Gambia Armed Forces defence and security in The Gambia was the responsibility of the Field Force. The Field Force was a paramilitary unit of the police, consisting of roughly 140 men at independence and rising to around 500 in 1980. It has been formed in 1958 following the disbandment of the Gambia Regiment, part of the British Army. There was little concern about security in The Gambia due to its small size and the safety provided by being totally surrounded by Senegal, with which it had signed a mutual defence pact in 1965. This lax attitude to defence changed following the 1981 coup
History of the Gambia said that no considerable kingdom existed south of the Gambia. In 1807, the African slave trade was abolished by an Act of Parliament. At that time, the British were in control of Goree. With the help of the Royal Navy, the Goree garrison made efforts to suppress the slave traders operating in the River Gambia, who were primarily Spanish and American. On more than one occasion, the slavers offered a stubborn resistance and the Royal African Corps suffered several casualties. Following the Treaty of Paris in 1814, which ended the war with the French, the British forces and officials on