A Political History of The Gambia, 1816-1994 : University of Rochester Press : 9781580461269 : 1580461263 : 01 Jul 2008 : The only complete study of modern Gambian politics from the establishment of British rule to the overthrow of the Jawara government. A Political History of the Gambia: 1816-1994 is the first complete account of the political history of the former British West African dependency to be written. It makes use of much hitherto unconsulted or unavailable British and Gambian official and private documentary sources, as well as interviews with many Gambian politicians and former British colonial officials. The first part of the book charts the origins and characteristics of modern politics in colonial Bathurst (Banjul) and its expansion into the Gambian interior (Protectorate) in the two decades after World War II. By independence in 1965, older urban-based parties in the capital had been defeated bya new, rural-based political organisation, the People's Progressive Part