GAMBIA, THE, HISTORY OF

history of the area from precolonial times to the present. Additional reading Historical information may be found in J.M. Gray, A History of the Gambia (1940, reissued 1966); Harry A. Gailey, A History of The Gambia (1964), and Historical Dictionary of The Gambia, 2nd ed. (1987); Charlotte A. Quinn, Mandingo Kingdoms of the Senegambia (1972); and S.A. Bakarr, The Gambia Yesterday, 14471979 (1980), a historical chronology. For bibliographic information, see David P. Gamble (comp.), The Gambia (1988). Harry A. Gailey The economy Agriculture The Gambia can be described as a classic monoculture; peanuts are the only valuable crop. Land is cleared by the slash-and-burn technique, but farmers practice conservation. Most land is held in common by the villagers. There is a sharp division of labour, with men involved in planting, cultivating, and harvesting cash crops. Women cultivate subsistence crops such as cassava, yams, eggplant, tomatoes, and lentils. There are citrus orchards in the western area near Banjul. The Gambian economy is based upon peanuts, the main cash crop and the source of most governmental revenue. Production has increased steadily with the wider use of fertilizers and ox-drawn equipment and the introduction of better seeds. In order to diversify the economy the government has encouraged the production of rice. A pilot scheme was begun in the mid-1960s to introduce plantation oil palm production. Stock farming, always a factor in the Fulani culture, has also received government support. The drought years of the 1970s and '80s seriously damaged agricultural production, particularly upriver. Fishing There is some potential for commercial fishing offshore and in the river. Most Gambians are not fishermen, and those who are have been handicapped by inadequate equipment. The government has loaned small amounts for the purchase of motorized fishing boats and the construction of smoke huts for the processing of bonga (shad, or West African herring), which is exported to other western African states. The land Relief The Gambia River is the country's dominant feature, flowing across a plateau of Miocene-Pliocene sandstone, compacted sediment composed predominantly of quartz grains formed from 23.7 to 1.6 million years ago. In the east, narrow valleys are separated by broad interfluves or flattish hills. In the west, lower and smaller sand hills alternate with depressions filled in with sand so that a flat plain is formed. Climate The climate is of the drier tropical type, characterized by a short and intense rainy season occurring between June and October and by a longer dry season. Near the coast the rainy season lasts longer and the rainfall is heavier, diminishing eastward. At Yundum the average annual rainfall is about 51 inches (1,300 millimetres) and the mean monthly temperature is 77 F (25 C), while at Basse Santa Su, about 270 miles inland, the comparable figures are 43 inches and 82 F (28 C). The relative humidity is high but drops from December to April, when the dry northeastern wind known as the harmattan is dominant. The people The river basin was a focal point for migrating groups of people escaping the turmoil of western Sudanic wars dating from the 12th century. The Diola (Jola) are the people longest resident in the country; they are now located mostly in western Gambia. The largest group is the Malinke (Mandingo), comprising about two-fifths of the population. The Wolof are the largest population group in Banjul. Nomadic Fulani (Fula) settled the extreme upriver areas, and their kingdom, Fuladu, became a major power. The Soninke (Serahuli), an admixture of Malinke and Fulani, are also concentrated in the upriver areas. The population is more than 90 percent Muslim.