Unlike many other African National flags, the horizontally striped flag adopted by Gambia at independence is not based on the colours of the leading political party. Instead it is said to represent the subtropical sun (red) the River Gambia (blue) that flows through the country and the dense mangroves, oil-palm, cedar and mahogany forests (green) that grow along the river.
Gambia's history
Gambia, Africa's smallest country, was once part of the Muslim, gold-trading Mali Empire, which flourished in West Africa from the 7th to the 15th Centries, until the Portuguese arrived in the region in 1455 and began slave trading. They bought cloth, beads, mirrors and liquor to sell which they exchanged for gold dust, hides, ivory and slaves. They built trading stations
along the estuary of the River Gambia and on the banks of the Bintang Creek. The Duke of Courland, a Latvian, was interested in the trade
along The river Gambia. In 1651 the Duchy gained its first colony in Africa, St.
Andrews Island up The Gambia River and established a fort there. The main
export goods were ivory, gold, furs, spices. Soon, in 1652, another colony was
established in Tobago Island, British West Indies. Courland is the southern most
province of modern day Latvia. During the late 16th Centry the slave trade was taken over by the British who established trading posts on the Gambia River. They captured the fort in 1661 and the island bacame known as Fort
James or James Island, after James Duke of York. (Pictured Right) This island is located
west of Dog island up the River Gambia. The company used this fort as a
trading base, first for gold and ivory then for slaves like Kunta Kinteh
portrayed in the movie "ROOTS" (Pictured Left) on the North bank of the river
from Fort James to Jufureh . The governor of James island forced all foreign
(non-English) ships entering the River Gambia to pay taxes on their goods.Ships
that tried to evade the taxes were fired upon with canons. In 1695, Fort James was taken by the French after a battle with the English
sailors. It was returned in 1697 and then captured again in 1702. On the 25'th March 1807, the Royal accent was
given to a bill which prescribed that from January 1'st 1808 all manners
of dealing and trading of Slaves in Africa or in their transportation from
Africa to any other place was to be utterly abolished, prohibited and declared
to be unlawful and enacted penalties for dealing in slaves. The act was
promptly enforced by the British Navy as soon as it came into operation.
The majority of British slavers found it impossible to escape the vigilance
of British cruisers and thought a few bold spirits endeavored for a few
years to risk the possibility of capture, the increased penalties prescribed
by an amending act of 1811 more or less effectively put an end to British
speculation mal practices in Slave Trade. Having become a British colony in 1843, Gambia gained self-government in 1963 achieving full independence within the Commonwealth of Nations in 1965. A republic was declared in 1970 when an elected President replaced the British Monarch as the offical head of state.
Before the arrival of the Portuguese, there was no written history of West Africa.
The historians were known as Griots who told the story their way. They
relied mostly on memory to recite history of families, clans or tribes.
Kotu and Serrekunda
Kotu is an area along the Atlantic ocean, which is the west side of Gambia. It is located along Badala Parkway between Fajara and Kololi, about 13km from the city of Banjul. The population is about 12,000 people. It was an area of mostly unused wasteland but over the past few years has quickly undergone a conversion to tourism, which is still growing as Hotel building sites are popping up along Badala Parkway all the time. The Gambia attracts a lot of tourists between October and May every year with Kotu being one of the most popular areas. It boasts lavish hotels such as Kombo Beach and Bungalow Beach situated on Kotu Strand. (Pictured Right) There are five hotels in Kotu although the more authentic and livelier hotels in this area are down the road in Kololi. There is one junior and senior school, a lower basic school and about 3 or 4 nursery schools in the area. There are a few small markets, a Police Station, Fire Station and a Post Office. On the beach there are craft markets and an exchange bureau.
Unlike Kotu, Serrekunda is the sprawling suburb of ever-growing Banjul. In fact it can be considered as the busiest town in The Gambia. Its market (Pictured Left and Below) is the busy business centre where all sorts of people come from all over the Country to do their work. The market structure is owned and controlled by the Kanifing Municipal Council and is divided into several sections which include: an area for textiles, a big section for vegetables, a cooking area, craft markets and other food stalls. Tourism can be regarded as the second leading source of income for the Gambia. The reason being that so many people earn a living from tourism. It creates employment opportunities for families in the tourism development area. This includes jobs in hotels, taxi drivers, craft market workers, restaurants, and a general increase in items bought from the markets. Many tourists also contribute greatly to the life and welfare of many people, ranging from sponsoring needy students, building houses for poor people, sponsoring of educational material, and building schools.
Unlike many other African National flags, the horizontally striped flag adopted by Gambia at independence is not based on the colours of the leading political party. Instead it is said to represent the subtropical sun (red) the River Gambia (blue) that flows through the country and the dense mangroves, oil-palm, cedar and mahogany forests (green) that grow along the river.
The Duke of Courland, a Latvian, was interested in the trade
along The river Gambia. In 1651 the Duchy gained its first colony in Africa, St.
Andrews Island up The Gambia River and established a fort there. The main
export goods were ivory, gold, furs, spices. Soon, in 1652, another colony was
established in Tobago Island, British West Indies. Courland is the southern most
province of modern day Latvia.
During the late 16th Centry the slave trade was taken over by the British who established trading posts on the Gambia River. They captured the fort in 1661 and the island bacame known as Fort
J
ames or James Island, after James Duke of York. (Pictured Right) This island is located
west of Dog island up the River Gambia. The company used this fort as a
trading base, first for gold and ivory then for slaves like Kunta Kinteh
portrayed in the movie "ROOTS" (Pictured Left) on the North bank of the river
from Fort James to Jufureh . The governor of James island forced all foreign
(non-English) ships entering the River Gambia to pay taxes on their goods.Ships
that tried to evade the taxes were fired upon with canons.
Kotu is an area along the Atlantic ocean, which is the west side of Gambia. It is located along Badala Parkway between Fajara and Kololi, about 13km from the city of Banjul. The population is about 12,000 people. It was an area of mostly unused wasteland but over the past few years has quickly undergone a conversion to tourism, which is still growing as Hotel building sites are popping up along Badala Parkway all the time. The Gambia attracts a lot of tourists between October and May every year with Kotu being one of the most popular areas. It boasts lavish hotels such as Kombo Beach and Bungalow Beach situated on Kotu Strand. (Pictured Right) There are five hotels in Kotu although the more authentic and livelier hotels in this area are down the road in Kololi.
Unlike Kotu, Serrekunda is the sprawling suburb of ever-growing Banjul.
