Latest / The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering — Fexingo History / The Slave Trade in the Gambia River Region
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, we've covered a lot of ground in this series — from the Middle Passage to the Haitian Revolution, from the Bight of Benin to the coast of Brazil. But there's one region that often gets overlooked in the big picture of the Atlantic slave trade, and that's the Gambia River. Luna: The Gambia River? I know it's in West Africa, but I don't think we've ever talked about it in detail. Lucas: Right. The Gambia River was a major artery for the slave trade, especially in the 17th and 18th centuries. It's about 1,130 kilometers long, flowing from the Fouta Djallon highlands in Guinea through Senegal and into the Gambia, before emptying into the Atlantic. The river was navigable for hundreds of miles inland, which made it a perfect highway for European traders to reach the interior. Lucas: And here's a name you might recognize: Kunta Kinteh. The ancestor Alex Haley wrote about in Roots. He was taken from the Gambia River region in 1767. That book and the TV series brought global attention to this area, but the history goes much deeper. Luna: I remember that story. Kunta Kinteh was from the Mandinka people, right? Lucas: Exactly. The Mandinka were the dominant ethnic group along the Gambia River. Their kingdoms — like Niumi, which controlled the river's mouth — were deeply involved in the slave trade. But it wasn't just Europeans coming in and taking people. The trade was a complex web of alliances and rivalries with local rulers. Luna: Can you give me an example of how that worked? Lucas: Sure. Take the kingdom of Niumi, ruled by a king called the Burungai. In the late 17th century, King Burungai Sonko controlled access to the river. European ships — British, French, Portuguese — had to pay him 'customs' fees just to trade. These were essentially bribes or taxes in goods like cloth, iron, and alcohol. In return, the Burungai would supply enslaved people from wars or raids. Lucas: But here's the thing — the local rulers weren't passive victims. They played the Europeans off against each other. If the British didn't pay enough, the Burungai would threaten to trade with the French. It was a bargaining game, but one that ultimately fueled the capture and sale of thousands of people. Luna: So the Europeans weren't the only ones profiting from the slave trade in the Gambia region. Lucas: Not at all. And it's important to understand that the internal African slave trade pre-dated European contact. Slavery existed in various forms in West Africa — debt slavery, prisoners of war. But the Atlantic demand massively amplified it. The Gambia River became a highway for captives taken in wars between the Mandinka kingdoms and neighboring groups like the Fula and the Wolof. Lucas: Let me tell you about a specific place that epitomizes this: James Island. It's a tiny island in the Gambia River that the British used as a slave trading post. They built a fort there in 1651, but it changed hands between the British, French, and even the Courlanders — a duchy from what is now Latvia. Luna: Wait — Courlanders? Latvians were involved in the slave trade? Lucas: Yes, it's one of those lesser-known pieces of history. The Duchy of Courland, a tiny state on the Baltic Sea, had a colony in the Gambia from 1651 to 1660. They built Fort Jakob on James Island. But they were eventually pushed out by the British and the Royal African Company. The island was renamed James Island after the Duke of York, later King James II. Luna: And if today's conversation has been useful to you, the way these episodes stay ad-free is through listener support — you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a simple way to keep these deep dives coming without any commercial interruptions. Now, back to the Gambia. Lucas: Appreciate that, Luna. So James Island became the center of British operations in the region. The Royal African Company, which had a monopoly on English trade in West Africa, used the fort to warehouse enslaved people before shipping them to the Americas. Conditions were horrific — the dungeons were small, overcrowded, and disease was rampant. Lucas: There's a famous incident in 1752 on a slave ship called the Hare, which left from the Gambia River. After taking on captives at James Island, the ship's crew discovered a planned revolt. The enslaved Africans had managed to free themselves from their chains and were about to overpower the crew when a loyal slave informer betrayed them. The leaders were executed, and the ship continued its voyage to South Carolina. Luna: That sounds like the kind of resistance we've talked about in other episodes. It's a pattern — the constant threat of rebellion. Lucas: Absolutely. And the Gambia was no exception. There were also cases of mass suicide and escape attempts along the river. The captives knew that once they were on the coast, their last chance to resist was before the ship sailed. After that, the Middle Passage was almost inescapable. Lucas: Let me also mention the role of the Portuguese and their descendants, called lançados and tangomãos. These were Portuguese traders who settled in the region, often marrying local women and becoming intermediaries between the European ships and the African kingdoms. They spoke the languages, understood the customs, and were essential to the trade. Luna: Lançados — that means 'thrown out,' right? Like exiles? Lucas: Exactly. They were often outcasts or criminals from Portugal who integrated into African society. The tangomãos were similar but usually of mixed ancestry. By the 18th century, these groups controlled much of the riverine trade, not just in slaves but also in ivory, gold, and beeswax. They operated from small settlements along the river, far from the European forts. Lucas: The slave trade from the Gambia peaked in the mid-18th century. Between 1700 and 1800, an estimated 200,000 enslaved people were shipped from the Gambia River. That's a lot for a relatively small region. Most were sent to the British Caribbean — especially Barbados and Jamaica — and to the American colonies like South Carolina and Virginia. Luna: Why did the trade decline after that? Lucas: A combination of factors. The British abolition movement gained momentum in the late 18th century, leading to the abolition of the British slave trade in 1807. But also, the region became less profitable as the supply of enslaved people diminished and other areas like the Bight of Benin and the Congo became more dominant. The British Navy's West Africa Squadron began intercepting slave ships off the coast, and the Royal Navy also established a base at Bathurst, the capital of the Gambia, to enforce the ban. Lucas: But the legacy of the slave trade in the Gambia is still visible today. James Island is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. And the story of Kunta Kinteh has become a symbol of the resilience of the African diaspora. Every year, thousands of African Americans travel to the Gambia for 'homecoming' ceremonies, especially to the village of Juffureh, where Kunta Kinteh was supposedly born. Luna: That's powerful. So the Gambia River is a microcosm of the whole Atlantic slave trade — the local politics, the European competition, the resistance, and the lasting impact. Lucas: Exactly. It's a story that reminds us that the slave trade wasn't a monolithic system. It was shaped by thousands of individual decisions, alliances, and betrayals. And the Gambia River, with its winding path through West Africa, carried countless stories that we're still uncovering today.