Historical Dictionary of the Gambia (Historical Dictionaries of Africa)

375 Pages·2008·0.95 MB·English

by  Arnold Hughes

HDGambiaOFFLITH.qxd 8/7/08 11:32 AM Page 1
AFRICA HISTORY
HUGHES &
HISTORICAL DICTIONARIES OF AFRICA, NO. 109 FOURTH EDITION
PERFECT
The Gambia achieved independence from Great Britain on 18 February 1965.
Despite its small size and population, it was able to establish itself as a func-
tioning parliamentary democracy, a status it retained for nearly 30 years. The
Gambia thus avoided the common fate of other African countries, which soon
fell under authoritarian single-party rule or experienced military coups. In addi-
tion, its enviable political stability, together with modest economic success,
enabled it to avoid remaining under British domination or being absorbed by
its larger French-speaking neighbor, Senegal. It was also able to defeat an
attempted coup d’état in July 1981, but, ironically, when other African states
were returning to democratic government, Gambian democracy finally suc-
cumbed to a military coup on 22 July 1994. Since then, the democracy has not H
been restored, nor has the military successor government been able to meet i
s
the country’s economic and social needs. t
o
T
This fourth edition of Historical Dictionary of The Gambia—through its r
H
chronology, introductory essay, appendixes, map, bibliography, and hundreds i
c
of cross-referenced dictionary entries on important people, places, events, F E
institutions, and significant political, economic, social, and cultural aspects— O a
U Gl
provides an important reference on this burgeoning African country. R
T
D
H A
ARNOLD HUGHESis professor emeritus of African politics and former direc- E i
D c the GAMBIA
tor of the Centre of West African Studies at the University of Birmingham, M
IT t
England. He is a leading authority on the political history of The Gambia, vis- IO i
o
iting the country more than 20 times since 1972 and authoring several books N B
and numerous articles on Gambian politics. n
I
Aa
DAVID PERFECT has worked in research management for statutory bodies r
concerned with equality issues in Britain, first for the Equal Opportunities y

Commission and more recently for the Equality and Human Rights o
Commission. During this period, he has continued to undertake research on
f
the political history of The Gambia, primarily through archival research at the
National Archives at Kew, London. He is the author of three articles on
Gambian political and labor history and co-author of A Political History of The
Gambia: 1816–1994 (2006).
For orders and information please contact the publisher
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ARNOLD HUGHES
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DAVID PERFECT
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ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-5825-1
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HISTORICALDICTIONARIES OFAFRICA
Edited by Jon Woronoff
1. Cameroon,by Victor T. Le Vine and Roger P. Nye. 1974. Out of
print. See No. 48.
2. The Congo,2nd ed., by Virginia Thompson and Richard Adloff.
1984. Out of print. See No. 69.
3. Swaziland,by John J. Grotpeter. 1975.
4. The Gambia,2nd ed., by Harry A. Gailey. 1987. Out of print. See
No. 79.
5. Botswana,by Richard P. Stevens. 1975. Out of print. See No. 44.
6. Somalia,by Margaret F. Castagno. 1975. Out of print. See No. 87.
7. Benin (Dahomey),2nd ed., by Samuel Decalo. 1987. Out of print.
See No. 61.
8. Burundi,by Warren Weinstein. 1976. Out of print. See No. 73.
9. Togo,3rd ed., by Samuel Decalo. 1996.
10. Lesotho,by Gordon Haliburton. 1977. Out of print. See No. 90.
11. Mali,3rd ed., by Pascal James Imperato. 1996. Out of print. See
No. 107.
12. Sierra Leone,by Cyril Patrick Foray. 1977.
13. Chad,3rd ed., by Samuel Decalo. 1997.
14. Upper Volta,by Daniel Miles McFarland. 1978.
15. Tanzania,by Laura S. Kurtz. 1978.
16. Guinea,3rd ed., by Thomas O’Toole with Ibrahima Bah-Lalya.
1995. Out of print. See No. 94.
17. Sudan,by John Voll. 1978. Out of print. See No. 53.
18. Rhodesia/Zimbabwe,by R. Kent Rasmussen. 1979. Out of print.
See No. 46.
19. Zambia,2nd ed., by John J. Grotpeter, Brian V. Siegel, and James
R. Pletcher. 1998. Out of print. See No. 106.
20. Niger,3rd ed., by Samuel Decalo. 1997.
21. Equatorial Guinea,3rd ed., by Max Liniger-Goumaz. 2000.
22. Guinea-Bissau,3rd ed., by Richard Lobban and Peter Mendy.
1997.
23. Senegal,by Lucie G. Colvin. 1981. Out of print. See No. 65.
24. Morocco,by William Spencer. 1980. Out of print. See No. 71.
25. Malawi,by Cynthia A. Crosby. 1980. Out of print. See No. 54.
26. Angola,by Phyllis Martin. 1980. Out of print. See No. 92.
27. The Central African Republic,by Pierre Kalck. 1980. Out of
print. See No. 51.
28. Algeria,by Alf Andrew Heggoy. 1981. Out of print. See No. 66.
29. Kenya,by Bethwell A. Ogot. 1981. Out of print. See No. 77.
30. Gabon,by David E. Gardinier. 1981. Out of print. See No. 58.
31. Mauritania,by Alfred G. Gerteiny. 1981. Out of print. See No. 68.
32. Ethiopia,by Chris Prouty and Eugene Rosenfeld. 1981. Out of
print. See No. 91.
33. Libya,3rd ed., by Ronald Bruce St John. 1998. Out of print. See
No. 100.
34. Mauritius,by Lindsay Riviere. 1982.Out of print. See No. 49.
35. Western Sahara,by Tony Hodges. 1982. Out of print. See No. 55.
36. Egypt,by Joan Wucher King. 1984. Out of print. See No. 89.
37. South Africa,by Christopher Saunders. 1983. Out of print. See
No. 78.
38. Liberia,by D. Elwood Dunn and Svend E. Holsoe. 1985. Out of
print. See No. 83.
39. Ghana,by Daniel Miles McFarland. 1985.Out of print. See No. 63.
40. Nigeria,2nd ed., by Anthony Oyewole and John Lucas. 2000.
41. Côte d’Ivoire (The Ivory Coast),2nd ed., by Robert J. Mundt.
1995.
42. Cape Verde,2nd ed., by Richard Lobban and Marilyn Halter.
1988. Out of print. See No. 62.
43. Zaire,by F. Scott Bobb. 1988. Out of print. See No. 76.
44. Botswana,2nd ed., by Fred Morton, Andrew Murray, and Jeff
Ramsay. 1989. Out of print. See No. 70.
45. Tunisia,2nd ed., by Kenneth J. Perkins. 1997.
46. Zimbabwe,2nd ed., by Steven C. Rubert and R. Kent Rasmussen.
1990. Out of print. See No. 86.
47. Mozambique,by Mario Azevedo. 1991. Out of print. See No. 88.
48. Cameroon,2nd ed., by Mark W. DeLancey and H. Mbella
Mokeba. 1990.
49. Mauritius,2nd ed., by Sydney Selvon. 1991.
50. Madagascar,by Maureen Covell. 1995. Out of print. See No. 98.
51. The Central African Republic,2nd ed., by Pierre Kalck, translated
by Thomas O’Toole. 1992. Out of print. See No. 93.
52. Angola,2nd ed., by Susan H. Broadhead. 1992. Out of print. See
No. 92.
53. Sudan,2nd ed., by Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, Richard A. Lobban
Jr., and John Obert Voll. 1992. Out of print. See No. 85.
54. Malawi,2nd ed., by Cynthia A. Crosby. 1993. Out of print. See
No. 84.
55. Western Sahara,2nd ed., by Anthony Pazzanita and Tony Hodges.
1994. Out of print. See No. 96.
56. Ethiopia and Eritrea,2nd ed., by Chris Prouty and Eugene
Rosenfeld. 1994. Out of print. See No. 91.
57. Namibia,by John J. Grotpeter. 1994.
58. Gabon,2nd ed., by David E. Gardinier. 1994. Out of print. See
No. 101.
59. Comoro Islands,by Martin Ottenheimer and Harriet Ottenheimer.
1994.
60. Rwanda,by Learthen Dorsey. 1994. Out of print. See No. 105.
61. Benin,3rd ed., by Samuel Decalo. 1995.
62. Republic of Cape Verde,3rd ed., by Richard Lobban and Marlene
Lopes. 1995. Out of print. See No. 104.
63. Ghana,2nd ed., by David Owusu-Ansah and Daniel Miles Mc-
Farland. 1995. Out of print. See No. 97.
64. Uganda,by M. Louise Pirouet. 1995.
65. Senegal,2nd ed., by Andrew F. Clark and Lucie Colvin Phillips.
1994.
66. Algeria,2nd ed., by Phillip Chiviges Naylor and Alf Andrew Heg-
goy. 1994. Out of print. See No. 102.
67. Egypt,2nd ed., by Arthur Goldschmidt Jr. 1994. Out of print. See
No. 89.
68. Mauritania,2nd ed., by Anthony G. Pazzanita. 1996.
69. Congo,3rd ed., by Samuel Decalo, Virginia Thompson, and
Richard Adloff. 1996.
70. Botswana,3rd ed., by Jeff Ramsay, Barry Morton, and Fred Mor-
ton. 1996. Out of print. See No. 108.
71. Morocco,2nd ed., by Thomas K. Park. 1996. Out of print. See
No. 95.
72. Tanzania,2nd ed., by Thomas P. Ofcansky and Rodger Yeager. 1997.
73. Burundi,2nd ed., by Ellen K. Eggers. 1997. Out of print. See No.
103.
74. Burkina Faso,2nd ed., by Daniel Miles McFarland and Lawrence
Rupley. 1998.
75. Eritrea,by Tom Killion. 1998.
76. Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), by F. Scott Bobb.
1999. (Revised edition of Historical Dictionary of Zaire, No. 43)
77. Kenya,2nd ed., by Robert M. Maxon and Thomas P. Ofcansky.
2000.
78. South Africa,2nd ed., by Christopher Saunders and Nicholas
Southey. 2000.
79. The Gambia,3rd ed., by Arnold Hughes and Harry A. Gailey.
1999.
80. Swaziland,2nd ed., by Alan R. Booth. 2000.
81. Republic of Cameroon,3rd ed., by Mark W. DeLancey and Mark
Dike DeLancey. 2000.
82. Djibouti,by Daoud A. Alwan and Yohanis Mibrathu. 2000.
83. Liberia,2nd ed.,by D. Elwood Dunn, Amos J. Beyan, and Carl
Patrick Burrowes. 2001.
84. Malawi,3rd ed., by Owen J. Kalinga and Cynthia A. Crosby.
2001.
85. Sudan,3rd ed.,by Richard A. Lobban Jr., Robert S. Kramer, and
Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban. 2002.
86. Zimbabwe,3rd ed.,by Steven C. Rubert and R. Kent Rasmussen.
2001.
87. Somalia,2nd ed., by Mohamed Haji Mukhtar. 2002.
88. Mozambique,2nd ed.,by Mario Azevedo, Emmanuel Nnadozie,
and Tomé Mbuia João. 2003.
89. Egypt,3rd ed., by Arthur Goldschmidt Jr. and Robert Johnston.
2003.
90. Lesotho,2nd ed.,by Scott Rosenberg, Richard Weisfelder, and
Michelle Frisbie-Fulton. 2004.
91. Ethiopia,New Edition,by David H. Shinn and Thomas P. Ofcan-
sky. 2004.
92. Angola,New Edition, by W. Martin James. 2004.
93. Central African Republic,3rd ed., by Pierre Kalck, translated by
Xavier-Samuel Kalck. 2005.
94. Guinea,4th ed.,by Thomas O’Toole with Janice E. Baker. 2005.
95. Morocco,2nd ed., by Thomas K. Park and Aomar Boum. 2006.
96. Western Sahara,3rd ed., by Anthony G. Pazzanita. 2005.
97. Ghana,3rd ed., by David Owusu-Ansah. 2005.
98. Madagascar,2nd ed., by Philip M. Allen and Maureen Covell. 2005.
99. Sierra Leone,New Edition, by C. Magbaily Fyle. 2005.
100. Libya,4th ed., by Ronald Bruce St John. 2006.
101. Gabon,3rd ed., by David E. Gardinier and Douglas A. Yates3
2006.
102. Algeria,3rd ed., by Phillip Naylor. 2006.
103. Burundi,3rd ed., by Ellen K. Eggers. 2007.
104. Republic of Cape Verde,4th ed., by Richard A. Lobban Jr. and
Paul Khalil Saucier. 2007.
105. Rwanda,New Edition,by Aimable Twagilamana. 2007.
106. Zambia,3rd ed., by David J. Simon, James R. Pletcher, and
Brian V. Siegel. 2008.
107. Mali,4th ed., by Pascal James Imperato, Gavin H. Imperato, and
Austin C. Imperato. 2008.
108. Botswana,4th ed., by Fred Morton, Jeff Ramsay, and Part
Themba Mgadla. 2008.

Historical Dictionary
of The Gambia
Fourth Edition
Arnold Hughes and David Perfect
Historical Dictionaries of Africa, No. 109
The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Lanham, Maryland • Toronto • Plymouth, UK
2008
SCARECROWPRESS,INC.
Published in the United States of America
by Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Awholly owned subsidiary of
The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.scarecrowpress.com
Estover Road
Plymouth PL6 7PY
United Kingdom
Copyright ©2008 by Arnold Hughes and David Perfect
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hughes, Arnold.
Historical dictionary of The Gambia / Arnold Hughes and David Perfect.—4th
ed.
p. cm.—(Historical dictionaries of Africa ; no. 109)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-5825-1 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8108-5825-8 (hardcover : alk. paper)
eISBN-13: 978-0-8108-6260-9
eISBN-10: 0-8108-6260-3
1. Gambia—History—Dictionaries. I. Perfect, David, 1960– II. Title.
DT509.5.G34 2008
966.5—dc22
2008007153
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