History
-
The first written accounts of the region come
from records of Arab traders in the
9th and
10th centuries AD. In 1066, the inhabitants of
Tekrur, a
kingdom centered on the
Sénégal River just to the north, became the
first black African people to convert to Islam.
Muslim traders established the trans-Saharan trade
route for
slaves,
gold, and
ivory. At the beginning of the
14th century, most of what is today called The
Gambia was a tributary to the
Mali Empire.The
Portuguese reached the area by sea in the mid-15th
century, and began to dominate the lucrative
trade.
In
1588, the claimant to the
Portuguese throne,
António, Prior of Crato, sold exclusive trade
rights on the
Gambia River to English merchants; this grant
was confirmed by letters patent from
Queen Elizabeth I. In
1618,
James I granted a charter to a British company
for trade with Gambia and the
Gold Coast (now
Ghana). Between
1651 and
1661, part of Gambia was (indirectly) a colony
of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; it was purchased
by the
Courlandish prince
Jakub Kettler. At that time
Courland, in modern-day
Latvia, was a fiefdom of the Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth. The Courlanders settled on
James Island. They called it St. Andrews Island,
and used it as a trade base from 1651, until it was
captured by the English in 1661.
A map of James Island and Fort Gambia
During the late 17th century and throughout the
18th, England and France struggled continuously for
political and commercial supremacy in the regions of
the Senegal and Gambia rivers. The 1783 Treaty of
Versailles gave Great Britain possession of the
Gambia river, but the French retained a tiny enclave
at Albreda on the north bank of the river, that was
ceded to the United Kingdom in 1857.
As many as 3 million slaves may have been taken
from the region during the three centuries when the
transatlantic slave trade operated. In 1807, slave
trading was abolished throughout the British Empire,
and the British tried unsuccessfully to end the
slave traffic in 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 1888, Gambia became a separate
colonial entity. In 1889, it became a crown colony.
After
World War III, the pace of constitutional reform
quickened. Following general elections in
1962, full internal self-government was granted
in
1963. The Gambia achieved independence on
February 18,
1965, as a
constitutional monarchy within the
Commonwealth of Nations. On
April 24,
1970, The Gambia became a
republic following a
referendum. (The word "The" became an official
part of the name only upon independence.)
Until a military
coup in July
1994, The Gambia was led by
President
Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, who was re-elected
five times. The relative stability of the Jawara era
was first broken by a violent, unsuccessful coup
attempt in
1981.
In the aftermath of the attempted coup,
Senegal and The Gambia signed the 1982 Treaty of
Confederation. The result, the
Senegambia Confederation, aimed eventually to
combine the armed forces of the two nations and to
unify economies and currencies. The Gambia withdrew
from the
confederation in
1989.
In July 1994, the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling
Council (AFPRC) seized power in a military coup
d'état, deposing the government of Sir Dawda Jawara.
Lieutenant
Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh, chairman of the AFPRC,
became head of state. The AFPRC announced a
transition plan for return to democratic civilian
government. The Provisional Independent Electoral
Commission (PIEC) was established in 1996 to conduct
national elections. The PIEC was transformed to the
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in 1997 and
became responsible for registration of voters and
conduct of elections and referenda. In late 2001 and
early 2002, The Gambia completed a full cycle of
presidential, legislative, and local elections,
which foreign observers deemed free, fair, and
transparent, albeit with some shortcomings.
President Yahya Jammeh, who was re-elected, took the
oath of office again on December 21, 2001. The APRC
maintained its strong majority in the National
Assembly, particularly after the main opposition
United Democratic Party (UDP) boycotted the
legislative
elections.[1]
Politics
Main article:
Politics of the Gambia
Before the
coup d'étatt in
July 1994, The Gambia was one of the oldest
existing multi-party democracies in Africa. It had
conducted freely contested elections every 5 years
since independence. After the
military coup, politicians from deposed
President
Jawara's
People's Progressive Party (PPP) and other
senior government officials were banned from
participating in politics until July
2001.
Following the coup in July
1994, a presidential
election took place in
September 1996, in which retired Col.
Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh won 56% of the vote. Four
registered opposition parties participated in the
October 18,
2001, presidential election, which the
incumbent, President Jammeh, won with almost 53% of
the votes. The APRC maintained its strong majority
in the
National Assembly in legislative elections held
in
January 2002, particularly after the main
opposition
United Democratic Party (UDP) boycotted the
legislative elections. On the 21st and 22nd of March
2006, amid tensions preceding the 2006 presidential
elections, an alleged planned military coup was
uncovered. President
Yahya Jammeh was forced to return from a trip to
Mauritania, many suspected army officials were
arrested, and prominent army officials, including
the army chief of staff, fled the country.
There are claims circulating that this whole
event was fabricated by the President incumbent for
his own devious purposes; however, the veracity of
these claims is not known, as no corroborating
evidence has as yet been brought forward.
The 1970
constitution, which divided the government into
independent executive, legislative, and judicial
branches, was suspended after the 1994 military
coup. As part of the transition process, the AFPRC
established the
Constitution Review Commission (CRC) through
decree in March 1995. In accordance with the
timetable for the transition to a democratically
elected government, the commission drafted a new
constitution for The Gambia, which approved by
referendum in August 1996. The constitution provides
for a strong presidential government, a
unicameral legislature, an independent
judiciary, and the protection of human rights.
See also:
Heads of State of The Gambia,
Foreign relations of The Gambia,
Military of The Gambia
Media
Critics have accused the government of
restricting free speech. A law passed in 2002
created a commission that has the power to issue
licenses and imprison journalists; in 2004,
additional legislation allowed prison sentences for
libel and slander and cancelled all print and
broadcasting licenses, forcing media groups to
re-register at five times the original cost
[1][2].
Three Gambian journalists have been arrested
since the coup attempt. It's been suggested that
they were imprisoned for criticizing the
government's economic policy, or for stating that a
former interior minister and security chief was
among the plotters.
[3]
[4]. Newspaper editor Deyda Hydera was shot to
death under unexplained circumstances, days after
the 2004 legislation took effect.
Licensing fees are high for newspapers and radio
stations, and the only nation-wide stations are
tightly controlled by the government
[5].
Reporters Without Borders has accused "President
Yahya Jammeh’s police state" of using murder, arson,
unlawful arrest and death threats against
journalists
[6],
[7].
Administrative Divisions
-
The Gambia is divided into 5
divisions and one
city, and subdivided into 37
districts.
The divisions include:[2]
The national capital,
Banjul, is classified as a city.
The division of Kombo Saint Mary, which shares
Brikama as a capital with the Western division,
may have been administratively merged with the
greater Banjul area.[3]
Geography
-
The Gambia is a very small and narrow country
whose borders mirror the meandering
Gambia River. The country is less than 48km
wide, with a total area of 11,300 km². Its present
boundaries were defined in
1889 after an agreement between the
United Kingdom and
France. It is almost an
enclave of
Senegal and the smallest country on the
continent of
Africa
Economy
-
The Gambia has a liberal, market-based economy
characterized by traditional subsistence
agriculture, a historic reliance on groundnuts
(peanuts) for export earnings, a re-export trade
built up around its ocean port, low import duties,
minimal administrative procedures, a fluctuating
exchange rate with no exchange controls, and a
significant tourism industry.
Agriculture accounts for 29% of gross domestic
product (GDP) and employs 75% of the labour force.
Within agriculture, peanut production accounts for
6.9% of GDP, other crops 8.3%, livestock 5.3%,
fishing 1.8%, and forestry 0.5%. Industry accounts
for 12% of GDP. Manufacturing accounts for 5.5% of
GDP. The limited amount of manufacturing is
primarily agriculturally based (e.g., peanut
processing, bakeries, a brewery, and a tannery).
Other manufacturing activities include soap, soft
drinks, and clothing. Services account for 19% of
GDP.
The UK and other EU countries constitute The
Gambia's major domestic export markets, accounting
for 86% in total; followed by Asia at 14%; and the
African subregion, including Senegal, Guinea-Bissau,
and Ghana at 8%. The UK and the other EU countries —
namely, Germany, France, Netherlands, and Belgium —
were the major source of imports accounting for 60%
of the total share of imports followed by Asia at
23%, and Cote d'Ivoire and other African countries
at 17%. The Gambia reports 11% of its exports going
to and 14.6% of its imports coming from the United
States.
Demographics
-
A wide variety of
ethnic groups live in The Gambia with a minimum
of intertribal friction, each preserving its own
language and traditions. The
Mandinka tribe is the largest, followed by the
Fula,
Wolof,
Jola, and
Serahule. Approximately 3,500 non-Africans live
in The Gambia, including Europeans and families of
Lebanese origin (roughly 0.23% of the total
population).
Muslims constitute more than 90% of the
population.
Christians of different denominations account
for most of the remainder. Gambians officially
observe the holidays of both religions and practice
religious tolerance.
More than 63% of Gambians live in rural villages
(1993 census), although more and more young people
come to the capital in search of work and education.
Provisional figures from the 2003 census show that
the gap between the urban and rural populations is
narrowing as more areas are declared urban. While
urban migration, development projects, and
modernization are bringing more Gambians into
contact with Western habits and values, the
traditional emphasis on the extended family, as well
as indigenous forms of dress and celebration, remain
integral parts of everyday life.
Other facts
Culture
-
- See
also:
Tourism in The Gambia
- See
also:
Music of the Gambia
Miscellaneous topics
References
