The Gambia Colony and Protectorate was the British
colonial
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:
* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology)
Architecture
* American colonial architecture
* French Colonial
* Spanish Colonial architecture
Automobiles
* Colonial (1920 au ...
administration of
the Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
from 1821 to 1965, part of the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
in the
New Imperialism
In historical contexts, New Imperialism characterizes a period of colonial expansion by European powers, the United States, and Japan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Com
The period featured an unprecedented pursuit of ove ...
era. The colony was the immediate area surrounding
Bathurst (now Banjul), and the
protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...
was the inland territory situated around the
Gambia River
The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra) is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul. It is navigable f ...
, which was declared in 1894.
History
The foundation of the colony was
Fort James and Bathurst, where British presence was established in 1815 and 1816, respectively. For various periods in its existence it was subordinate to the
Sierra Leone Colony
The Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone (informally British Sierra Leone) was the British colonial administration in Sierra Leone from 1808 to 1961, part of the British Empire from the abolitionism era until the decolonisation era. The Crow ...
. However, by 1888 it was a colony in its own right with a permanently appointed
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
.
The boundaries of the territory were an issue of contention between the British and French authorities due to the proximity to
French Senegal. Additionally, on numerous occasions the British government had attempted to exchange it with France for other territories, such as on the upper
Niger River
The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...
.
France and Britain agreed in 1889 in principle to set the boundary at 10 km (6.2 miles) north and south of the river and east to
Yarbutenda, the furthest navigable point on the
river Gambia
The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra) is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul. It is navigable f ...
. This was followed by the dispatch of a joint Anglo-French Boundary Commission to map the actual border. However, on its arrival in the area in 1891, the Boundary Commission was met with resistance by local leaders whose territories they were coming to divide. The commission could nevertheless rely on British naval power: British ships bombed the town of Kansala to force the Gambians to back off, and according to the 1906 ''The Gambia Colony and Protectorate: An Official Handbook'', men and guns from three warships landed on the riverbanks “as a hint of what the resisters had to expect in the event of any continued resistance.”
[Atlas Obscura]
/ref>
The colony ended in 1965 when The Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
became an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
, with Dawda Jawara
Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara (16 May 1924 – 27 August 2019) was a Gambian politician who served as Prime Minister from 1962 to 1970, and then as the first President of the Gambia from 1970 to 1994.
Jawara was born in Barajally, MacCarthy Island ...
as Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
.
Economy
The economy of The Gambia, like other African countries at the time, was very heavily orientated towards agriculture. Reliance on the groundnut
Groundnut may refer to:
* Seeds that ripen underground, of the following plants, all in the Faboideae subfamily of the legumes:
** '' Best Basketball Player'', Obinna Udunni
** '' Arachis villosulicarpa'', a perennial peanut species
** ''Vigna sub ...
became so strong that it made up almost the entirety of exports, making the economy vulnerable. Groundnuts were 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 pioneered by the Colonial Development Corporation aimed to produce twenty million eggs
Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
and one million lb of dressed poultry a year. The conditions in The Gambia proved unfavourable and typhoid
Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several d ...
killed much of the chicken stock, drawing criticism to the corporation.
Transport
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
Yundum is a small town in Gambia, south of the capital, Banjul. It is situated adjacent to the country's international airport.
The only airport in Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gam ...
, built in World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Post war it was used for passenger flights. Both British South American Airways and the British Overseas Airways Corporation
British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...
had services, the former moving its service to Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...
, 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.
Government structure
During the later colonial period, especially in post-1901, The Gambia began to have a more developed colonial government. Roles in the government, though taken by white British officials, included examples such as the Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
, the Senior Medical Officer, the Controller of Customs, the Receiver General, and the Director of Public Works.
The colony was governed by the Executive Council primarily, but legislation came from the Legislative Council.
In 1919 the colony was hit by a scandal when it became known that Travelling Commission J K McCallum had passed his colonial administrative authority over to his common-law wife, Fatou Khan
Fatou Khan, also ''Fatu'' or ''Fatoo (''c.1880 - c.1940) was a Gambian administrator, who was an unofficial commissioner of the Gambia Colony and Protectorate.
Biography
Khan was born circa 1880 in Njau Village in the Upper Saloum District of ...
, who was an illiterate Wolof
Wolof or Wollof may refer to:
* Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania
* Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania
* The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...
woman.
Independence
In anticipation of independence, efforts were made to create internal self-government. The 1960 Constitution created a partly elected House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
, 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
Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara (16 May 1924 – 27 August 2019) was a Gambian politician who served as Prime Minister from 1962 to 1970, and then as the first President of the Gambia from 1970 to 1994.
Jawara was born in Barajally, MacCarthy Island ...
of the People's Progressive Party resigned as Minister of Education, triggering a Constitutional Conference arranged by the Secretary of State for the Colonies
The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies.
Histor ...
.
The Constitutional Conference paved the way for a new constitution that granted a greater degree of self-government and a House of Representatives with more elected members. Elections were held in 1962, with Jawara's Progressive Party securing a majority of the elected seats. Under the new constitutional arrangements, Jawara was appointed Prime Minister: a position he held until it was abolished in 1970.
Following agreements between the British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
and Gambian governments in July 1964, The Gambia became independent on 18 February 1965.
See also
*British West Africa
British West Africa was the collective name for British colonies in West Africa during the colonial period, either in the general geographical sense or the formal colonial administrative entity. British West Africa as a colonial entity was orig ...
*History of the Gambia
The first written records of 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 rul ...
References
External links
Britishempire.co.uk: Gambia
{{coord missing, Gambia
History of the Gambia
British West Africa
Former British colonies and protectorates in Africa
1821 establishments in the British Empire
1821 establishments in Africa
1965 disestablishments in Africa
States and territories established in 1821
States and territories disestablished in 1965