread of Islam increased the number of nodes in the network and decreased its vulnerability. The use of Arabic as a common language of trade and the increase of literacy through Quranic schools , also facilitated commerce. Muslim merchants conducting commerce also gradually spread Islam along their trade network. Social interactions with Muslim merchants led many Africans to convert to Islam, and many merchants married local women and raised their children as Muslims. Islam spread into Western Sudan by

1220-625: A number of native chiefs. Lemain Island , 160 miles up the river, was ceded to the United Kingdom in 1823 by King Collie and renamed as MacCarthy Island. Georgetown was established on the island as a military barracks and settlement for liberated slaves. In 1826, the Ceded Mile, a one-mile strip on the north bank of the River Gambia, was ceded by the King of Barra. Fattatenda and the surrounding district

1342-516: A partly elected House of Representatives , with 19 elected members and 8 chosen by the chiefs. This constitution proved flawed in the 1960 elections when the two major parties tied with 8 seats each. With the support of the unelected chiefs, Pierra Sarr N'Jie of the United Party was appointed Chief Minister. Dawda Jawara of the People's Progressive Party resigned as Minister of Education, triggering

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1464-550: A reprisal for the massacre at Gassan. Jobson also made his way up to Neriko and subsequently gave a very positive account of the commercial opportunities of the River Gambia. During his expedition, Jobson refused slaves offered by an African merchant, Buckor Sano. He said that "we were a people who did not deal in such commodities, neither did we buy or sell one another, or any that had our own shapes." His protests were noted as "exceptional" by Hugh Thomas . However, both his and Thompson's expedition had resulted in significant losses and

1586-467: A road "traversed ... in forty days", it became by his time an important land route facilitating trade between Nubia and Egypt , and subsequently became known as the Forty Days Road. From Kobbei , 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of al-Fashir , the route passed through the desert to Bir Natrum, another oasis and salt mine, to Wadi Howar before proceeding to Egypt. The Darb el-Arbain trade route

1708-554: A subsequent voyage that he made in 1624 proved a complete failure. After a loss of £5,000, the patentees made no further attempts to exploit the resources of the Gambia but confined their attention to the Gold Coast . In 1651, the Commonwealth of England granted a patent to certain London merchants who in that and the following year sent two expeditions to the River Gambia and established

1830-595: A trading post at Bintang. Members of the expedition proceeded as far as the Barakunda Falls in search of gold, but the climate took its toll. In 1652, Prince Rupert of the Rhine entered the Gambia with three Royalist ships and captured the patentees' vessels. After this heavy loss, they abandoned any further enterprise in the Gambia. During this, Jacob Kettler , the Duke of Courland , had in 1651 obtained from several native chiefs

1952-521: A war between Sweden and Poland. As a consequence, funds were no longer available to maintain the garrisons and settlements in the Gambia and in 1659, the Duke of Courland's agent at Amsterdam entered into an agreement with the Dutch West India Company whereby the Duke's possessions in the Gambia were handed over to the company. In 1660, the fort on St Andrew's Island was captured and plundered by

2074-428: A youth nominee, a woman nominee and other nominated members of local interest groups. Central River is divided into 10 districts , namely, Fulladu West , Janjanbureh , Lower Saloum , Niamina Dankunku , Niamina East , Niamina West , Niani , Nianija , Sami and Upper Saloum . It has subsequently been divided into two Local Government Areas (Janjanbureh in the east and Kuntaur in the west), each containing five of

2196-402: Is 720 mm (28 in) in the northwest. Experts have assessed that the overall rainfall during the century period between 1886 and 1992, there has been a reduction in rainfall of around 15-20 per cent and the wet season has been shortened. Per 2013 census, the region had a population of 226,018 with a population density of 078. The total number of households is 17,399 as of 2003. As of 2003,

2318-409: Is conducive for the growth of rice. Peanuts is the major cashcrop. The weather is usually warm and dry. The elevation of the country reaches to a maximum of 50 m (160 ft) above the mean sea level. There are vast segments of sedimentary sandstone and claystone in the valleys of the rivers and the regions surrounding it. The river flows from Guinea and has an east-west axis. The shallow water in

2440-629: Is now Niger . The eastern trans-Saharan route led to the development of the long-lived Kanem–Bornu Empire as well as the Ghana, Mali, and Songhai empires, centred on the Lake Chad area. This trade route was somewhat less efficient and only rose to great prominence when there was turmoil in the west such as during the Almohad conquests. The trans-Saharan slave trade , established in Antiquity , continued during

2562-550: Is per cent and the ratios of boys against girls in primary, secondary and tertiary education is as of 2007. The Gambia along with modern-day Senegal were colonies of French and British until 1894 when it became a British colony. Both the countries got independence in 1965 and operated in a federation called Senegambia from 1982. During 1989, the confederation collapsed. In a bloodless coup, Lieutenant Yahya Jamme in 1994 and went on to win multi party elections in three subsequent elections. He has also defeated coups successfully and unlike

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2684-421: Is the chairperson of the council and the council members of each council is elected by people of the area. The legislations indicating the roles were not clearly defined, but the council is responsible for finance, services and planning for each sector under it. Around 25 per cent of the budget is provisioned by the central government. The council also has a Alkalo or Seyfo representative, a Chief representative,

2806-501: Is the smallest country in Africa and the width of the strip like structure never exceeding 48 km (30 mi). It is bordered by Atlantic Ocean to the West, and otherwise surrounded by Senegal . The Gambia River flows throughout the country and is the principal source of water and transport medium. The banks of the river has swampy beaches, while it has alluvial soil in all other parts, which

2928-581: Is worthwhile only when exceptional circumstances cause the expected gain to outweigh the cost and the danger. Trade was conducted by caravans of camels . According to Maghrebi explorer Ibn Battuta , who once traveled with a caravan, an average one would amount to 1,000 camels, but some caravans were as large as 12,000. The caravans were guided by highly-paid Berbers , who knew the desert and could ensure protection from fellow desert nomads . The caravans' survival relied on careful coordination: runners would be sent ahead to oases for water to be shipped out to

3050-503: The foggara . Early records of trans-Saharan slave trade come from ancient Greek historian Herodotus in the 5th century BCE, who records the Garamantes enslaving cave-dwelling Egyptians in Sudan. Two records of Romans accompanying the Garamantes on slave raiding expeditions are recorded - the first in 86 CE and the second a few years later to Lake Chad . Initial sources of slaves were

3172-486: The Commonwealth of England sent expeditions to the Gambia in 1651, but their ships were captured by Prince Rupert the following year. In 1651, the Couronian colonization of the Gambia had also begun, with forts and outposts being erected on several islands. The Courlanders remained dominant until 1659 when their possessions were handed over to the Dutch West India Company . In 1660, the Courlanders resumed possession, but

3294-633: The Dorsetshire Regiment , and a number of its soldiers received gallantry medals for their conduct. In 1920, the National Congress of British West Africa was formed, an organisation working towards African emancipation, with Edward Francis Small as the sole delegate. He returned and founded the Gambia Section of the Congress, the principal aim of which was to achieved elected representation in

3416-479: The Fezzan , giving origin to a theory that the Garamantes or some other Saharan people had created chariot routes to provide Rome and Carthage with gold and ivory. However, it has been argued that no horse skeletons have been found dating from this early period in the region, and chariots would have been unlikely vehicles for trading purposes due to their small capacity. The earliest evidence for domesticated camels in

3538-595: The French invasion of the Sahel in the 1890s and subsequent construction of railways to the interior. A railway line from Dakar to Algiers via the Niger bend was planned but never constructed. With the independence of nations in the region in the 1960s, the north–south routes were severed by national boundaries. National governments were hostile to Tuareg nationalism and so made few efforts to maintain or support trans-Saharan trade, and

3660-513: The House of Representatives was established in 1960. Pierre Sarr N'Jie served as Chief Minister from 1961 to 1962, though following the 1962 election Dawda Jawara became prime minister, beginning the People's Progressive Party 's dominance of Gambian politics for the next thirty years. Full internal self-government was achieved in 1963, and following extensive negotiations, the Gambia declared independence in 1965. The Gambia gained independence as

3782-611: The Lake Chad area. These stretches were relatively short and had the essential network of occasional oases that established the routing as inexorably as pins in a map. Further east of the Fezzan with its trade route through the valley of Kaouar to Lake Chad, Libya was impassable due to its lack of oases and fierce sandstorms. Several trade routes became established, perhaps the most important terminating in Sijilmasa ( Morocco ) and Ifriqiya to

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3904-717: The Malinke of the south, who later founded the Mali Empire . Unlike Ghana, Mali was a Muslim kingdom since its foundation, and under it, the gold–salt trade continued. Other, less important trade goods were slaves, kola nuts from the south and slave beads and cowry shells from the north (for use as currency). It was under Mali that the great cities of the Niger bend—including Gao and Djenné —prospered, with Timbuktu in particular becoming known across Europe for its great wealth. Important trading centers in southern West Africa developed at

4026-528: The Middle Ages . The slaves brought from across the Sahara were mainly used by wealthy families as domestic servants, and concubines. Some served in the military forces of Egypt and Morocco. For example, the 17th century sultan Mawlay Ismail himself was the son of slave, and relied on an army of black slaves for support. The West African states imported highly trained slave soldiers. It has been estimated that from

4148-570: The Roman Empire , especially for mining. The Darb al-Arbaʿīn trade route, passing through Kharga in the south and Asyut in the north, was used from as early as the Old Kingdom for the transport and trade of gold , ivory , spices , wheat , animals and plants. Later, Ancient Romans would protect the route by lining it with varied forts and small outposts, some guarding large settlements complete with cultivation. Described by Herodotus as

4270-610: The Songhai people whose king assumed formal control of the Empire, came to dominate the region in the 16th century. By the 15th century , most of the Gambia "valley was under the control of small Mandinka kingdoms founded by immigrants from the Mali empire ." The European discovery of the Gambia began in the 15th century, with the push toward exploration by the Portuguese Prince Henry

4392-616: The Sénégal River , and the Taghaza Trail , from the Niger River, past the salt mines of Taghaza , north to the great trading center of Sijilmasa , situated in Morocco just north of the desert. The growth of the city of Aoudaghost , founded in the 5th century BCE, was stimulated by its position at the southern end of a trans-Saharan trade route. To the east, three ancient routes connected

4514-548: The Toubou people , but by the 1st century CE, the Garamantes were obtaining slaves from modern day Niger and Chad . In the early Roman Empire , the city of Lepcis established a slave market to buy and sell slaves from the African interior. The empire imposed customs tax on the trade of slaves. In the 5th century CE, Roman Carthage was trading in black slaves brought across the Sahara. Black slaves seem to have been valued in

4636-546: The Tuareg rebellion of the 1990s and Algerian Civil War further disrupted these routes, closing many. Traditional caravan routes are largely void of camels, but the shorter Azalai routes from Agadez to Bilma and Timbuktu to Taoudenni are still regularly—if lightly—used. Some members of the Tuareg still use the traditional trade routes, often traveling 2,400 km (1,500 mi) and six months out of every year by camel across

4758-595: The factories established on the coast since 1445, and trade with Europeans became of prime importance to West Africa. North Africa had declined in both political and economic importance, while the Saharan crossing remained long and treacherous. However, the major blow to trans-Saharan trade was the Battle of Tondibi of 1591–92. In a major military expedition organized by the Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur , Morocco sent troops across

4880-496: The 10th to the 19th century some 6,000 to 7,000 enslaved people were transported north each year. Perhaps as many as nine million enslaved people were exported along the trans-Saharan caravan route. The rise of the Ghana Empire , in what is now Mali , Senegal , and southern Mauritania , accompanied the increase in trans-Saharan trade. Northern economies were short of gold but at times controlled salt mines such as Taghaza in

5002-403: The British government for the maintenance of their forts, the Royal African Company became involved in serious financial difficulties. In 1749, James Island was found to be "in a most miserable condition". In the following year, it was reported that the garrison at James Fort had been reduced through sickness from around 30 men to between five and eight, and that, with all the officers being dead,

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5124-597: The Central Sahara ( Ahaggar ) between 4000 and 3500 BCE. Remarkable rock paintings (dated 3500 to 2500 BCE) in arid regions portray flora and fauna that are not present in the modern desert. As a desert, the Sahara is now a hostile expanse that separates the Mediterranean economy from the economy of the Niger River Basin . As Fernand Braudel points out, crossing such a zone, especially without mechanized transport,

5246-522: The Courlander officer-in-charge to surrender, threatening to bombard the fort if his request was ignored. There were only seven Europeans in the garrison, and the Courlanders had no alternative but to submit. On the following day, Holmes took possession of the fort, which was renamed James Fort after the Duke of York. An attempt was made in 1662 by the Dutch West India Company to gain possession of

5368-465: The French colony of Senegal began a vigorous expansion until it virtually engulfed the Gambia. The colony assumed an importance to the French as a possible trade route, proposed cession of the Gambia for some other part of West Africa was first mooted in 1861. It was seriously discussed again during 1865 and 1866. In 1870 and 1876, negotiations were entered into between the French and British government over

5490-553: The French recognised the right of the English to James Island and their settlements on the River Gambia. One of the results of these wars was an outbreak of piracy along the West African coast. The English trade in the Gambia suffered heavily from the efforts of the pirates. In 1719, one pirate, Howel Davis , captured James Fort. In 1721, part of the garrison of the fort mutinied under the leadership of Captain John Massey, seizing one of

5612-569: The French, but in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the British rights to the region were recognized by the French. In the mid-18th century, the Royal African Company began having serious financial problems and in 1750, parliament divested the company of its rights in the region. In 1766, the Crown gained possession of the territory, and it formed part of the Senegambia colony. In 1783, Senegambia ceased existing as

5734-635: The Gambia Company , the first colonial military unit of the Gambia, was founded. It was formed as part of the Sierra Leone Battalion of the new West African Frontier Force (late Royal West African Frontier Force). A 1906 ordinance abolished slavery. During World War I , the Gambia Company served alongside other British troops in the Kamerun campaign , under the command of Captain V. B. Thurston of

5856-632: The Gambia Regiment, with a strength of two battalions from 1941. It fought in the Burma campaign and served for some time under the command of Antony Read , later the Quartermaster-General to the Forces . the Gambia itself was also important to the war effort. It was home to RAF Bathurst, a flying boat base, and RAF Yundum, an RAF station. HMS Melampus , a shore base, was also based at Bathurst for some of

5978-708: The Gambia also formed an Auxiliary Police, who, among other things, helped to enforce the blackout in Bathurst. Many air raid shelters were built across the Gambia too. In 1943, Franklin D. Roosevelt , the President of the United States , stopped overnight in Bathurst en route to and from the Casablanca Conference . This marked the first visit to the African continent by a sitting US president. The visit hardened his views against British colonial rule. Appalled, as he was, by

6100-404: The Gambia in 1587 and returned with a profitable cargo of hides and ivory. In 1588, António, Prior of Crato , who had a claim to the throne of Portugal, sold to London and Devon merchants the exclusive right to trade between the Rivers Senegal and Gambia. This grant was confirmed to the grantees for a period of ten years by letters patent of Queen Elizabeth I . The merchants sent several ships to

6222-410: The Gambia proved unfavourable and typhoid killed much of the chicken stock, drawing criticism to the corporation. The River Gambia was the principal route of navigation and transport inland, with a port at Bathurst. The road network was mainly concentrated around Bathurst, with the remaining areas largely connected by dirt roads. The only airport was at Yundum , built in World War II . Post war it

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6344-496: The Garamantes. Shillington states that existing contact with the Mediterranean received added incentive with the growth of the port city of Carthage . Founded c. 800 BCE, Carthage became one terminus for West African gold, ivory, and slaves. West Africa received salt, cloth, beads, and metal goods. Shillington proceeds to identify this trade route as the source for West African iron smelting. Trade continued into Roman times. Although there are Classical references to direct travel from

6466-433: The Mediterranean as household slaves for their exotic appearance. Some historians argue that the scale of slave trade in this period may have been higher than medieval times due to high demand of slaves in the Roman Empire. Herodotus wrote of the Garamantes hunting Ethiopian Troglodytes from chariots ; this account was associated with depictions of horses drawing chariots in contemporary cave art in southern Morocco and

6588-538: The Mediterranean to West Africa (Daniels, p. 22f), most of this trade was conducted through middlemen, inhabiting the area and aware of passages through the drying lands. The Legio III Augusta subsequently secured these routes on behalf of Rome by the 1st century CE, safeguarding the southern border of the empire for two and half centuries. The Garamantes also engaged in the trans-Saharan slave trade . The Garamantes used slaves in their own communities to construct and maintain underground irrigation systems known as

6710-419: The Navigator . In 1446, Portuguese captain Nuno Tristao made contact with the inhabitants of Cape Vert , and made a treaty of commerce and friendship with them. Every year following, ships were sent from Portugal to trade with them. From them, information reached Henry the Navigator regarding the Gambia, and according to their reports, the banks of the river yielded large quantities of gold. In 1455, Henry induced

6832-401: The River Gambia were subsequently granted again in 1598, 1618 and 1632 to other English adventurers, but no attempts were made by the English to explore until 1618. An expedition that year was commanded by George Thomson and its objective was to open up trade with Timbuktu . Leaving his ships at Gassan, Thompson proceeded with a small party in boats as far as the River Neriko. During his absence,

6954-409: The Royal Adventurers six years earlier. In 1677, the French wrested the island of Gorée from the Dutch. This began a century and a half period of struggle between England and France for political and commercial supremacy in the regions of Senegal and the Gambia. By 1681, the French had acquired a small enclave at Albreda opposite to James Island. Except for short period, during which trouble with

7076-418: The Royal Adventurers sublet their rights between Capes Blanco and Palmas to another body of adventurers, who became known as the Gambia Adventurers. They were to exploit the Rivers Gambia, Sierra Leone , and Sherbro .This group of adventurers enjoyed these rights for only a year, when, on the expiration of their lease, they reverted to the Royal African Company, which had purchased the rights and property of

7198-470: The Royal African Company was dissolved by Act of Parliament and the Gambia was placed under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Sierra Leone . It continued to be administered from Sierra Leone until 1843 when it became a separate colony. In 1866, however, the Gambia and Sierra Leone were once again united under the same administration. The British government continued to extend its territorial acquisitions beyond St Mary's Island by concluding treaties with

7320-430: The Sahara and attacked Timbuktu, Gao and some other important trading centres, destroying buildings and property and exiling prominent citizens. This disruption to trade led to a dramatic decline in the importance of these cities and the resulting animosity reduced trade considerably. Although much reduced, trans-Saharan trade continued. But trade routes to the West African coast became increasingly easy, particularly after

7442-405: The Sahara trading in salt carried from the desert interior to communities on the desert edges. The African Union and African Development Bank support the Trans-Sahara Highway from Algiers to Lagos via Tamanrasset , to stimulate economic development, and the latter noted an increase in traffic at the border with Chad due to exports to Algeria crossing Niger. The route is paved except for

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7564-420: The Sahara, whereas West African countries like Wangara had plenty of gold but needed salt. Taghaza, a trading and mining outpost where Ibn Battuta recorded the buildings were made of salt, rose to preeminence in the salt trade under the hegemony of the Almoravid Empire . The salt was mined by slaves and purchased with manufactured goods from Sijilmasa. Miners cut thin rectangular slabs of salt directly out of

7686-416: The West African countries, the Gambia has a relative stable governance. The Local Govemment Act passed in 2002 superseded the previous local government acts like Local Government Act (Amended 1984), Local Government (City of Banjul) Act (Amended 1988), The Kanifing Municipal Council Act 1991 and the Provinces Act. There were seven local governments defined each subdivided into districts and wards. The Mayor who

7808-570: The above districts. The city and area council elections were held during April 2002, when M.F.S. Malang Saibo Camara, an APRC candidate became the Mayor, winning 70.2 per cent votes. The council was led by Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), which won 9 out of the 12 seats, National Reconciliation Party (NRP) won one seat and two seats were won by independents. 13°34′15″N 14°57′47″W  /  13.57083°N 14.96306°W  / 13.57083; -14.96306 Gambia Protectorate The first written records of

7930-409: The caravan when it was still several days away, as the caravans could usually not carry enough to make the full journey. In the mid-14th century CE, Ibn Battuta crossed the desert from Sijilmasa via the salt mines at Taghaza to the oasis of Oualata . A guide was sent ahead, and water was brought over a four-day journey from Oualata to meet the caravan. Culture and religion were also exchanged on

8052-456: The cession of St Andrew's Island and land at Banyon Point (also known as Half-Die), Juffure and Gassan. Settlers, merchants and missionaries were sent out from Courland and forts were erected on St Andrew's Island and at Banyon Point. This was part of a period in Courlander history known as Couronian colonization , which also saw them colonise Tobago . The Courlanders believed that the possession of these territories would give them control over

8174-423: The coast, but, owing to Portuguese hostility, did not venture further south than Joal : 30 miles to the north of the river mouth. They reported that the Gambia was "a river of secret trade and riches concealed by the Portuguese." In 1612, an attempt by the French to settle in the Gambia ended disastrously due to sickness spreading among the settlers. Letters patent conferring the right of the exclusive trade with

8296-415: The coastline are important sources of fishing. There are mangrove and banto forests along the coastline. Over the river segment of 487 km (303 mi), there are numerous creeks, which are locally called boloons . The months from June to September experience a wet season, while the remaining seven months are dry. The average annual rainfall is around 1,400 mm (55 in) in the south east, while it

8418-445: The company's ships and turning pirate. Finally, in 1725, James Fort was extensively damaged by an accidental explosion of gunpowder. Following these incidents, the Royal African Company benefited from 20 years of comparative prosperity. Factories were established as far up the river as Fattatenda and at other places and a fairly considerable trade was carried out with the interior of Africa. Nevertheless, despite an annual subsidy from

8540-417: The crew of his ship were massacred by the Portuguese. However, some of his party managed on their return to make their way overland to Cape Verde and then to England. Thomson remained in the Gambia with seven companions but was killed by one of them in a sudden dispute. In the meantime, a relief expedition had departed from England under the command of Richard Jobson , who seized some Portuguese shipping as

8662-442: The cultures of the eastern Mediterranean to the east. Many trading routes went from oasis to oasis to resupply on both food and water. These oases were very important. They also imported obsidian from Senegal to shape blades and other objects. The overland route through the Wadi Hammamat from the Nile to the Red Sea was known as early as predynastic times; drawings depicting Egyptian reed boats have been found along

8784-445: The desert floor, and caravan merchants transported them south, charging a transportation fee of almost 80% of the salt's value. The salt was traded at the market of Timbuktu almost weight for weight with gold. The gold, in the form of bricks, bars, blank coins, and gold dust went to Sijilmasa , from which it went out to Mediterranean ports and in which it was struck into Almoravid dinars . The spread of Islam to sub-Saharan African

8906-463: The desert near Murzuk before turning north to pass between the Alhaggar and Tibesti Mountains before reaching the oasis at Kawar . From Kawar, caravans would pass over the great sand dunes of Bilma , where rock salt was mined in great quantities for trade, before reaching the savanna north of Lake Chad . This was the shortest of the routes, and the primary exchanges were slaves and ivory from

9028-536: The end of the 10th century , into Chad by the 11th century , and into Hausa lands in 12th and 13th centuries . By 1200, many ruling elites in Western Africa had converted to Islam, and from 1200 to 1500 saw a significant conversion to Islam in Africa. The Portuguese forays along the West African coast opened up new avenues for trade between Europe and West Africa. By the early 16th century, European trading bases,

9150-463: The end of the year, the Adventurers dispatched an expedition to the Gambia under the command of Robert Holmes , who had been with Prince Rupert in the Gambia in 1652. Holmes arrived at the river mouth at the beginning of 1661. He proceeded to occupy Dog Island , which he renamed Charles Island, and to establish a temporary fort there. On 18 March 1661, he sailed up to St Andrew's Island and called on

9272-430: The fort. Firstly, they attempted to incite the natives of Barra against the English, secondly they offered bribes to certain English officers, and, lastly, they attempted to bombard the fort. None of these efforts were successful and the English remained in control. Meanwhile, the Duke of Courland had lodged a protest against the seizure of his possessions in a time of peace. On 17 November 1664, after negotiations over

9394-467: The forts. It was hoped that this would prevent the monopolistic tendencies of rule by a joint stock company and at the same time to save the government the expense entailed by the creation of a colonial civil service . In 1766, the fort and settlements were taken from this new company by another Act of Parliament and given to the Crown. For the next 18 years, the Gambia formed part of the Senegambia colony. The government headquarters were at St Louis at

9516-450: The future of the territories, he relinquished in favour of Charles II all claims to his African possessions and in return was granted the island of Tobago and the right for himself to personally trade in the River Gambia. From the mid-seventeenth century onwards, "English, Dutch, French and Baltic mechant adventurers shared and fought over trading rights from the restricted, neighbouring bases of Fort James Island and Albreda ." In 1667,

9638-582: The government of the Gambia. It also frequently petitioned against unpopular government policies. It had some success, with Small founding the first Gambian trade union, the Bathurst Trade Union , in 1929. However, it failed to prevent its opponent, Ousman Jeng, being appointed to the Legislative Council in 1922 and again in 1927. In 1932, Small founded the Rate Payers' Association (RPA) to oppose

9760-578: The help of the Royal Navy, the Goree garrison made efforts to suppress the slave traders operating in the River Gambia, who were primarily Spanish and American. On more than one occasion, the slavers offered a stubborn resistance and the Royal African Corps suffered several casualties. The raison d'etre of the West African forts had been the protection of the slave trade. What was to happen when that trade

9882-420: The interior of Africa. At the beginning of the 19th century, Montgomery identified that most settlements on the Gambia River were British. However, to the north, there were several native kingdoms, including Barra, Boor Salum, Yani and Woolli. At the time, Barra had a population of 200,000 and its capital was Barra Inding, although the main trading place was Jillifrey. Boor Salum had a population of 300,000 and

10004-520: The island of evacuated Gorée . Captain Alexander Grant was sent with a detachment of Royal African Corps soldiers to explore the possibility of rebuilding Fort James on James Island but decided that more space would be provided by St Mary's Island. Grant made a treaty with the King of Kombo on 23 April 1816 that ceded the island to the UK. He also founded the town of Bathurst on St Mary's Island. In 1821,

10126-588: The island was temporarily occupied by a handful of soldiers as an outpost, James Island stopped playing any part in the history of the Gambia. In 1780, the French privateer Senegal captured four vessels which had been part of the British garrison at Goree sent to the Bintang Creek under the command of Major Houghton to obtain building material. The Senegal , in turn, was captured by HMS Zephyr after an engagement off Barra Point. In 1783, St Louis and Goree were handed back to France and Senegambia ceased existing as

10248-558: The lines it would continue to hold until independence. In 1901, legislative and executive councils were established for the Gambia, as well as the Gambia Company of the RWAFF . Gambian soldiers fought in World War I , and in the 1920s Edward Francis Small led the push for emancipation, founding the Bathurst Trade Union and the Ratepayers' Association . During World War II , the Gambia Company

10370-461: The mouth of the Senegal River and a Lieutenant Governor was appointed to take charge of James Fort and the settlements in the Gambia. In 1779, the French captured James Fort for the fifth and final time. On this occasion, they so successfully demolished the fortifications that at the close of the war it was found impossible to rebuild them. Besides a brief period following the Napoleonic Wars , when

10492-461: The natives of Barra or hostilities with England compelled them to temporarily abandon the place, they retained a foothold there until 1857. In the wars with France following the Glorious Revolution , James Fort was captured on four occasions by the French, in 1695, 1702, 1704 and 1708. However, no attempt was made by France to occupy the fort permanently. At the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713,

10614-523: The natives, the Gambian government was able to conclude a series of treaties with the chiefs living along the banks of the river. Some of these included the cession of small tracts of territory, but most conferred British protection. The last and most important of these was concluded in 1901 with Musa Molloh, the paramount chief of Fuladu. In 1894, an Ordinance was passed for the better administration of these districts which had not been ceded but merely placed under

10736-552: The next year was expelled by the newly formed Royal Adventurers in Africa Company . In 1667, the rights of the Royal Adventurers to the Gambia were sublet to the Gambia Adventurers but later reverted to the new Royal African Company . 1677 saw the beginning of a century-and-a-half-long struggle between the English and French for supremacy over the Gambia and Senegal . The English possessions were captured several times by

10858-479: The north. There, and in other North African cities, Berber traders had increased contact with Islam, encouraging conversions, and by the 8th century, Muslims were traveling to Ghana. Many in Ghana converted to Islam, and it is likely that the Empire's trade was privileged as a result. Around 1050, Ghana lost Aoudaghost to the Almoravids , but new goldmines around Bure reduced trade through the city, instead benefiting

10980-480: The only commodity subject to export duties; these export duties resulted in the illegal smuggling of the product to French Senegal . Attempts were made to increase production of other goods for export: the Gambian poultry scheme/Yundum egg scheme pioneered by the Colonial Development Corporation aimed to produce twenty million eggs and one million lb of dressed poultry a year. The conditions in

11102-590: The path dating to 4000 BCE. Ancient cities dating to the First Dynasty of Egypt arose along both its Nile and Red Sea junctions, testifying to the route's ancient popularity. It became a major route from Thebes to the Red Sea port of Elim , where travelers then moved on to either Asia , Arabia or the Horn of Africa . Records exist documenting knowledge of the route among Senusret I , Seti, Ramesses IV and also, later,

11224-492: The poverty and disease that was present there, he wrote to Churchill describing the territory as a "hell-hole". After the Second World War, the pace of reform increased. The economy of the Gambia, like other African countries at the time, was very heavily orientated towards agriculture. Reliance on the groundnut became so strong that it made up almost the entirety of exports, making the economy vulnerable. Groundnuts were

11346-575: The proposed cession of the Gambia in exchange for other territories in West Africa. However, the proposal aroused such opposition in Parliament and among various mercantile bodies in England, as well as among the native inhabitants of the Gambia, that the British government was unable to press ahead with the scheme. This "remarkably powerful" Gambia lobby was revived whenever the topic of the proposed cession

11468-599: The protection of the British government. It was decided that it was not feasible to administer these places from the seat of government in Bathurst, so in 1895 and the following years, ordinances were passed to bring these places under the control of the Protectorate. Finally, a Protectorate Ordinance passed in 1902 brought the whole of the Gambia besides St Mary's Island under the Protectorate system. The Gambia received its own executive and legislative councils in 1901 and gradually progressed toward self-government. Also in 1901,

11590-592: The region come from Arab traders in the 9th and 10th centuries. In medieval times, the region was dominated by the Trans-Saharan trade and was ruled by the Mali Empire . In the 16th century, the region came to be ruled by the Songhai Empire . The first Europeans to visit the Gambia River were the Portuguese in the 15th century, in 1447, who attempted to settle on the river banks, but no settlement of significant size

11712-515: The region come from records of Arab traders in the 9th and 10th centuries AD. In medieval times the area was dominated by the trans-Saharan trade . The Mali Empire , most renowned for the Mandinka ruler Mansa Kankan Musa , brought worldwide recognition to the region due to its enormous wealth, scholarship, and civility. From the early 13th century, the Kouroukan Fouga , Mali 's constitution,

11834-516: The region dates from the 3rd century. Used by the Berbers , they enabled more regular contact across the entire width of the Sahara, but regular trade routes did not develop until the beginnings of the Islamic conversion of West Africa in the 7th and 8th centuries. Two main trade routes developed. The first ran through the western desert from modern Morocco to the Niger bend, the second from modern Tunisia to

11956-499: The river and enable them to levy tolls on all those who used the waterway. They erected a fort built out of local sandstone, appointed a Lutheran pastor, and positioned the cannons on the island so as to command both of the channels to the north and the south. The plan was to sell slaves to the colony in Tobago, but this did not prosper. In 1658, Kettler was made a prisoner by the Swedes during

12078-465: The river banks. Among these settlements, the most important probably was Pisania. This settlement, which was already in operation by 1779, was occupied by Dr John Laidley and a family by the name of Aynsley. Subsequently, Laidley and the Aynsleys rendered invaluable assistance to Major Daniel Houghton in 1790, Mungo Park in 1795 and 1805, and Major William Grey in 1818, in the course of their journeys into

12200-408: The river banks. No settlement ever reached a significant size, and many of the settlers intermarried with the natives while maintaining Portuguese dress and customs and professing to be Christians . Communities of Portuguese descent continued to exist in the Gambia until the 18th century, with Portuguese churches existing at San Domingo, Geregia and Tankular in 1730. The further Portuguese settlement up

12322-503: The river was at Setuku near Fattatenda . By the end of the 16th century, the Songhai Empire , under constant assault by Morocco, collapsed. The name Gambia comes from the Portuguese word for trade, cambio . After the Portuguese throne was seized by Philip II in 1580, a number of Portuguese sought refuge in England . One of these refugees, Francisco Ferreira, piloted two English ships to

12444-405: The smaller kingdoms of Yani and Woolli were to the north of it. The Mandinka people were the inhabitants of all four kingdoms, which all conducted a considerable trade with the interior of Africa. Montgomery said that no considerable kingdom existed south of the Gambia. In 1807, the African slave trade was abolished by an Act of Parliament. At that time, the British were in control of Goree. With

12566-601: The south for salt. One early 20th century researcher wrote of the Tripoli-Murzuk-Lake Chad route , "Most of the [trans-Saharan] traffic from the Mediterranean coast during the last 2,000 years has passed along this road." Another Libyan route was Benghazi to Kufra to the lands of the Wadai Empire between Lake Chad and Darfur. The western routes were the Walata Road past present-day Oualata, Mauritania , from

12688-512: The south to the Mediterranean. The herdsmen of the Fezzan of Libya , known as the Garamantes, controlled these routes as early as 1500 BCE. From their capital of Germa in the Wadi Ajal, the Garamantean Empire raided north to the sea and south into the Sahel. By the 4th century BCE, the independent city-states of Phoenicia had expanded their control to the territory and routes once held by

12810-460: The total area of the region is 2894.3 km. The infant mortality rate is 92 for every thousand births and the under-five mortality is 138 per every thousand births. The poverty gap ratio is 36.45 per cent as of 2003. The literacy rate of the province is 56 compared to a national average of 62.9 per cent. The net enrollment ratio in primary education is 53 per cent, children entering first grade of primary school reaching last grade of primary education

12932-611: The trans-Saharan trade routes. Many West African states eventually adopted Arabic writing and the religion of North Africa, resulting in these states' absorption into the Muslim world . Ancient trade spanned the northeastern corner of the Sahara in the Naqadan era. Predynastic Egyptians in the Naqada I period traded with Nubia to the south, the oases of the Western Desert to the west, and

13054-418: The transitional zone between the forest and the savanna; examples include Begho and Bono Manso (in present-day Ghana) and Bondoukou (in present-day Côte d'Ivoire ). Western trade routes continued to be important, with Ouadane , Oualata and Chinguetti being the major trade centres in what is now Mauritania, while the Tuareg towns of Assodé and later Agadez grew around a more easterly route in what

13176-655: The unpopular policies of Richmond Palmer , the Governor, and of the conservative elements of Gambian politics, led by Forster and his nephew W. D. Carrol. By the end of 1934, the RPA was winning all the seats on the Bathurst Urban District Council and its successor the Bathurst Advisory Town Council, however, had no representation in the Legislative Council. During World War II, the Gambia Company became

13298-459: The voyage the next year in May 1456, proceeding further upstream and making contact with some of the native chiefs. When they were near the river's mouth, they cast anchor at an island where one of their sailors, who had previously died of a fever, was buried. As his name was Andrew, they named the island St Andrew's Island . This expedition was followed by Portuguese attempts to establish a settlement on

13420-581: The war, and in 1942, a light cruiser named HMS  Gambia was launched, which maintained ties to the colony until it was decommissioned in 1960. Bathurst was also the nearest English-speaking port to Dakar, where, before the Battle of Dakar , the Vichy French battleship Richelieu had been told to travel to. the Gambia was also home to 55 British General Hospital from 1941 to 1942, 40 British General Hospital from 1942 to 1943, and 55 British General Hospital again from 1945 to 1946. During World War II,

13542-512: Was abolished? No effort had been made to penetrate the interior and nothing in the nature of colonization had been attempted. At first these posts remained useful for the purposes of suppressing the slave trade. H. E. Egerton, Oxford Survey of the British Empire, Vol. VI , p. 141 Following the Treaty of Paris in 1814, which ended the war with the French, the British forces and officials on

13664-474: Was administered from Sierra Leone until 1843 when it was given its own Governor , but in 1866 merged again with Sierra Leone. The cession of the Gambia to France was proposed in the late 19th century but was met with considerable protest in both the Gambia and in England. In 1888, the colony regained its own government structure, and in 1894 the Gambia Colony, and Protectorate was properly established along

13786-426: Was brought up, and successfully saw that the British could not cede any land. In 1888, the Gambia was once again separated from Sierra Leone and from that date until its independence operated as a separate colony. In 1889, an agreement was reached between the French and British governments for the delimitation of the borders of the Gambia, Senegal, and Casamance . During this time, despite a number of small wars with

13908-494: Was ceded in 1829. In 1840 and 1853, considerable areas of the mainland adjoining St Mary's Island were obtained from the King of Kombo for the settlement of discharged soldiers of the West India Regiments and liberated Africans. Cessions of another land further upstream were obtained at various dates, including Albreda, the French enclave, which was obtained in 1857. In the 1850s, under the leadership of Louis Faidherbe ,

14030-541: Was elected president, backed by a coalition of opposition parties . Jammeh's refusal to step down led to a constitutional crisis and the intervention of ECOWAS forces. It is possible that the Carthaginian explorer Hanno the Navigator sailed as far as the Gambia on an expedition in the 470 BC. Very few pieces of information are known about the Gambia area from before 500 AD. The first verifiable written accounts of

14152-489: Was established. Descendants of the Portuguese settlers remained until the 18th century. In the late 16th century, English merchants attempted to begin a trade with the Gambia , reporting that it was "a river of secret trade and riches concealed by the Portuguese." In the early 17th century, the French attempted to settle the Gambia but failed. Further English expeditions from 1618 to 1621, including under Richard Jobson , were attempted but resulted in huge losses. Merchants of

14274-506: Was linked to trans-Saharan trade. Islam spread via trade routes, and Africans converting to Islam increased trade and commerce which increased the trade's population. Historians give many reasons for the spread of Islam facilitating trade. Islam established common values and rules upon which trade was conducted. It created a network of believers who trust each other and therefore trade with each other even if they do not personally know each other. Such trade networks existed before Islam but on

14396-508: Was overthrown in a coup d'état led by Yahya Jammeh , who ruled as a military dictator for two years through the AFPRC . He was elected president in 1996 and continued in this role until 2017. During this time, Jammeh's party, the APRC , dominated Gambian politics. the Gambia left the Commonwealth of Nations in 2013 and suffered an unsuccessful coup attempt in 2014. In the 2016 election , Adama Barrow

14518-609: Was raised to a regiment, and notably fought in the Burma Campaign in the latter years of the war. Franklin D. Roosevelt 's visit to the Gambia in 1943 was the first visit by a sitting US President to the African continent . Following the war, the pace of reform increased, with an economic focus on the production of peanuts and a failed programme called the Gambia Poultry Scheme by the Colonial Development Corporation . The push towards self-government increased its pace, and

14640-640: Was the easternmost of the central routes. The westernmost of the three central routes was the Ghadames Road , which ran from the Niger River at Gao north to Ghat and Ghadames before terminating at Tripoli . Next was the easiest of the three routes: the Garamantean Road, named after the former rulers of the land it passed through and also called the Bilma Trail . The Garamantean Road passed south of

14762-457: Was the law of the land. The North African scholar and traveler Ibn Battuta visited the area in 1352 and said about its inhabitants: The people of the region possess many admirable qualities. They are seldom unjust and have a greater abhorrence of injustice than any other people. There is complete security in their country. Neither traveler nor inhabitant in it has anything to fear from robbers or men of violence. The Songhai Empire , named after

14884-510: Was used for passenger flights. Both British South American Airways and the British Overseas Airways Corporation had services, the former moving its service to Dakar , which had a concrete runway (as opposed to pierced steel planking). The airport was rebuilt in 1963 and the building is still in use today. In anticipation of independence, efforts were made to create internal self-government. The 1960 Constitution created

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