The Gambia trade once it was outlawed in the 19th century.) Some of this history was popularised in the Alex Haley book and TV series "" which was set in the Gambia. The music of the Gambia is closely linked musically with that of its neighbour, Senegal, which surrounds its inland frontiers completely. It fuses popular Western music and dance, with "sabar", the traditional drumming and dance music of the Wolof and Serer people. The cuisine of the Gambia includes peanuts, rice, fish, meat, onions, tomatoes, cassava, chili peppers and oysters from the River Gambia that are harvested by women. In particular,
The Gambia Gambia began the process of returning to its membership of the Commonwealth and formally presented its application to re-join to Secretary-General Patricia Scotland on 22 January 2018. Boris Johnson, who became the first British Foreign Secretary to visit the Gambia since the country gained independence in 1965, announced that the British government welcomed the Gambia's return to the Commonwealth. The Gambia officially rejoined the Commonwealth on 8 February 2018. The Gambia is a very small and narrow country whose borders mirror the meandering Gambia River. It lies between latitudes 13 and 14°N, and longitudes 13 and 17°W. The Gambia is