James Island, Gambia

James Island, Gambia
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JamesIsland.jpg
Author: Niels Elgaard Larsen


James Island is an island on the River Gambia. It is the site where European established a settlement as early as the 16th century. The earliest settlers were Baltic Germans who named it St Andrews Island. The settlers erected a fort which they named after Fort James, after James Kettler, Duke of Courland.

When the British took over the island in 1664, they renamed Fort James as well as James Island after James, the Duke of York, who later ascended the throne of England as King James II. In the subsequent centuries the fort changed hands between the British and the French. It served as an important trading post for African slaves until its abandonment in 1870.

James Island was inscribed as a World Heritage Site during the 26th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Paris, France on 30 June to 5 July, 2003. The inscribed site reads "James Island and Related Sites" because it includes the Six-Gun Battery built in 1816 and Fort Bullen built in 1826, located on either sides of the mouth of the River Gambia.

Photos of James Island

James Island in the Gambia
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Island_in_river_ga_galleryfull.jpg
Author: Jose Canedo

World Heritage Site Inscription Details

Location: N 13 18 58.2 W 16 21 25.9
Inscription Year: 2003
Type of Site: Cultural
Inscription Criteria: III, VI

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