Taking as its subject the vast area covering the Senegal and Gambia river basins, this book explores the changing dynamics of regional and Atlantic trade, clashes between traditional African and emergent Muslim authorities, the slave trade and the colonial system, and current obstacles to the integration of the region's modern states.

Professor Barry argues cogently for the integrity of the Senegambian region as a historical subject, and he forges a coherent narrative from the dismemberment and unification which characterised Senegambia's development from the fifteenth century to the nineteenth century. This newly translated study is a vital tool in our understanding of West African history.