Gambia Colony and Protectorate
The Gambia, 1821–1965. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Gambia Colony and Protectorate was the British colonial administration of The Gambia from 1821 to 1965. The colony was the immediate area surrounding Bathurst (now Banjul), and the protectorate was the inland territory situated around the Gambia River, which was declared in 1894. The foundation of the colony was Fort James and Bathurst, where British presence was established in 1815 and 1816, respectively. Following agreements between the British and Gambian governments in July 1964, The Gambia became independent on 18 February 1965.
Seat of power: Banjul
Rulers
Charles Fitzgerald
Governor of the Gambia, 1844–1847
He was an officer in the British Royal Navy and Governor of The Gambia from 1844 until 1847, then Governor of Western Australia from 1848 to 1855. While in the naval service Fitzgerald was assigned to the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron which was tasked with interdicting the Atlantic slave trade, where he served with distinction. In 1844 Fitzgerald was appointed as the colonial governor of British Gambia.
Portrait of Charles Fitzgerald: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Richard MacDonnell
Governor of the Gambia, 1847–1851
On 20 July 1843, he was appointed to the new post of Chief Justice of the Gambia. On 1 October 1847, he was appointed Governor of the British settlements in Gambia, a post he held for a further four years. His expeditions opened up the interior of Africa from the Gambia River to the Senegal River.
Portrait of Richard MacDonnell: Melbourne Photographic Company, Public domain, file
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Luke O'Connor
Governor of the Gambia, 1852–1859
He served as Governor of the Gambia from 1852 to 1859. In September 1852, O'Connor was appointed as Governor of the Gambia, and was invested with command of all British troops in West Africa. He played a key role in the Soninke-Marabout War and commanded a force of the West India Regiments, black pensioners of those regiments, and the Gambia Militia, against Marabout rebels in the neighboring Kingdom of Kombo in 1853.
Portrait of Luke O'Connor: William Walker Whitehall Johnston, Public domain, file
George Abbas Kooli D'Arcy
Governor of the Gambia, 1859–1866
He was governor of the Gambia from 1859 to 1866. A yellow fever epidemic was raging when D'Arcy arrived in Bathurst in September 1859, but his appeals for extra funding to improve sanitation in the colony were unsuccessful. D'Arcy led a military expedition against the kingdom of Baddibu in 1861, thereby precipitating the rise to power of Ma Bah Diakhou, with whom D'Arcy was forced to sign a friendship treaty in February 1863.
Portrait of George Abbas Kooli D'Arcy: Louis William Desanges, Public domain, file
George Chardin Denton
Governor of the Gambia, 1901–1911
He served as the Administrator, and later Governor, of the Gambia from 1900 to 1911. In March 1901, his position was upgraded from Administrator to Governor, the first Governor of the Gambia since 1866. As Governor, Denton completed the work began by his predecessor, Robert Baxter Llewelyn, in establishing the framework of British rule in the Protectorate.
Portrait of George Chardin Denton: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Henry Galway
Governor of the Gambia, 1911–1914
He was a British Army officer who served as the Governor of South Australia from 18 April 1914 to 30 April 1920. He was transferred to be governor of the Gambia in 1911.
Portrait of Henry Galway: Hammer & Co, Public domain, file
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Edward John Cameron
Governor of the Gambia, 1914–1920
He was a British colonial administrator who served as governor of the Gambia from February 1914 to 1920. During his time in the Gambia, he instigated the first colonial investigation into the behaviour of Travelling Commissioner J K McCallum and his relationship with Fatou Khan.
Portrait of Edward John Cameron: Colonial Records Office, Public domain, file
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Cecil Hamilton Armitage
Governor of the Gambia, 1921–1927
He was a British colonial officer who served as Governor of the Gambia from 1920 to 1927. He established the Armitage School and the Gambia Department of Agriculture.
Edward Brandis Denham
Governor of the Gambia, 1928–1930
He served as Governor of the Gambia from 1928 to 1930. He became Governor of the Gambia in November 1928, finding it hard to deal with the general strike called by the Bathurst Trade Union in late 1929. In January 1930 he left the Gambia to become Governor of British Guiana.
Herbert Richmond Palmer
Governor of the Gambia, 1930–1934
In September 1930, Palmer was promoted to governor and Commander-in-Chief of The Gambia. In 1931 he was called upon to deal with a serious outbreak of rinderpest and pleuropneumonia among the native cattle.
Portrait of Herbert Richmond Palmer: Huguº, CC BY-SA 3.0, file
Thomas Southorn
Governor of the Gambia, 1936–1942
He spent most of his career in Ceylon before serving as Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong, then Governor of The Gambia. He was made Governor of the Gambia in 1936 and left in March 1942.
Portrait of Thomas Southorn: The original uploader was Clithering at Chinese Wikipedia.Unknown, owned by the Hong Kong Government, Public domain, file
Hilary Rudolph Robert Blood
Governor of the Gambia, 1942–1947
He served as the Governor of the Gambia from 1942 to 1947, the Governor of Barbados from 1947 to 1949, and the Governor of Mauritius from 1949 to 1954. His administration was responsible for drawing up plans of how the Colonial Development and Welfare Act funds were to be spent.
Portrait of Hilary Rudolph Robert Blood: The National Archives UK - Flickr account, OGL v1.0, file
Percy Wyn-Harris
Governor of the Gambia, 1949–1958
He worked in the Colonial Service in Africa and served as Governor of the Gambia from 1949 to 1958. His time in office coincided with a growth of nationalist sentiment in West Africa. He was also opposed to the development of political parties in the Gambia.
Edward Windley
Governor of the Gambia, 1958–1962
He served as Governor of the Gambia from 12 June 1958 to 29 March 1962. On 29 September 1959, a revised constitution drawn up by Windley was published. It established the House of Representatives of the Gambia, to replace the Legislative Council.
John Warburton Paul
Governor of the Gambia, 1962–1965
He was the final Governor of the Gambia, serving from 1962 to 1965. He served until that country's independence in February 1965, and became its first Governor-General.
Culture
- The boundaries of the territory were an issue of contention between the British and French authorities due to the proximity to French Senegal.
- Reliance on the groundnut became so strong that it made up almost the entirety of exports, making the economy vulnerable.
- The colony was governed by the Executive Council primarily, but legislation came from the Legislative Council.
- The 1960 Constitution created a partly elected House of Representatives, with 19 elected members and 8 chosen by the chiefs.
Picture
Kunta Kinteh Island is an island in the Gambia River that is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as an important historical site in the West African slave trade.
Image: Jose Canedo, CC BY-SA 1.0, file
Sources
- Gambia Colony and Protectorate (Wikipedia)
- Gambia Colony and Protectorate (Wikidata)
- About the picture (Wikipedia)
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.