Geography of the Gambia careful surveying methods by the Franco-British boundary commission. Apart from its coastline, where the Gambia borders the Atlantic Ocean, it is an enclave of Senegal and is by far the smallest country on mainland Africa. The Gambia has a subtropical climate with distinct dry and rainy seasons. From November to mid-May there is uninterrupted dry weather, with temperatures as low as in Banjul and surrounding areas. Hot, humid weather predominates the rest of the year, with a rainy season from June to October; during this period, temperatures may rise as high as but are usually lower near the sea. Mean
History of the Gambia Gambia. The colony assumed an importance to the French as a possible trade route, proposed cession of the Gambia for some other part of West Africa was first mooted in 1861. It was seriously discussed again during 1865 and 1866. In 1870 and 1876, negotiations were entered into between the French and British government over the proposed cession of the Gambia in exchange for other territories in West Africa. However, the proposal aroused such opposition in Parliament and among various mercantile bodies in England, as well as among the native inhabitants of the Gambia, that the British government was unable