History of the Gambia The Courlanders remained dominant until 1659 when their possessions were handed over to the Dutch West India Company. In 1660, the Courlanders resumed possession, but the next year were expelled by the newly formed Royal Adventurers in Africa Company. In 1667, the rights of the Royal Adventurers to the Gambia were sublet to the Gambia Adventurers but later reverted to the new Royal African Company. 1677 saw the beginning of a century-and-a-half-long struggle between the English and French for supremacy over the Gambia and Senegal. The English possessions were captured several times by the French, but in the Treaty of
Wildlife of the Gambia soils of laterite formations. The local tree species include silk cotton "(Bombax costatum)", dry-zone mahogany "(Khaya Senagalensis)" in deeper soil areas and African rosewood "(Guibourtia coleosperma)". Short grasses and shrubs are seen thinly spread in the Sahelian habitats. The gallery forests (moisture forests), unlike the rainforest, thrive on groundwater and are integral to savannas. It is a rare habitat found only in Abuko Nature Reserve, Pirang Forest Park and in some stretches of the Gambia River with different set of species with some degree of overlap with rainforests. Urban habitat consists of numerous villages. The open areas in between have