Gambia Colony and Protectorate

Gambia Colony and Protectorate
1816–1965
Flag Coat of arms
Status	Crown colony
Capital	Bathurst
Common languages	English (official), Mandinka, Fula, Wolof widely spoken
Religion	Christianity, Sunni Islam, Serer
Demonym(s)	Gambian
Government	Crown colony
Monarch
• 1816–1820	George III (first)
• 1952–1965	Elizabeth II (last)
Governor
• 1816–1829	Alexander Grant
• 1962–1965	Sir John Paul (last)
Prime Minister
• 1962–1965	Dawda Jawara
Legislature	Legislative Council (1844–1866; 1880–1960) House of Representatives (1960–1965)
Historical era	New Imperialism
• Establishment	17 October 1816
• Independence as The Gambia	18 February 1965
Currency	Pound sterling (to 1912) British West African pound (1912–65)
Succeeded by The Gambia (1965–1970)
Today part of	Gambia

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Senegambian stone circles Senegambia Takrur Mali Empire Songhai Empire Curonian colonisation Albreda Gambia Colony and Protectorate Gambia Independence Act 1964 Coups d'état (1981 (unsuccessful) · 1994 · 2014 (unsuccessful) · 2022 (unsuccessful)) Senegambia Confederation 2016–2017 Gambian constitutional crisis ECOWAS military intervention in the Gambia
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The Gambia Colony and Protectorate was the British colonial administration of The Gambia from 1821 to 1965, part of the British Empire in the New Imperialism era. 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.