A Political History of The Gambia, 1816-1994

A Political History of The Gambia: 1816-1994 is the first complete account of the political history of the former British West African dependency to be written. It makes use of much hitherto unconsulted or unavailable British and Gambian official and private documentary sources, as well as interviews with many Gambian politicians and former British colonial officials.

The first part of the book charts the origins and characteristics of modern politics in colonial Bathurst (Banjul) and its expansion into the Gambian interior (Protectorate) in the two decades after World War II. By independence in 1965, older urban-based parties in the capital had been defeated by a new, rural-based political organisation, the People's Progressive Party (PPP).

The second part of the book analyzes the means by which the PPP, under President Sir Dawda Jawara, succeeded in defeating both existing and new rival political parties and an attempted coup in 1981. The book closes with an explanation of the demise of the PPP at the hands of an army coup in 1994.

The book not only establishes those distinctive aspects of Gambian political history, but also relates these to the wider regional and African context, during the colonial and independence periods.

Reviews

A meticulous, richly documented and eloquently written book; a precious gift to a country and its peoples. It fills a most important gap and is sure to make a lasting contribution to Gambian and African studies. A true labor of love. --Abdoulaye Saine, associate professor of political science, Miami University

Details

First Published: 01 Jul 2008
13 Digit ISBN: 9781580461269
Pages: 549
Size: 9 x 6
Binding: Paperback
Imprint: University of Rochester Press
Series: Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora
Subject: African Studies
BIC Class: GTB

Details updated on 08 Sep 2010

Contents

• 1  Social and Economic Setting
• 2  Constitutional Change in The Gambia, 1816-1994
• 3  Merchants and Recaptives: The Origins of Modern Politics, 1816-86
• 4  Patrician Politics in the Era of the Forsters, 1886-1941
• 5  The Establishment of Party Politics, 1941-59
• 6  The "Green Uprising": The Emergence of the People's Progressive Party, 1959-65
• 7  Electoral Politics, 1965-81
• 8  Radical and Insurrectionary Political Challenges, 1965-81
• 9  Electoral Politics, 1981-94
• 10  The Gambia's External Relations, 1965-94
• 11  The 1994 Coup and the Jawara Legacy