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Gambia

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Sheraton Gambia Hotel|

In January 2013, with support from the and Conscience International charity, a large literacy-training program for women was to be launched in the Gambia. The lessons are intended to "increase women's life skills, improve their abilities to access opportunities, and enable them to participate in community decision making processes." The Gambia is a champion in women empowerment; there are many women empowerment initiatives in the Gambia including free girls' education. The country's vice-president is a woman and the longest serving cabinet member, and many women are serving or served in the cabinet.|

By the eleventh or twelfth century, the rulers of kingdoms such as (a monarchy centred on the just to the north), ancient Ghana and Gao, had converted to Islam and had appointed Muslims who were literate in the as courtiers. At the beginning of the fourteenth century, most of what is today called Gambia was part of the . The Portuguese reached this area by sea in the mid-fifteenth century, and they began to dominate overseas trade.|

The includes peanuts, rice, fish, meat, onions, tomatoes, oysters from the River Gambia that are harvested by women, cassava and chili peppers.|

Among the insurance companies listed as doing business in The Gambia as of 1995 were the Gambia National Insurance Co., the Great Alliance Insurance Co., and the Senegambia Insurance Co.|

In 1974, the created the (EPI). Its purpose is to ensure that children in all countries receive life-saving immunisations. The Gambia joined the EPI in 1979. In the Gambia, the program covers core diseases: (BCG vaccine), , , (combined in the DTP vaccine), , and , B (HBV), , and the . In January 2013, the journal reported:|

Its present boundaries were defined in 1889 after an agreement between the United Kingdom and France. During the negotiations between the French and the British in Paris, the French initially gave the British approximately 200 miles (320 km) of the Gambia River to control. Starting with the placement of boundary markers in 1891, it took nearly fifteen years after the Paris meetings to determine the final borders of the Gambia. The resulting series of straight lines and arcs gave the British control of areas that are approximately 10 miles (16 km) north and south of the Gambia River.|

The Gambia has a liberal, characterised by traditional subsistence agriculture, a historic reliance on groundnuts (peanuts) for export earnings, a re-export trade built up around its ocean port, low import duties, minimal administrative procedures, a fluctuating exchange rate with no exchange controls, and a significant tourism industry.|

During the late 17th century and throughout the 18th century, the and the struggled continually for political and commercial supremacy in the regions of the Senegal River and the Gambia River. The British Empire occupied the Gambia when an expedition led by landed there—following the in 1758. The 1783 gave Great Britain possession of the Gambia River, but the French retained a tiny enclave at on the river's north bank. This was finally ceded to the United Kingdom in 1856.|

The Gambia shares historical roots with many other West African nations in the , which was the key factor in the placing and keeping of a colony on the Gambia River, first by the Portuguese and later by the British. On 18 February 1965, the Gambia gained independence from the United Kingdom and joined the , from which it withdrew in October 2013. Since gaining independence, the Gambia has enjoyed relative political stability, with the exception of a brief period of in 1994.|

The result in Banjul was met with disappointment by the few Scorpions fans who travelled to the Independence Stadium to watch the boys play. It is also obvious that even a massive victory would not be enough to see The Gambia through to the finals due to take place in Gabon/Equatorial Guinea next year.|

The Gambia Overview Video|

On 2 October 2013, the Gambian interior minister announced that the Gambia would leave the Commonwealth of Nations with immediate effect, ending 48 years of membership of the organisation. The Gambian Government said it "decided that The Gambia will never be a member of any neo-colonial institution and will never be a party to any institution that represents an extension of colonialism".|

For their roles in an alleged 2009 coup plot, eight Gambians, including the former Chief of Defence Staff of the Gambian Armed Forces, a former head and deputy head of the National Intelligence Agency and others were tried for treason, found guilty and sentenced to death in July 2010. One of the convicted, a businessman, disappeared while in custody awaiting his appeal. Before that trial concluded, the former Chief of Defence Staff and the former Chief of the Gambia Naval Staff were charged with treason for their complicity in the failed 2006 coup. A key prosecution witness, serving a lengthy prison sentence for his role in the 2006 coup plot, received a presidential pardon, apparently in return for his testimony.|

There is an unspoilt sandy beach surrounding the Sheraton Gambia Hotel, along with other local beaches such as Batokunku with its beach bar and local restaurant.|

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