During the 18th and 19th centuries, there were protracted wars between the Islamic Marabouts and the Pagan Soninkis. The British, who already established themselves at Banjul by this time, offered protection to the various chiefs during these conflicts, and through treaties, soon brought The Gambia region under their control.

Before the British, some Portuguese had come to The Gambia following the expeditions promoted by Prince Henry starting in 1455. They had introduced groundnuts, tie main cash crop of today, cotton, and some tropical fruits from Brazil. Their number, however, was never large and they, were soon absorbed by intermarriage.

The British started trading with the Gambians in 1587, and within a few decades had explored the River. They traded as business companies and ruled the area from their fort on James Island until 1765, when the Gambia was made a part of the British colony of SeneGambia with its headquarters at St. Louis. When in 1807, slave trading was abolished, James Island was used to check and stop the illicit traffic in slaves. In 1816, Captain Alexander Grant obtained the sandy bank of Banjul Island by a treaty from the Chief of Kombo and built the planned city of Bathurst, now renamed Banjul. Bathurst already had a civilian population of 700 by 1818, the year that civil government was begun. The Gambia was administered as a crown colony from Sierra Leone between 1821 and 1892, but since then Banjul (Bathurst) has been its capital.

3. LAND AND PEOPLE
Named after The River Gambia which flows through its length from East to West for three hundred miles, The Gambia .a relatively small country in West Africa. Its population of 1.2 million lives within a narrow belt extending from either side of The River Gambia.

The principal ethnic groups are the Wollofs and the Mandinkas the former living mainly in the capital city of Banjul, while the latter constitute the single largest tribal unit of The Gambia. These ethnic groups are reminiscent of the former Empire of the Wollofs in the Senegambian Region and the famous Mandingo Empire of Mali and Songhai. In addition there are the light-skinned and straight-haired Fulas and the trading Sarahuleys. Another group, the Akus or Creoles, are an important segment of the local elite; there are some Mauritanians, Morrocans and Lebanese, mostly traders and shopkeepers. The Gambians are usually tall, dark and sturdy people with fine features and an easy going charm. Each ethnic group speaks its own language, but English is commonly spoken as well as being the official language of the country. There not only is harmony between the different groups, but a fusion is taking place by cultural interaction and intermarriage, to an extent that the Gambia can be called a melting pot of West African ethnic groups where a modern composite African is being evolved.

4. The River

A major attraction for the visitor to The Gambia, this great West African River rises in the Futa Jallon highlands nearly a thousand river miles away in the Republic of Guinea. It crosses Eastern Senegal before entering Gambian territory some 300 miles (480 Kilometers) inland. In The Gambia, The River is the dominating features and provides both a useful means of transportation and irrigation as well as a rich ground for fishing, boating and sailing.

The River Gambia is several miles wide at its mouth near Cape St. Mary and has a bar with a depth of 27 feet (8. 1 Meters) . It narrows to three miles (4.8 Kilometers) at Banjul where the ferry to Barra operates. Ocean-going vessels up to about 3,000 gross registered (241 Kilometers) to Kuntaur. The River is also navigable to steamers for 140 miles (225 Kilometers) farther upstream.

For the first 80 Miles (129 kilometers) inland from Banjul, The River Gambia is fringed with mangrove-covered banks, which give way to red ironstone cliffs crowned with a tangle of green vegetation. Farther up River, the ironstone cliffs give way to banks of waving grass and parklands. The whole River and the numerous creeks (locally known as 'Bolons') which join it, are fascinating to the bird lover and the student of nature: Hippopotami, Crocodiles and Dog-faced baboons are often seen.

In the past, The River's fame lay in the fact that, for sailing vessels, it was navigable at least as far as the country's eastern boundary; It is one of the finest waterways in West Africa. More recently, it has become the target for government development plans including an extension to the Port of Banjul. Fisheries development, Hydrological Surveys, a rice development project and even a feasibility survey for a bridge-barrage building program at the Trans-Gambia Ferry crossing near Farafenni. The Bridge-Barrage Project is to be a joint venture by the Senegalese and Gambian Governments.

In addition to Ferries, ships and cutters loaded with groundnuts, the country's main export crop, can be seen plying up and down the River, and dugout canoes used by fishermen are also a common sight, Their existence-,. however, does not diminish the serene, tranquil beauty of the Great River flowing majestically westward into the Atlantic Ocean. Like there forerunners, the men-of-war and the slave ships which fought battles and went this way in years, these river craft only add to the Gambia's colourful beauty.
 

The Gambia is generally recognized as having perhaps the most agreeable climate in West Africa. The weather is subtropical with distinct dry (7 Months) and Rainy seasons.