St. Mary's Island (Gambia)
| St. Mary's Island | ||
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| Waters | Gambia (river) | |
| Geographical location | 13 ° 27 ′ N , 16 ° 35 ′ W | |
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| main place | Banjul | |
St. Mary's Island ( sometimes also called Banjul Island ) is a formerly flat sandbar island that was uninhabited until the 19th century and is located at the mouth (also estuary ) of the Gambia River in the Atlantic Ocean . The island in the West African state of Gambia can hardly be recognized as such, as it is surrounded by the mangrove forest , the Tanbi Wetland Complex , to the south and west . It is connected to the mainland today with the Denton Bridge , here the Banjul-Serekunda Highway runs to Bakau and on to Serekunda .
The northeastern cape is called Banjul Point and the southeastern Dockyard Point .
history
Before the settlement, bamboo forests grew on the sandbank in addition to baobabs ( baobabs ) . It was mentioned for the first time by Portuguese sailors in the 15th century, but remained of no importance for the following period. From time to time the members of the Kombo Kingdom obtained from the island, which they called Banjulo (after other sources Banjol ) (German bamboo island ), fibers of the baobab trees, from which they then woven ropes.
In 1816 it was acquired by Kombo because of its strategic location for Great Britain and the British founded the Bathurst branch there , now the capital of Banjul. After the original Portuguese name Cabo Santa Maria of the Cape ( Cape St. Mary ) ten kilometers away , they called the island from now on St. Mary's Island.
- For the further history of the city see Banjul .
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ Arnold Hughes, David Perfect: Historical dictionary of The Gambia (= Historical dictionaries of Africa. Vol. 109). 4th edition. Scarecrow Press, Lanham MD et al. 2008, ISBN 978-0-8108-5825-1 .
- ↑ Ilona Hupe: Gambia. Small vacation paradise in West Africa. With trips to Senegal. The sophisticated companion for your trip to Gambia. Travel guide with current tips and information. 2nd updated edition. Horn Ilona Verlag, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-932084-19-5 .