Gambian-Portuguese relations

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Gambian-Portuguese relations
Location of Gambia and Portugal
GambiaGambia PortugalPortugal
Gambia Portugal

The Gambian-Portuguese relations describe the intergovernmental relationship between Gambia and Portugal . Direct diplomatic relations have existed since 1976.

In the middle of the 15th century, the Portuguese sailors were the first Europeans to reach the Gambia River , which gave the country its name. They maintained diplomatic relations with kings of the region and traded at their own trading posts along the Gambia River , but Gambia did not become part of the Portuguese colonial empire .

Today the relationships are considered good, but not yet very intense.

In 2015, 152 Gambian citizens were registered in Portugal, with 122 most of them in the greater Lisbon area . In 2014, three Portuguese were registered in the Gambia.

In Portugal, a well-known winery on the Setubal Peninsula bears the name Gambia, the Herdade de Gâmbia . A place in the nearby community of Gâmbia-Pontes-Alto da Guerra also bears the name of the country and the river Gambia, as does a large number of companies and roads in Portugal.

history

Nuno Tristão , the first European in Gambia, on a Portuguese Guinea banknote (1971)
Packing peanuts in Gambia in 1949: the country's main export product came here with the Portuguese

The Portuguese navigators Nuno Tristão and António Fernandes were the first Europeans to reach the Gambia River in 1446. However, their expeditions were received equally hostile and they were both hit by poison arrows, of which Tristão died on the return trip.

In particular, rumors about large gold deposits prompted Heinrich the seafarer to send new expeditions to research the course of the Gambia. After initial conflicts, friendly relations developed from 1456 between the Portuguese traders and the regional rulers, especially the Mandinka and Wolof empires. In addition to mutual diplomatic relations and Christian missionaries , trade relations were particularly important. There were more than a dozen Portuguese trading posts along the Gambia River, from the Povoação de Brancos (near Dog Island ) up to Fatta Tenda (see the list of historic Portuguese trading posts in Gambia ).

The Portuguese presence had some influence on the regional peoples. The Portuguese introduced new fruits such as oranges , bananas , papaya , cassava (manioc), guava or maize here , and the peanut that dominates Gambian agriculture today also came here with the Portuguese. They also left traces in the Mandinka language , and fishing, house and boat building improved here in the exchange of experience with the then world power Portugal.

The Portuguese Chapel of Albreda , built in the 15th century , has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003

From 1588 Portugal then lost its monopoly on trade in the Gambia to England. After various episodes and changing Anglo-French rule, Gambia became a British colony.

The country gained independence from Great Britain in 1965. However, friendly relations between Gambia and Portugal did not develop until after the end of the colonial Estado Novo regime through the left-wing Carnation Revolution in Portugal in 1974. The new Portuguese government then ended the Portuguese colonial wars, released its previous colonies into independence in 1975 and directed its international relations new from.

On September 8, 1976, the now democratic Portugal took up diplomatic relations with Gambia. The two countries have not yet set up mutual embassies. As the first representative of Portugal in Gambia , Jorge Syder Santiago , Portugal's ambassador with official residence in the Senegalese capital Dakar, was accredited on August 29, 1979 .

In 2003, UNESCO added the Portuguese Chapel of Albreda and the Portuguese Ruins of San Domingo to the UNESCO World Heritage List . In the same year, Kunta Kinteh Island was added. The island was settled by the Portuguese as the first Europeans in the 15th. This means that three of the seven parts of the Gambian world heritage list from Kunta Kintah Island can be traced back to the Portuguese.

Portuguese Consulate in Serrekunda

diplomacy

Portugal does not have its own embassy in Gambia, the country belongs to the administrative district of the Portuguese embassy in Senegal . A Portuguese consulate has been set up in Serekunda, near the capital Banjul , and there is or was an honorary consulate in Banjul .

The Gambia also does not have its own embassy in Portugal; the closest Gambian representation is in the Spanish capital, Madrid . There is a Gambian consulate in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon .

economy

Steel mill at Seixal : After eggs, metal parts are Portugal's most important export to Gambia

The Portuguese Chamber of Commerce AICEP does not have a branch in Gambia, the AICEP office in the Senegalese capital Dakar is responsible .

In 2016, Portugal exported goods worth 1.601 million euros to Gambia ( 2015 : 5.645 million; 2014 : 6.246 million; 2013 : 3.546 million; 2012 : 6.282 million), 39.3% of which were agricultural products (before mainly eggs), 20.9% metal goods, 9.5% textiles and 7.9% machines and devices.

During the same period, Gambia delivered goods worth EUR 0.393 million to Portugal ( 2015 : EUR 54,000; 2014 : 0; 2013 : 0; 2012 : EUR 1,000), almost exclusively seafood .

In 2016, the Gambia ranked 152nd as a buyer and 148th as a supplier for Portuguese foreign trade, and in 2015, Portugal ranked 21st as a buyer and 18th as a buyer for the Gambian foreign trade.

Web links

Commons : Gambian-Portuguese Relations  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Overview of diplomatic relations with Gambia at the Diplomatic Institute in the Portuguese Foreign Ministry , accessed on May 4, 2019
  2. ↑ Official Portuguese Aliens Statistics by District , Portuguese Aliens and Borders Authority SEF, accessed on May 29, 2017
  3. ↑ Website on Gambian-Portuguese migration (Table A.3) at the Portuguese Scientific Observatório da Emigração , accessed on May 29, 2017
  4. ^ Website of the Herdade de Gâmbia winery , accessed on June 9, 2017
  5. ↑ Company and street hit list for the term Gambia in the Portuguese business and street directory Portugalio , accessed on June 9, 2017
  6. ↑ List of Portuguese diplomatic missions abroad , website of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accessed on May 29, 2017
  7. ↑ Entry by the Gambian consulate in Lisbon on www.embaixadas.net, accessed on May 29, 2017
  8. ↑ a b c Bilateral economic relations between Portugal and Gambia , Excel file retrieval from the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce AICEP, accessed on May 29, 2017