A Brief History
There is evidence of human settlements in The Gambia dating back as far as 500 AD, while stone tools and pottery pieces dating back to 2000BC have been found in the West African region, indicating even earlier settlement.
Much of The Gambia’s cultural heritage can be traced to the great African trading kingdoms that flourished along the middle Niger River basin during the time of Europe’s Middle Ages. While the Serahule rulers travelled and traded in the area during the 10th century, the Ghana Empire (5th-12th centuries AD) and the Mandinka kingdom of Mali (13th-15th centuries AD) were of particular importance in The Gambia’s early history. In fact, the Mandinkas came to dominate the region during the expansion of the Mali Empire in the 13th century.
All these kingdoms were renowned for the splendour and wealth that resulted from their trans-Saharan trading activities with the Berbers and Muslim Arabs of North Africa. Political upheaval and encroaching drought brought other ethnic groups into the area including Wolof and Fulani pastoralists. The exchange of gold, ivory, and slaves from the western woodlands and southern rainforests, for salt, dates, and metalwork from the north was a dominant force in West Africa during this time.
Trade, political conquest, and the expansion of the Sahara desert were further factors causing a southern and western migration of different ethnic groups from the Niger River basin into The Gambia and surrounding region. By the 16th century, Portuguese slave traders and gold seekers had established themselves along the West African coast and river mouths, drastically changing the character of the trans-Saharan trade.
The French and English who competed for political and commercial dominance in the region during the 17th and 18th centuries soon followed the Portuguese. In 1808, slave trading was abolished throughout the British Empire, and the British tried unsuccessfully to end the slave trade in The Gambia. They established the military post of Bathurst (now Banjul) in 1816. In the ensuing years, Banjul was at times under the jurisdiction of the British Governor General in Sierra Leone.
In 1889, The Gambia became a crown colony, and the following year France and Britain drew the boundaries between Senegal (by then a French colony) and The Gambia. The Gambia received its own executive and legislative councils in 1901 and gradually progressed toward self-government. A 1906 ordinance abolished slavery. Following general elections in 1962, full internal self-governance was granted in the following year.
The Gambia achieved independence on February 18, 1965 as a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth, and in 1970 The Gambia became a fully independent republic with former Prime Minister Dawda Jawara becoming the nation's first president. Until a military coup in July 1994, led by the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC, now the APRC - Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction), The Gambia was led by President Jawara who had been in office for nearly 30 years. Lieutenant Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh, chairman of the AFPRC, now became head of state. A new military government was formed, and Jammeh announced that he would remain in power at least until 1998.
President Jammeh, who was re-elected with 53% of the vote, took the oath of the office again on December 21, 2001 and in the September 2006 election. In the most recent election (November 2011), Jammeh won once again, with over 70% of the vote.
Interesting... Legend has it that Gambia’s borders were determined by measuring the extent of territory that could be defended by cannon-fire from a gunboat sailing up the river, thus The Gambia’s long, thin, and crooked shape.
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