A country of western Africa lying along the Gambia River and surrounded, except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean, by Senegal. Once a part of the Mali Empire, it became a British crown colony in 1843 and a British protectorate in 1894. Gambia achieved independence in 1965. From 1982 to 1989 it formed with Senegal the Confederation of Senegambia. Banjul is the capital and the largest city.