The

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

–

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

border is 749 km (465 mi) in length and runs on either side of the

Gambia river The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra, French language, French: ''Fleuve Gambie'', Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Rio Gâmbia'') is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward ...

Description

In the north-west, the border starts at the Atlantic coast at Jinnak Creek, and then proceeds eastwards via a straight line. Just to the west of the Gambian town of Ngeyen Sanjal the border proceeds to roughly parallel the north bank of the

at a distance of about 10 km, bending round in the far east to encompass Koina and Kantale Kunde within Gambian territory, before proceeding westwards again at about 10 km parallel to the river's southern bank. Just east of Dumbutu (Gambia) the boundary veers south in a straight line, then turns at a right angle to the west, proceeding via a straight line before reaching the San Pedro river; the boundary then follows this river out to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

History

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

began exploring and trading along the West African coast from the 17th century, and the two powers contended for supremacy in the

Senegambia The Senegambia (other names: Senegambia region or Senegambian zone,Barry, Boubacar, ''Senegambia and the Atlantic Slave Trade'', (Editors: David Anderson, Carolyn Brown; trans. Ayi Kwei Armah; contributors: David Anderson, American Council of Le ...

region over the following centuries. In 1821 Britain established a formal

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

on the coast of modern Gambia, threatening nearby French coastal settlements. The 1880s saw an intense competition between the European powers for territories in Africa, a process known as the

Scramble for Africa The Scramble for Africa was the invasion, conquest, and colonialism, colonisation of most of Africa by seven Western European powers driven by the Second Industrial Revolution during the late 19th century and early 20th century in the era of ...

. The process culminated in the

Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 was a meeting of colonial powers that concluded with the signing of the General Act of Berlin,

of 1884, in which the European nations concerned agreed upon their respective territorial claims and the rules of engagements going forward. As a result, France and Britain signed a treaty on 10 August 1889 delimiting a boundary between Gambia and Senegal, extending the Gambia east as far as Yarbutenda. Various pillars were erected to mark the boundary on the ground, with further on-the-ground demarcation being conducted in 1911 and 1925. In 1960 France granted Senegal independence; Gambia became independent in 1965, at which point the border became an international one between two sovereign states. In 1976 the two governments conducted some minor boundary adjustments in the far eastern section by mutual agreement. From 1982 to 1989 the two states were loosely united in the

Senegambia Confederation Senegambia, officially the Senegambia Confederation or Confederation of Senegambia, was a loose confederation in the late 20th century between the West African countries of Senegal and its neighbour The Gambia, which is almost completely sur ...

, however this legal coupling was dissolved by Senegal after Gambia refused to transition towards a closer union.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gambia-Senegal border Borders of the Gambia Borders of Senegal