By Elena Müller On April 18, 2026, as the dry season blankets Gambia in golden light, Kunta Kinteh Island emerges as a must-visit Unesco World Heritage site just a short boat ride from Banjul. This small island in the Gambia River, once known as James Island, bears witness to centuries of African history intertwined with […]
By Hatab Fadera It’s almost certain that veteran opposition leader Ousainu Darboe will emerge as UDP’s candidate for the 2026 presidential elections. This became even clearer today after KM Mayor Talib Bensouda withdrew his candidacy for the party’s ticket. Talib was seen as the only viable challenge to Darboe. And with his withdrawal and resignation […]
As an international media blitz focused world attention on the tragedy of a million Rwandan refugees in camps in Zaire over the weekend of July 22, Gambians at home and abroad were captivated by the unfolding of the most profound event in our national affairs: the declaration of a military takeover on July 23. Even […]
Have you ever wondered about the history of British colonialism in Africa? Specifically, which territories in West Africa were once under British control? Well, you’re not alone! As someone interested in African history and geopolitics, you probably know that several countries in that region were colonised by the British during the “Scramble for Africa” in […]
In our High School history syllabus, we are told that the abolition of the Atlantic Slave Trade in British empire in 1807 came largely as a sresult of the activism of humanitarians like William Wilberforce, Granville Sharpe, Thomas Clarkson, Hannah Moore who wrote and petitioned against the inhuman trade in Africans. In our history classes, […]
I suddenly woke up from my slumber, the historical date was on Saturday, 18 February, 2023, The Gambia’s 58th Independence Anniversary, I was thrilled to bits and very excited, the great day has finally arrived, “a journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step”, as poetry teaches us. Historical MacCarthy Square was the […]
Fatoumatta Jobe, who is translating Wolof fables into English, wears bright green while looking off camera in a library entry way. As part of her honours thesis, Fatoumatta Jobe 23 has translated about 30 stories from Wolof into English. “There are so many. They’re only being told orally, and people are dying,” she says. “How […]
A life under colonial occupation, exploitation and repression. A mostly negotiated freedom. A squandered future. That is the story of African independence. Yet, some sixty years later, every year all across the continent, governments preside over glamorous and expensive ceremonies celebrating “victory” over colonial rule. The reality is that with a few exceptions, African countries […]
Part 3&4 In the end, the deaths that would have occurred in the bowels of the slave ships on the Voyage of No Return, did mature on the island. They were in my opinion wrongly classified as Liberated Africans because they had no liberty on the island. They were simply traded from one master to […]
In the end, the deaths that would have occurred in the bowels of the slave ships on the Voyage of No Return, did mature on the island. They were in my opinion wrongly classified as Liberated Africans because they had no liberty on the island. They were simply traded from one master to another as […]
For as long as men committed to memory, it has almost always been the case that those who wielded power over others, tended to abuse the relationship by carving out certain privileges for themselves and in extreme situations, have forced others especially the weaker ones, to serfdom. Enslavement became a norm and practiced in almost […]
Gambian chiefs in colonial rule (1894-1965) Excerpt Chapter 3: Chiefs in Gambian Politics (1947-1965) Background Chiefs’ involvement in Gambian nationalist politics started only in 1947, following the enlargement of the Legislative Council, which was an advisory and law-making body chaired by the Governor. Prior to 1947, the Protectorate was completely left out of politics; Bathurst […]
This dictum has been with us for years now as to how our country called initially Gambia and later The Gambia came about. It appears that our Independence Instruments referred to us as The Gambia to differentiate us from the independent state of Zambia. The story goes that when a group of European adventurers landed […]