Banjul, (formerly Bathurst), population 42,407 (
1993), is the capital of
The Gambia. The city is located on
St. Mary's Island[?] where the
Gambia River[?] enters the
Atlantic Ocean. It is the only urban area in The Gambia and is the country's economic and administrative center. 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 in
1816 as a trading post and a base for suppressing the
slave trade.
