On 18 February, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, on behalf of the Queen, formally granted the country independence with Prime Minister Jawara representing the Gambia. Elections were held in 1962, with Jawara's Progressive Party securing a majority of the elected seats. The only Europeans were traders who existed in a few settlements on the river banks, such as Pisania. They were to exploit the Rivers Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Sherbro.This group of adventurers enjoyed these rights for only a year, when, on the expiration of their lease, they reverted to the Royal African Company, which had purchased the rights and property of the Royal Adventurers six years earlier. The colony was governed by the Executive Council primarily, but legislation came from the Legislative Council. Jammeh's refusal to step down led to a constitutional crisis and the intervention of ECOWAS forces. We kept the imperialists at bay, but it wasnât enough. So hardly anybody remembers Christiansborg and the Danish East India Company in the Gold Coast, the Danish West Indies (now Virgin Islands), Danish East Indies or Tranqebat and Greenlan. The first written records of the region come from Arab traders in the 9th and 10th centuries. [4], In 1677, the French wrested the island of Gorée from the Dutch. In the early 17th century, the French attempted to settle the Gambia but failed. The first Europeans to visit the Gambia River were the Portuguese in the 15th century, who attempted to settle on the river banks, but no settlement of significant size was established. Descendants of the Portuguese settlers remained until the 18th century. 1677 saw the beginning of a century-and-a-half-long struggle between the English and French for supremacy over the Gambia and Senegal. [9] Fattatenda and the surrounding district was ceded in 1829. An attempt was made in 1662 by the Dutch West India Company to gain possession of the fort. The further Portuguese settlement up the river was at Setuku near Fattatenda. The Gambia Colony and Protectorate was the British colonial administration of the Gambia from 1821 to 1965, part of the British Empire in the New Imperialism era. The visit hardened his views against British colonial rule. [5], After the Portuguese throne was seized by Philip II in 1580, a number of Portuguese sought refuge in England. During World War II, the Gambia Company was raised to a regiment, and notably fought in the Burma Campaign in the latter years of the war. In 1821, the Royal African Company was dissolved by Act of Parliament and the Gambia was placed under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Sierra Leone. Probably, as a result, an ivory-carving industry developed in Dieppe after 1364. Answer. The British colonized the Gambia. It fought in the Burma campaign and served for some time under the command of Antony Read, later the Quartermaster-General to the Forces. 3 4 5. At the end of the year, the Adventurers dispatched an expedition to the Gambia under the command of Robert Holmes, who had been with Prince Rupert in the Gambia in 1652. At the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the French recognised the right of the English to James Island and their settlements on the River Gambia. According to some historians, French merchants from the Normandy cities of Dieppe and Rouen traded with the Gambia and Senegal coasts, and with the Ivory Coast and the Gold Coast, between 1364 and 1413. Pierre Sarr N'Jie served as Chief Minister from 1961 to 1962, though following the 1962 election Dawda Jawara became Prime Minister, beginning the People's Progressive Party's dominance of Gambian politics for the next thirty years. Groundnuts were the only commodity subject to export duties;[5] these export duties resulted in the illegal smuggling of the product to French Senegal. On 6 April 2017 parliamentary elections were held, which saw the victory of Barrow's United Democratic Party, scoring 37,47% and winning 31 of the 53 seats of the National Assembly. After a constitutional referendum in August, presidential and parliamentary elections were held. Author has 5.2K answers and 1.3M answer views. The first Europeans to visit the Gambia River were the Portuguesein the 15th century, who attempted to settle on the river banks, but no settlement of significant size was established. Gambia was colonised by the Portugese and Gambia comes ⦠It had some success, with Small founding the first Gambian trade union, the Bathurst Trade Union, in 1929. Like many African countries that were colonised by the British, Ethiopiaâs educational system strongly privileges the English language. Further English expeditions from 1618 to 1621, including under Richard Jobson, were attempted but resulted in huge losses.