The British Empire first occupied the Gambia when an expedition led by Augustus Keppel landed there, following the Capture of Senegal in 1758.
As many as three million slaves may have been taken from this general region where Gambia is today during the three centuries that the transatlantic slave trade operated.
The African Kunta Kinte was brought as a slave from Gambia to Virginia in 1767. The story of Kinte is the basis of American writer Alex Haley's novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family, which was made into a popular TV mini-series in 1977.
The Gambia broke away from British rule on February 18, 1965. It became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, with Dawda Jawara as the first President five years later.
On October 2, 2013, the Gambian interior minister announced that the Gambia would leave the Commonwealth of Nations with immediate effect, ending 48 years of membership of the organisation. The country's president said the British had taught them nothing except how to sing "Baa, Baa Black Sheep" and "God Save the Queen."
The blue band on the Gambian flag represents the river that gives the country its name.
In 1964, the prime minister of The Gambia said that one of the reasons they like to have ‘The’ in their name is to avoid confusion with Zambia.
Gambia has an area of 4,127 sq miles. It is the smallest country on mainland Africa and is slightly smaller than the English county of Yorkshire.
The Bahamas and The Gambia are the only countries whose official names ought to begin with “The”.
The only country with which The Gambia has a border is Senegal.
The official title of The Gambian president is Sheikh Professor Doctor President.
People cast their votes in elections in The Gambia by dropping stones in holes.
The national football team of The Gambia is nicknamed The Scorpions.
The Gambian national sport is a form of wrestling known as ‘Borreh’.
About a third of the population lives below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day.
Source Daily Express
As many as three million slaves may have been taken from this general region where Gambia is today during the three centuries that the transatlantic slave trade operated.
The African Kunta Kinte was brought as a slave from Gambia to Virginia in 1767. The story of Kinte is the basis of American writer Alex Haley's novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family, which was made into a popular TV mini-series in 1977.
The Gambia broke away from British rule on February 18, 1965. It became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, with Dawda Jawara as the first President five years later.
On October 2, 2013, the Gambian interior minister announced that the Gambia would leave the Commonwealth of Nations with immediate effect, ending 48 years of membership of the organisation. The country's president said the British had taught them nothing except how to sing "Baa, Baa Black Sheep" and "God Save the Queen."
The blue band on the Gambian flag represents the river that gives the country its name.
In 1964, the prime minister of The Gambia said that one of the reasons they like to have ‘The’ in their name is to avoid confusion with Zambia.
Gambia has an area of 4,127 sq miles. It is the smallest country on mainland Africa and is slightly smaller than the English county of Yorkshire.
The Bahamas and The Gambia are the only countries whose official names ought to begin with “The”.
The only country with which The Gambia has a border is Senegal.
The official title of The Gambian president is Sheikh Professor Doctor President.
People cast their votes in elections in The Gambia by dropping stones in holes.
The national football team of The Gambia is nicknamed The Scorpions.
The Gambian national sport is a form of wrestling known as ‘Borreh’.
About a third of the population lives below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day.
Source Daily Express
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