BRITAIN AND THE GRAINS TRADE IN THE GAMBIA, 1830-1965

Abstract

The involvement of Britain in the Gambia’s grains trade led to significant transformations in the economy of colonial Gambia. Existing studies on the grains industry in the Gambia have focused on production, with little attention paid to trade. This study was, therefore, designed to interrogate Britain’s involvement in the grains trade in the Gambia from 1830, when the first consignment of grains was exported from the country, to 1965, when independence was attained, with a view to examining the socio-economic transformations the trade had on the Gambia. The historical approach was adopted, while the interpretive design was utilised. Primary and secondary sources were used. Primary sources included Colonial Secretary’s Office files, Travelling Commissioners’ Reports, Agricultural, Financial and Intelligence Reports and newspapers, obtained from the National Records Service in Banjul, The Gambia. In addition, oral tapes obtained from the National Council for Arts and Culture were utilised. In-depth interviews were conducted across the country with 40 purposively selected key informants - 19 farmers, 18 traders and three griots - aged between 60 and 95 years, based on their knowledge of the Gambian grains industry. Secondary sources included books, journal articles, theses and internet materials. Data were subjected to historical analysis. Beginning from 1830, Britain got involved in the grains trade through the activities of the British merchants and companies such as Bathurst Trading Company, Elder Dempster and United Africa Company. British intervention in the Soninke-Marabout Wars (1850-1870s) was to maintain the peace and ensure the free flow of the Gambian grains to the metropolitan market. Competitive capitalism of the 1870s, resulting from the French intrusion into the Gambia’s grains trade, compelled Britain to impose colonial rule on the country in 1894. From the 1900s, the British, in order to expand the grains trade, established the infrastructure of exploitation such as roads, bridges and wharves in strategic Gambian communities (Basse, Kaur, Kuntaur and Walikunda), which became commercial centres. The British involvement in the Gambian grains trade led to socio-economic transformations of the country. There was significant increase in family sizes occasioned by the practice of polygamy aimed at providing additional labour for expanded grains production. There was also the emergence of female entrepreneurs (banabanas) and indigenous merchants as intermediaries between the rural producers and European companies. Between 1914 and 1945, series of colonial policies like import control on grains, standardisation of measures, Seed nut Rule and Head Tax on migrant farmers were initiated, leading to economic transformations. From 1946 to 1965, there was emphasis on the production and export of groundnuts, making the Gambia, a mono-economy. The expansion of the grains trade occasioned by the British involvement from 1830 to 1965 led to the transformation of the Gambia from subsistence to market economy. It also led to the penetration of foreign capital into the country essential to the development of merchant capitalism in the Gambia.