Banjul
[key], port city, capital of The Gambia, situated on St. Mary's Island
where the Gambia River enters the Atlantic Ocean. It is the only large urban
area in The Gambia and is the country's economic and administrative center.
Its port handles oceangoing ships. Banjul's chief export is peanuts;
beeswax, palm kernels and oil, and skins and hides are also shipped. Peanut
processing is the chief industry. The city was founded by the British on the
site of an anchorage in 1816 as a trading post and a base for suppressing
the slave trade.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Gambian Political Geography
