Jufureh & Kunta Kinteh Island
Jufureh (also spelled Juffureh or Juffure) is a town in the Gambia, 30 kilometers inland on the north bank of the River Gambia in the North Bank Region near James Island. The town is home to a museum and Fort Jillifree.
Jufureh is known for its appearance in Alex Haley's 1976 novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family, as the birthplace of Haley's ancestor Kunta Kinte. After the publication of Roots, Jufureh became a significant tourist destination. This led to economic benefits for the town, including the construction of an elementary school, a new market aimed at tourists, and improved roads.
In 1651 a small plot of land from the village was leased by Jacob Kettler, the Duke of Courland, from the king of Kombo, as part of the Couronian colonization of Africa.
Demographically, the predominant religion in the village is Islam. In 1999, a mosque and school, The Alex Haley Mosque and School Complex, was opened in Jufureh, where Haley traced back his ancestry through genealogical research.
Kunta Kinteh Island, formerly called James Island and St Andrew's Island, is an island in the Gambia River, 30 km (19 mi) from the river mouth and near Juffureh in the Republic of the Gambia.