 However, both his and Thompson's expedition had resulted in significant losses and a subsequent voyage that he made in 1624 proved a complete failure.After a loss of £5,000, the patentees made no further attempts to exploit the resources of the Gambia but confined their attention to the Gold Coast.In 1651, the Commonwealth of England granted a patent to certain London merchants who in that and the following year sent two expeditions to the River Gambia and established a trading post at Bintang.