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Banjul (, ), officially the City of Banjul, is the capital city of The Gambia. The city of Banjul is located on St Mary's Island (Banjul Island), which is in the Gambia River where it enters the Atlantic Ocean.

The population of the city proper is 26,461, with the Greater Banjul Area, which includes the City of Banjul and the Kanifing municipality, at a population of 405,809 (2024 census). The island is connected to the mainland to the west and the rest of Greater Banjul Area via bridges. There are also ferries linking Banjul to the mainland at the other side of the river.

From the 19th century until 24 April 1973, the city was known as Bathurst.

Etymology

There are several etymologies for 'Banjul.' One traditional history recounts that Bandjougou, son of Barafin, came to the island after fleeing the attacks of Soumaoro Kante on the Manding region. His name became attached to the island, and over time changed to 'Bandjoulou'.

Another theory claims that Banjul takes its name from Bang julo, the Mandinka word for rope fibre that the Mandinka people gathered on the island.

History

thumb|left|A sketch of Bathurst, published in 1824

thumb|left|Senior Medical Officers' quarters in Bathurst, Gambia. Photograph, c. 1911.

[[File:Txu-pclmaps-oclc-8321160-bathurst.jpg|thumb|left|Bathurst [Banjul] 1:2,500 (6.6 MB) and city center Surveyed in 1910-11 and partly Revised in 1918 by W.F. Crook, reprinted by Engineer Reproduction Plant, U.S. Army War College 1941]]

thumb|[[Arch 22 at the entrance to Banjul. The statue of the former president Yahya Jammeh was removed following democratic elections in 2016.]]

In 1651, Banjul was leased by the Duke of Courland and Semigallia (German: Herzog von Kurland und Semgallen) from the King of Kombo, as part of the Curonian colonization.

On 23 April 1816, Tumani Bojang, the King of Kombo, ceded Banjul Island to Alexander Grant, the British commandant, in exchange for an annual fee of 103 iron bars. Grant's expedition, consisting of 75 men and tasked with establishing a military garrison, had been ordered by Charles MacCarthy. Grant founded Banjul as a trading post and base, constructing houses and barracks for controlling entrance to the Gambia estuary and suppressing the slave trade. The British renamed Banjul Island as St. Mary's Island and named the new town Bathurst, after the 3rd Earl Bathurst, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies at the time.

Within a few years of its establishment, the town started attracting migrants. Its population consisted of Africans of various origins, Levantines (Syrians, Lebanese) as well as Europeans (English, French, Portuguese). A majority of the population was Muslim but there was a significant Christian minority, including the Aku inhabitants. The majority of the Africans consisted of Wolof people, whose population rose from 829 in 1881 to 3,666 in 1901 and then 10,130 in 1944. They had mainly hailed from Gorée and Saint-Louis. The Mandinka were the second largest African group, followed by the Jola as well as the Fula. The Serer people make up 3.5% of the country's demographics. Islamic schools called dara were founded in Bathurst from its early years, resulting in the foundation of the first Muslim court in 1905, in addition to the increasingly more sophisticated British legal framework. Young men from rural farming villages would move to Bathurst to work at the Public Works Department (established in 1922) or docks. The town was an important Allied naval and air hub during World War II, resulting in an increase in population from 14,370 in 1931 to 21,154 in 1944.

{|class="wikitable"

|+Banjul mean sea temperature According to Climate Action Tracker, the current warming trajectory appears consistent with , which closely matches RCP 4.5.

Districts

thumb|Districts of Banjul

Banjul Division (Greater Banjul Area) is divided into two districts:

  • Banjul
  • Kanifing

Economy

Banjul is the country's economic and administrative centre and includes the Central Bank of the Gambia. Peanut processing is the country's principal industry, but beeswax, palm wood, palm oil, and skins and hides are also shipped from the port of Banjul.

Banjul is also the home of the Gambia Technical Training Institute. GTTI is engaged in a partnership with non-profit organization Power Up Gambia to develop a solar energy training program.

Transport

The primary method of reaching the city by land is by road. A highway connects Banjul to Serrekunda which crosses the Denton Bridge, however ferries provide another mode of transportation. As of May 2014, ferries sail regularly from Banjul across the Gambia River to Barra. The city is served by the Banjul International Airport. Banjul is on the Trans–West African Coastal Highway connecting it to Dakar, Bissau and other cities. This project is eventually intended to provide a paved highway link to 11 other nations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

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File:Gambia & Senegal 2009 (3686723627).jpg|Banjul ferry

File:Banjul International Airport.jpg|Banjul International Airport

</gallery>

Culture

Attractions in the city include the Gambian National Museum, the Albert Market, Banjul State House, Banjul Court House, and the African Heritage Museum.

Sport

Banjul is the destination of the Plymouth-Banjul Challenge, a charity road rally.

Education

The University of the Gambia was founded in 1999. There are about five senior secondary schools in Banjul.

International schools

  • Banjul American Embassy School
  • École Française de Banjul in Bakau
  • Maarif International School (Greater Banjul Area)
  • Marina International School (Greater Banjul Area)
  • SBEC International School (Greater Banjul Area)
  • British International School The Gambia ( Greater Banjul Area)

Places of worship

The places of worship are predominantly Muslim mosques. There are also Christian churches and congregations: Roman Catholic Diocese of Banjul (Catholic Church), Church of the Province of West Africa (Anglican Communion), Assemblies of God.

is the largest mosque in Banjul.

Notable people

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  • Gambino Akuboy (born 1985), singer & songwriter, actor and screenwriter
  • Modou Badjie (born 1997), footballer
  • Musa Barrow, footballer
  • Ebrima Darboe (born 2001), football player
  • Ibrahim Muhammadu Garba-Jahumpa (1912-1994), trade union leader and politician
  • Nicolas Jackson, footballer
  • David Jeng (born 1992), entrepreneur

See also

  • Divisions of the Gambia
  • Districts of the Gambia

Bibliography

  • Matthew James Park, Heart of Banjul: The History of Banjul, The Gambia, 1816-1965 . PhD dissertation, Michigan State University, 2016.
  • A History of Banjul, PhD thesis

References