Banjul, The Gambia

🇬🇲 Banjul, officially the City of Banjul, is the capital city of The Gambia. It is the centre of the Banjul administrative division. Banjul is situated on St Mary's Island, where the Gambia River enters the Atlantic Ocean. The Greater Banjul Area, includes the City of Banjul and the Kanifing Municipal Council. The island is connected to the mainland to the west and the rest of Greater Banjul Area via bridges. There are also ferries linking Banjul to the mainland at the other side of the river.

From the 19th century until 24 April 1973, the city was known as Bathurst.

History In 1651, Banjul was leased by the Duke of Courland and Semigallia (German: Herzog von Kurland und Semgallen) from the King of Kombo, as part of the Couronian colonization.

On 23 April 1816, Tumani Bojang, the King of Kombo, ceded Banjul Island to Alexander Grant, the British commandant, in exchange for an annual fee of 103 iron bars. Grant's expedition, consisting of 75 men and tasked with establishing a military garrison, had been ordered by Charles MacCarthy. Grant founded Banjul as a trading post and base, constructing houses and barracks for controlling entrance to the Gambia estuary and suppressing the slave trade. The British renamed Banjul Island as St. Mary's Island and named the new town Bathurst, after the 3rd Earl Bathurst, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies at the time. Streets were laid out in a modified grid pattern, and named after Allied generals at the Battle of Waterloo. The town became the centre of British activity in the Gambia Colony and Protectorate.

Within a few years of its establishment the town started attracting migrants. Its population consisted of Africans of various origins, Levantines (Syrians, Lebanese) as well as Europeans (English, French, Portuguese). A majority of the population was Muslim but there was a significant Christian minority, including the Aku inhabitants. The majority of the Africans consisted of Wolof people, whose population rose from 829 in 1881 to 3,666 in 1901 and then 10,130 in 1944. They had mainly hailed from Gorée and Saint-Louis. The Mandinka were the second largest African group, followed by the Jola as well as the Fula. Islamic schools called dara were founded in Bathurst from its early years, resulting in the foundation of the first Muslim court in 1905, in addition to the increasingly more sophisticated British legal framework.

Bathurst was officially declared the capital of the Protectorate of the Gambia in 1889, leading to an increase in population. Through the 20th century, it became an even greater attraction for Gambians due to the availability of jobs fuelled by British colonial activities as well as social activities such as cinemas. Young men from rural farming villages would move to Bathurst to work at the Public Works Department (established in 1922) or docks. The town was an important Allied naval and air hub during World War II, resulting in an increase in population from 14,370 in 1931 to 21,154 in 1944.

After independence, the town's name was changed to Banjul in 1973. On 22 July 1994, Banjul was the scene of a bloodless military coup d'état in which President Sir Dawda Jawara was overthrown and replaced by Yahya Jammeh. To commemorate this event, Arch 22 was built as an entrance portal to the capital. The gate is 35 metres tall and stands at the centre of an open square. It houses a textile museum.

Districts Banjul Division (Greater Banjul Area) is divided into two districts: • Banjul • Kanifing.

Economy Banjul is the country's economic and administrative centre and includes the Central Bank of the Gambia. Peanut processing is the country's principal industry, but beeswax, palm wood, palm oil, and skins and hides are also shipped from the port of Banjul.

Banjul is also the home of the Gambia Technical Training Institute. GTTI is engaged in a partnership with non-profit organization Power Up Gambia to develop a solar energy training program.

Transport The primary method reaching the city by land is by roadway. A highway connects Banjul to Serrekunda which crosses the Denton Bridge, however ferries provide another mode of transportation. As of May 2014, ferries sail regularly from Banjul across the Gambia River to Barra. The city is served by the Banjul International Airport. Banjul is on the Trans–West African Coastal Highway connecting it to Dakar and Bissau, and will eventually provide a paved highway link to 11 other nations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Culture Attractions in the city include the Gambian National Museum, the Albert Market, Banjul State House, Banjul Court House, African Heritage Museum.

Sport Banjul is the destination of the Plymouth-Banjul Challenge, a charity road rally.

Education The University of the Gambia was founded in 1999.

International schools • Banjul American Embassy School • École Française de Banjul in Bakau. • Marina International School

Places of worship Among the places of worship, they are predominantly Muslim mosques. There are also Christian churches and temples: Roman Catholic Diocese of Banjul (Catholic Church), Church of the Province of West Africa (Anglican Communion), Assemblies of God.