ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how such the transition took place on the West Coast of Africa, particularly in the Gambia area. It discusses the creation of the small British colony of the Gambia and summarizes what has already been written about the Gambia, supplementing this with official reports from the National Archives in Kew, London. The chapter gives an overview of the early history of the British settlement on the River Gambia. Theoretically, the new settlement remained the dual responsibility of Parliament and the Company of Merchants until 1821, when an Act of Parliament stripped the Company of all its rights in the Gambia, as well as on the Gold Coast. After the establishment of the British settlement in Bathurst, a small but influential European community established itself. These pioneers were mainly British merchants who had arrived from Goree, which had returned to the French rule in 1817.
