Janjanbureh and MacCarthy Island
Gambia Vibes · Destinations · Upriver
Halfway up the Gambia River, an island lies in the brown water, covered in rice fields and old trees. On it sits a sleepy town of faded colonial buildings, a market, a few lodges and a lot of birds. Its name has changed three times. Its history is tied to Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast and a British governor whose head ended up in Kumasi. And the most famous "sight" on the island may be a story that never happened.
Welcome to Janjanbureh, the former Georgetown on MacCarthy Island.
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At a glance
- Where: on MacCarthy Island in the Gambia River, Central River Region
- Founded: 1823 by the British, as Georgetown, after a treaty with the king of Niani
- Names: Lemain Island; then MacCarthy Island and Georgetown; since 1995 both called Janjanbureh
- Why: a settlement for freed Africans and a British post upriver
- Nearby: Wassu Stone Circles, Kuntaur and the River Gambia National Park
- Capital: Banjul, five to six hours away by road
An island bought for freedom
In 1823 the British captain Alexander Grant, who had founded Bathurst (now Banjul) seven years earlier, came upriver and acquired the island, then called Lemain Island, from the king of Niani. The treaty is dated 23 April 1823, and it was paid for with annual payments to the king. The British built a small fort and a town, named the town Georgetown after King George IV, and named the island after Sir Charles MacCarthy, governor of Britain's West African settlements.
The island was meant above all as a settlement for freed Africans: people taken off slave ships by British patrols after Britain abolished its slave trade, and liberated Africans sent up from Sierra Leone. They were settled at Georgetown and in villages around it. Methodist missionaries followed, and for a time Georgetown was the main British base upriver, a trading town for groundnuts and the seat of the colonial administration of the interior.
In 1880 the town had 1,263 inhabitants, only one of them European.
MacCarthy, the Gold Coast and the Asante
The man the island was named after never saw it as a finished town. In January 1824, months after the treaty, Charles MacCarthy led a British force against the Asante on the Gold Coast. At the battle of Nsamankow he was defeated and killed. His head was taken to Kumasi, and his skull, the story goes, became a war trophy of the Asante kings.
That is the thread that ties this quiet island to Ghana. The Gambia, Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast were governed as one British West Africa for long periods, and in later decades soldiers recruited in The Gambia fought in Britain's wars against the Asante. Read Charles MacCarthy: the governor who linked The Gambia and the Gold Coast and Gambian soldiers in Britain's wars against the Asante.
Janjanbureh timeline
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| Before 1823 | Lemain Island under the king of Niani; in 1788 the British had considered it for a penal colony and dropped the idea. |
| 23 April 1823 | Treaty with the king of Niani; the British acquire the island. |
| 1823 | Georgetown founded as a settlement for freed Africans. |
| January 1824 | Governor Charles MacCarthy killed by the Asante at Nsamankow, Gold Coast. |
| 1880 | Georgetown has 1,263 inhabitants, one of them European. |
| 1995 | Georgetown and MacCarthy Island are both renamed Janjanbureh. |
The "slave house" question
Many visitors to Janjanbureh are taken to a "slave house" or "slave market", sometimes with a "freedom tree" nearby, and told that enslaved people were held here before being sent downriver. It is a moving story, and it is told sincerely. But it does not match the record.
Hassoum Ceesay, historian and Director General of The Gambia's National Centre for Arts and Culture, has said publicly that the island played no part in the transatlantic slave trade, that there was no slave depot on the island, and that it stands instead for freedom from slavery, as the place where freed Africans were resettled. The British founded Georgetown after abolition, to settle those freed from the trade, not to supply it.
Visit the buildings, listen to the guides, and tip them for their time. But remember the real story here, which is just as powerful: an island where people freed from slave ships began new lives. For the actual slave-trade sites on the river, go to Kunta Kinteh Island and Albreda.
What to see and do
- The old town: faded colonial buildings, old trading houses and the remains of the British administration, slowly crumbling in the heat.
- Armitage High School: just outside town, founded in colonial times as a boarding school, and long one of the country's best-known schools.
- The market and the riverside: the best place to watch everyday life upriver: boats, fishermen, women washing clothes, traders from Senegal.
- Birdwatching: the island and the river around it are excellent for birds, from kingfishers and bee-eaters to herons and birds of prey.
- Boat trips: around the island, and further to the chimpanzee islands of the River Gambia National Park.
- Wassu: the stone circles are about 22 km away on the north bank.
How to get there
Janjanbureh is roughly in the middle of the country. By road from the coast it is a long day: five to six hours or more along the south bank highway, by private car, GTSC bus or gelli-gelli. The island is linked to the south bank by a short crossing, and a small ferry runs to Lamin Koto on the north bank, the way to Wassu. Some lodges and tour operators also offer river trips upstream. Plan at least two nights. See getting around The Gambia.
- Bring cash in dalasi; ATMs here are few and unreliable. See money in The Gambia.
- Power cuts are common. Carry a torch and a power bank.
- Malaria risk is high near the river. Use repellent and a net. See our health guide.
- The best time is November to February, before the heat of March to May.
Go upriver with people who know it. Multi-day trips to Janjanbureh, Wassu and the river are run by local operators in The Gambia. Entrance fees are already included in the tour price. Tips for your guide, driver and boat crew are not included, but they are always welcome.
More from The Gambia
- Wassu Stone Circles
- River Gambia National Park and the Baboon Islands
- Charles MacCarthy
- The Gambia and the Gold Coast: one British West Africa
- The Gambia and the Atlantic slave trade
- Banjul, the capital
The Gold Coast side of the story
Across the network
Sources: The Voice, "McCarthy Island signifies freedom from slavery", Hassoum Ceesay, NCAC (March 2023). Janjanbureh: founding, 1880 population, 1995 renaming. J. M. Gray, A History of the Gambia (1940).
Gambia Vibes · Part of the Ghana-Net network · Updated and fact-checked: 6 November 2026