The Gambia
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 Sarahule. Approximately 3,500 non-Africans live in
The Gambia, including Europeans and families of Lebanese origin.
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. |
|
The Gambia was once part of the Ghana Empire and the Songhai Empire.
The first written accounts of the region come from records of Arab
traders in the 9th and 10th centuries A.D. Arab traders established
the trans-Saharan trade route for slaves, gold, and ivory. In the
15th century, the Portuguese took over this trade using maritime
routes. At that time, The Gambia was part of the Kingdom of Mali.
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 granted a charter to a British
company for trade with The Gambia and the Gold Coast (now Ghana).
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, 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.
As many as 3 million slaves 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 Africans; 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 traffic 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 World War II, 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 British
Commonwealth. Shortly thereafter, the government proposed conversion
from a monarchy to a republic with an elected president replacing
the British monarch as chief of state. The proposal 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 following a referendum.
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. 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
dead, President 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 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'etat, 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 transition process included the compilation of a new
electoral register, adoption of a new constitution by referendum in
August 1996, and presidential and legislative elections in September
1996 and January 1997, respectively. Foreign observers did not deem
these elections free and fair. Retired Col. Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh was
sworn into office as President of the Republic of The Gambia in
November 1996. 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. President Jammeh was re-elected for a third
five-year term on September 22, 2006 with 67% of the vote. The UDP
received 27% of the vote, and instead of boycotting future
elections, vowed to take part in the 2007 National Assembly
elections. In the January 2007 parliamentary elections the ruling
Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) won 42
of the available 48 elected seats. |
|
