History & Politics in The Gambia

If we are going to travel to The Gambia, let's find out more about the country. This posting aims to do just that!

The Gambia is situated in West Africa, with an Atlantic sea coast to the west and otherwise is entirely surrounded by Senegal. It is one of Africa's smallest countries and unlike many of its West African neighbours it has enjoyed long spells of stability since gaining independence in 1965.

 

Before getting independence, Gambia was ruled by a number of other powers. Back in the 5th - 11th centuries, it was the Empire of Ghana; from the 13th - 15th centuries the Empire of Mali controlled Gambia; and then in the mid-1400s the Europeans took control. First it was the Portuguese that landed, controlling trade along the west coast of Africa. Baltic Germans came during the 1650s, before being displaced by the British, who were themselves under constant threat from French ships, pirates and African kings.

The British controlled the Gambia River, and as such controlled the movement of ships for many years. Bathurst, as they named what is now called Banjul was a focus for the salve trade in those days. Their influence extended further upstream until the 1820s, when the territory was declared a British protectorate ruled from Sierra Leone. In 1888 Gambia became a crown colony, by which time the surrounding territory of Senegal had fallen into French custody.

Gambia became self-governing in 1963, although it was not until 1965 that true independence was achieved and Gambia officially became "The Gambia”. David Jawara, leader of the People’s Progressive Party, then became Prime Minister Dawda Jawara.

Today, the country is governed by President Yahya Jammeh, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1994 and has ruled ever since. While President Jammeh's governance has led to political stability, that does not mean there is prosperity. Despite the presence of the River Gambia, which runs through the middle of the country, only one-sixth of the land is arable and poor soil quality has led to the predominance of just one crop - peanuts. This has made The Gambia heavily dependent on peanut exports - and is a hostage to fluctuations in the production and world prices of the crop.

Tourism is an important source of income, as is the money sent home by Gambians living abroad. Most visitors are drawn to the resorts that occupy a stretch of the Atlantic coast, including the Kombo Beach Hotel resort, where we will be staying.

The country has a population of 1,925,527 (according to most recent data). According to the last census (in 2003), the ethnic make-up of the country is 99% African, consisting of 42% Mandinka, 18% Fula, 16% Wolof, 10% Jola, 9th Serahuli and 4% other. English is the official language of the country, but the other widely spoken languages are Mandinka, Wolof and Fula. We'll explore some useful phrases in Mandinka and Wolof in a future blog posting. As for religion, the country is 90% Muslim and 8% Christian.

That’s just a bit of background to The Gambia. Look out for more interesting facts about the country in the coming weeks and months.