Janjanbureh or Jangjangbureh is a town, founded in 1823, on

Janjanbureh Island MacCarthy Island, originally known as Lemain Island and officially named Janjanbureh Island, is an island located approximately 170 miles (272 km) upriver from the mouth of the Gambia River, in eastern Gambia, in the Janjanbureh District. ...

, also known as MacCarthy Island, in 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 ...

in eastern

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 ...

. Until 1995, it was known as Georgetown and was the second largest town in the country. It is the capital of Janjanbureh

Local Government Area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

(formerly 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 ...

), and the Janjanbureh

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

. The population of the Janjanbureh LGA was 127,333 at the 2013 population census.

History

MacCarthy Island MacCarthy Island, originally known as Lemain Island and officially named Janjanbureh Island, is an island located approximately 170 miles (272 km) upriver from the mouth of the Gambia River, in eastern Gambia, in the Janjanbureh District. ...

, then known as Lemain Island, was purchased by the British captain Alexander Grant in 1823 in exchange for annual payments to Kolli Camara, the king of Lower Niani. It was intended as a settlement for freed slaves. A dispute ensued when the colonists demanded labor from Niani, but the ruling Kamara clan sent an army instead, forcing the British to take refuge in their new fort. A counterattack on the Niani capital of Ndougousine failed, with the Mandinka capturing two cannons, but the island remained in British hands. By the 1840s the trading post was doing steady business in hides, wax, and ivory; it was the furthest upriver post the colonial administration controlled. In 1880 the town had a population of 1263, of whom only one was a European. Janjanbureh is the birthplace of the Yale University historian Lamin Sanneh.

Janjanbureh today

The town is best known as home to Gambia's main

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

. The Wassu stone circles, a major tourist attraction, lie 22 km northwest of Lamin Koto, on the north bank across from Janjanbureh. The island is known locally as MacCarthy Island and is located in what used to be called MacCarthy Island Division. The island is accessed by bridge from the south bank, and small boat ferries or the government ferry from the north bank. In 1995, both the city of Georgetown and MacCarthy Island were renamed Janjanbureh respectively.

Climate

Gallery

References

External links

Information from "Slavery Trade of the Gambia"
{{Administrative divisions of the Gambia Central River Division Populated places established in 1832 Populated places in the Gambia Gambia River 1832 establishments in Africa Local Government Areas of the Gambia