Gambia Colony and Protectorate

Gambia Colony and Protectorate
1821–1965
Flag Coat of arms
Capital		Bathurst
Languages		English (official) Mandinka, Fula, Wolof widely spoken
Religion		Sunni Islam, Christianity, Serer
Government		Not specified
Monarch
•	1821–1830	George IV (first)
•	1952–1965	Elizabeth II (last)
Governor
•	1829–1830	Alexander Findlay (first)
•	1962–1965	John Warburton Paul (last)
Prime Minister
•	1962–1965	Dawda Jawara
History
•	Establishment	17 October 1821
•	Independence as The Gambia	18 February 1965
Area
•	1965
Population
•	1901 est.	90,404
•	1931 est.	199,520
•	1963 est.	315,486
Currency		pound sterling (to 1912) British West African pound (1912–65)
Succeeded by The Gambia (Commonwealth realm)

The Gambia Colony and Protectorate was part of the British Empire in the New Imperialism era. The colony was the immediate area surrounding Bathurst, and the protectorate the inland territory situated around the Gambia River, which was declared in 1894. 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, however by 1888 it was a colony in its own right with a permanently appointed Governor.

The boundaries of the territory were an issue of contention between the British and French authorities due to the proximity to French Senegal;. this was resolved in 1889. 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 colony ended in 1965 when Gambia became an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations, with Dawda Jawara as Prime Minister.

Economy

The economy of the Gambia, like other African countries at the time, was very heavily orientated towards agriculture. Reliance on the groundnut 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 The 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 and one million lb of dressed poultry a year. The conditions in the Gambia proved unfavourable and typhoid 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, built in World War II. Post war it was used for passenger flights. Both British South American Airways and the British Overseas Airways Corporation had services, the former moving its service to Dakar, 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.

Independence

In anticipation of independence, efforts were made to create internal self-government. The 1960 Constitution created a partly elected House of Representatives, 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 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 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 and Gambian Governments in July 1964, Gambia became independent on 18 February 1965.

See also

• British West Africa
• History of the Gambia

External links

• Britishempire.co.uk: Gambia
• Worldstatesmen.org: Gambia