History of the Gambia 69670 225670662 2008-07-14T20:46:56Z 64.230.110.176 The modern-day '''[[The Gambia|Gambia]]''' was once part of the [[Empire of Ghana|Ghana]] and [[Songhai Empire]]s. The first written accounts of the region come from records of [[Arab]] traders in the [[9th century|9th]] and [[10th century|10th]] centuries AD, who established the [[trans-Saharan trade]] route for [[slavery|slaves]], [[gold]], and [[ivory]]. In the [[15th century]], the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] took over this trade using maritime routes. At that time, The Gambia was part of the [[Mali Empire]]. [[Image:James Island and Fort Gambia.jpg|thumb|250px|A map of James Island and Fort Gambia]] In [[1588]], the claimant to the Portuguese throne, [[Antonio, 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]], King [[James I of England|James I]] granted a charter to a British company for trade with The Gambia and the [[Gold Coast (British colony)|Gold Coast]] (now Ghana). Between [[1651]] and [[1661]] part of Gambia was (indirectly) a colony of [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]]; it was purchased by the [[Duchy of Courland|Courland]]ish duke [[Jakub Kettler]]. At that time [[Courland]], in modern-day [[Latvia]], was a fiefdom of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Courlanders settled on [[James Island (The Gambia)|James Island]], which they called St. Andrews Island and used as a trade base from 1651 until its capture by the English in 1661. During the late [[17th century|17th]] and throughout the [[18th century]], [[England]] and [[France]] constantly struggled for political and commercial supremacy in the regions of the [[Senegal River|Senegal]] and [[Gambia River]]s. The 1783 [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]] gave [[Great Britain]] possession of The Gambia, but the French retained a tiny enclave at [[Albreda]] on the north bank of the river, which was ceded to the [[United Kingdom]] in [[1857]]. [[Image:Stamp Gambia 1880 0.5p.jpg|thumb|100px|An 1880 stamp from Gambia]] As many as 3 million [[slavery|slave]]s may have been taken from the region during the three centuries that the transatlantic slave trade operated. It is not known how many slaves were taken by Arab traders prior to and simultaneous with the transatlantic slave trade. Most of those taken were sold to Europeans by other [[Africa]]ns; some were prisoners of intertribal wars; some were sold because of unpaid debts, while others were kidnapped. Slaves were initially sent to Europe to work as servants until the market for labor expanded in the [[West Indies]] and [[North America]] in the 18th century. In [[1807]], 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 [[1888]], The Gambia became a separate colonial entity. An [[1889]] agreement with France established the present boundaries, and The Gambia became a [[British Crown Colony]], divided for administrative purposes into the colony (city of Banjul and the surrounding area) and the protectorate (remainder of the territory). The Gambia received its own executive and legislative councils in 1901 and gradually progressed toward self-government. A 1906 ordinance abolished slavery. During [[World War II]], Gambian troops fought with the [[Allies]] in [[Burma]]. Banjul served as an air stop for the [[U.S. Army Air Corps]] and a port of call for Allied naval convoys. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt stopped overnight in Banjul en route to and from the [[Casablanca Conference]] in [[1943]], marking the first visit to the African Continent by an American president while in office. After WWII, the pace of constitutional reform increased. 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 of Nations|Commonwealth]]. Shortly thereafter, the government held a referendum proposing that an elected president replace the [[Commonwealth realm|Gambian monarch]] as [[head of state]]. The referendum failed to receive the two-thirds majority required to amend the constitution, but the results won widespread attention abroad as testimony to The Gambia's observance of secret balloting, honest elections, and civil rights and liberties. On [[April 24]], [[1970]], The Gambia became a republic within the Commonwealth, following a second referendum, with Prime Minister Sir [[Dawda Kairaba Jawara]], as head of state. [[Image:1994gambiamemorial.jpg|thumb|Arch 22 monument, a memorial of the 1994 coup]] Until a military coup in July [[1994]], The Gambia was led by President Jawara, who was re-elected five times. The relative stability of the Jawara era was shattered first by a coup attempt in [[1981]]. The coup was led by [[Kukoi Samba Sanyang]], who, on two occasions, had unsuccessfully sought election to Parliament. After a week of violence which left several hundred people dead, Jawara, in London when the attack began, appealed to [[Senegal]] for help. Senegalese troops defeated the rebel force. In the aftermath of the attempted coup, Senegal and The Gambia signed the [[1982]] [[Treaty of Confederation]]. The [[Senegambia Confederation]] came into existence; it aimed eventually to combine the armed forces of the two states and to unify their economies and currencies. The Gambia withdrew from the confederation in [[1989]]. In July 1994, [[Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh]] led a coup d'état that deposed the Jawara government. Between 1994 and 1996, Jammeh ruled as head of the [[Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council]] (AFPRC) and banned opposition political activity. The AFPRC announced a transition plan for a return to democratic civilian rule, establishing the Provisional Independent Electoral Commission ([[Provisional Independent Electoral Commission|PIEC]]) in [[1996]] to conduct national elections. After a constitutional referendum (in August), [[Gambian presidential election, 1996|presidential]] and [[Gambian parliamentary election, 1997|parliamentary]] elections were held. Jammeh was sworn into office as president on [[November 6]], 1996. The following year, the PIEC transformed into the Independent Electoral Commission ([[Independent Electoral Commission (Gambia)|IEC]]) on [[April 17]]. Jammeh has won both the [[Gambian presidential election, 2001|2001]] and [[Gambian presidential election, 2006|2006]] elections. He is up for re-election in [[Gambian presidential election, 2011|2011]]. [[China]] cut ties with The Gambia in [[1995]] after the latter recognized [[Taiwan]] as an independent state. The Gambia accepted a non-permanent seat on the [[UN Security Council]] from [[1998]] to [[1999]]. ==External links== *[http://www.accessgambia.com/information/history.html Gambian History - 12 Sections ] *[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5459.htm Background Note: The Gambia] *[http://www.historyofnations.net/africa/gambia.html History of The Gambia] ==See also== *[[History of Africa]] *[[History of West Africa]] {{History of Africa}} {{Territories of the British Empire}} [[Category:National histories|Gambia, The]] [[Category:History of The Gambia| ]] [[ca:Història de Gàmbia]] [[de:Geschichte Gambias]] [[es:Historia de Gambia]] [[fr:Histoire de la Gambie]] [[it:Storia del Gambia]] [[pt:História da Gâmbia]] [[ro:Istoria Gambiei]] [[vec:Storia del Gambia]]