Bansang is a town in the

Central River Division Central River is the largest of the five administrative divisions of the Gambia. Its capital is Janjanbureh (formerly Georgetown), on MacCarthy Island. The largest settlement is Bansang, with an estimated population in 2008 of 8,381. Until 199 ...

the Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

, with a population of 8,843 (2012). Although the official government center of the Division is located in

Janjanbureh Janjanbureh or Jangjangbureh is a town, founded in 1823, on Janjanbureh Island, also known as MacCarthy Island, in the Gambia River in eastern Gambia. Until 1995, it was known as Georgetown and was the second largest town in the country. It is th ...

downstream, Bansang has better access to the more affluent coastal region of the country, and is sometimes considered the unofficial "upcountry" economic capital. The town is a market for peanuts, rice and fish.Bansang
Encyclopædia Britannica online. Retrieved 2012-04-30.

History

According to legend, Bansang was founded as Ba-Sansango, meaning 'river tata' in the early 1260s, during

Tiramakhan Traore Tiramakhan Traore (variations : Toure-Makhan Traoré or Tirimakhan Trawally) was a 13th-century general in the Mali Empire who served under Sundiata Keita. In oral histories, Traore is credited with expanding the power of Mali into two very diffe ...

's migration into the

Gambia river The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra, French language, French: ''Fleuve Gambie'', Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Rio Gâmbia'') is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward ...

valley. The area became part of the kingdoms of Jimara and Wuropana, constituent states of the

Kaabu Kaabu (1537–1867), also written Gabu, Ngabou, and N'Gabu, was a federation of Mandinka kingdoms in the Senegambia region centered within modern northeastern Guinea-Bissau, large parts of today's Gambia, and extending into Koussanar, Kou ...

empire. In the 1860s the Fula kingdom of Fuladu rose as Kaabu declined. By the late 19th century, Bansang was merely a wharf and river-crossing point. It became an important settlement during the colonial period as families settled there to take advantage of opportunities in the growing trade of

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...

s on the

Mandinka people The Mandinka or Malinke are a West African ethnic group primarily found in southern Mali, The Gambia, southern Senegal and eastern Guinea. Numbering about 11 million, they are the largest subgroup of the Mandé peoples and one of the List of ethn ...

were the first to resettle the place, followed by

Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Fula alpha ...

and

Wolof Wolof or Wollof may refer to: * Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...

in the 20th century. The village began as a seasonally inhabited trading post, until the first compound was founded by a prosperous local trader, Bakary Darboe, in the 1920s. His family was followed by relatives of Musa Molloh Balde, former ruler of Fuladu.Bellagamba, 47-8.

Gallery

File:Bansang Central River Division Gambia.jpg, The main street in Bansang File:RiverGambia BansangCentralRiverDivisionGambia.jpg, Upstream view of the

River Gambia The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra, French: ''Fleuve Gambie'', Portuguese: ''Rio Gâmbia'') is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to t ...

File:River Ferry Bansang Central River Division Gambia.jpg, The manually-operated vehicle ferry across the river

Sources

*
The Atlas of the Gambia
'

References

{{Authority control Central River Division Populated places in the Gambia