The Gambia’s hidden history: how a tiny river basin influenced colonial trade and slavery

The Gambia’s hidden history: how a tiny river basin influenced colonial trade and slavery

The Gambia is often portrayed as little more than a geographical oddity, a strip of land engulfed by its much larger neighbour Senegal. It was once the centre of Senegambia, administered by Britain between 1765 and 1779. But there is another way of looking at it which reveals its importance and adds to current reflections on reparations for slavery. Pape Chérif Bertrand Bassène has studied the history of The Gambia and southern Senegal. He argue…