ABSTRACT
Historians who deal with expansion of the world economy have not always agreed on when different parts of Africa became dependent on the world market. In their reliance on European imports to exchange for foodstuffs, which began in earnest in the last third of the eighteenth century, Niumi residents were moving toward a new form of dependence. In terms of when Niumi more thoroughly became dependent on its relationship with the expanding global economy, however, the period between about 1835 and 1850 stands out, and it clearly relates to industrialization coming to western Europe. From a modern perspective, Britain's decision to locate its principal Gambian city and port on the south side of the river was one of the most damaging acts imaginable for the subsequent history of Niumi. Not only did all trade soon focus on Bathurst, but also almost all colonial and postcolonial investment in development occurred there.
