CHAPTER 2

FROM MANY KINGDOMS, WE BECAME ONE: THE HISTORY OF GHANA

Joan Nkansaa Nkansah, EdD, Western Illinois University

Bright Da-Costa Aboagye, EdD, Western Illinois University

Sandra Ayivor, EdD, West Virginia University

INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents a chronological examination of Ghana’s history, highlighting the many kingdoms during the pre-colonial era of Ghana’s history, which laid the foundation for present-day Ghana. The chapter includes discussions on pre-colonial Ghana, particularly during the height of the Asante Kingdom. The chapter also addresses the economic system during pre-colonial Ghana, which was based on trade and primarily suited for an agrarian lifestyle. The discovery of gold changed the history and economy of the nation, and the land became known as the Gold Coast. The chapter illustrates how the discovery of gold led to the colonization of Ghana by the British. In 1957, Ghana gained independence from the British and, in the process, gave colonized African nations hope for freedom. The history of Ghana neither began with colonialism nor ended with independence. Ghana has become a beacon of hope for African countries and Africans living on the continent and in the diaspora. In the 21st century, Ghana has become the focus for millions of African descendants tracing their ancestry and identity. Current policies in Ghana have informed the development of programs, including “Year of Return,” to extend a hand of welcome back home to Africans in the diaspora. The authors of this chapter believe that the continuous strand, from pre-colonial, colonial, to post-colonial, is essential not only to understand the history of Ghana but perhaps of Africa.

Ghana evolved from many kingdoms to become one nation, currently known as the Republic of Ghana. The country is located on the southern coastline of Western Africa, along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. Burkina Faso borders Ghana to the north, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to the west, and Togo to the east^[1]. Ghana presently has sixteen regions, with Accra as its capital city, which holds the residence and seat of the President (see Figure 1). The country operates as a unitary presidential constitutional democracy.

Figure 1: Map of Ghana. The map illustrates Ghana’s capital city; the sixteen regions and their capitals; the neighboring countries of Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, and Togo; and the Gulf of Guinea.

The name Ghana was adopted from the title of the emperor, who ruled the medieval West African Ghana Empire. The Ghana Empire (see Figure 2) was one of the three most organized empires in the Sudan region. The other two empires were Songhai and Mali, located in Western Sudan.^[2] The Ghana Empire’s wealth in gold gave the state a reputation and connection to the world through trade, first with North African merchants and later with Western Europe.^[3] In 1957, the leaders of the newly independent state, formerly known as the British colony of the Gold Coast, decided Ghana was an appropriate name for the first Black African nation to gain independence from colonial rule. Another reason for the leaders’ decision on the name was that the new country held a reputation for being wealthy and trading in gold, just like the ancient Ghana Empire.^[4]

Before independence, Ghana was known as the Gold Coast because of its enormous wealth in minerals, especially gold.^[5] All European traders involved with the Gold Coast were primarily interested in the gold.^[6] During the 18th century, the Gold Coast became a source of rivalry among the Europeans, including the French, English, Swedes, Danes, and Dutch, all of whom sought control of the land. However, the British succeeded in ruling over the Gold Coast in 1901 after almost a century of resistance from the Asante Kingdom.^[7]

This chapter presents a review of the literature on the history of Ghana. It begins by highlighting the many kingdoms that formed the country during the pre-colonial era, followed by a chronological discussion of Ghana’s history from a colonial to post-colonial and post-independence society. These discussions lay the foundation for the last section of the chapter, which focuses on 21st century Ghana and the strides the country has made in becoming a beacon of hope for African countries and African diaspora.

PRE-COLONIAL GHANA THE MANY KINGDOMS

Ghana was divided into many kingdoms before British rule. The people from these kingdoms had immigrated to the land from the north, northwest, east, and northeast of the African region. Before the people migrated to modern-day Ghana, western African history has it that the area, for many centuries, was a meeting place for two rivers, the Black Volta and the White Volta. The meeting place of the two rivers forms the Volta River, which is Ghana’s main river system. The inhabitants of modern Ghana were influenced by the wealth and the traditions of the three great empires of Western Sudan, the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire, and the Songhai Empire (see Figure 2). The empires gained greatness from the trade of gold, kola nuts, ivory, and enslaved people with Northern African and European merchants.

Figure 2: Map of Empires and Rivers. The map illustrates the Volta rivers and the Ghana, Mali, and Songhai empires.

The origins of the kingdoms in many parts of modern Ghana can be traced to migrants from the trading empires who arrived in Ghana to maintain their gold trade and keep trade routes open.^[8] In the 14th century, traders from the great Mande kingdoms, particularly the Ghana Empire and the Mali Empire, who came in search of gold dust, reached parts of the area that is now modern Ghana, mainly north of the forest. In the 16th century, merchants from the Hausa states, around the Niger Bend and the Benue River, seeking kola nuts, also reached parts of modern Ghana. The growth of these trades led to the development of many of the kingdoms by the end of the 16th century. The kingdoms included the northern states of Dagomba, Gonja, and Mamprusi, the Akan states in the forest zones, and the coastal states of Ewe, Fante, Ga-Adangbe.^[9]

Out of the many states and ethnic groups that formed present-day Ghana, the Asante had the most influence on its history. The Asante belong to the Twi-speaking branch of the Akan people. The Asante confederacy constituted the groups that settled around Lake Bosumtwi (sometimes spelled Bosomtwe). Under the rule of strong militant leaders such as Chief Oti Akenten and King Osei Tutu I, the Asante expanded their territories after successful military operations against neighboring Akan states. Thus, by the mid-17th century, the Asante dominated the surrounding peoples and formed the most powerful states, transforming into an empire with Kumasi as its capital.^[10]

Under the rule of Osei Tutu I as King of the Asante Empire, there was a political and military consolidation, which resulted in established centralized authority. Osei Tutu retained the customs and chieftaincy of newly dominated territories. Again, the chiefs were given seats on the Asante state council. Compared to other Akan peoples’ subjugation by the earlier conquests, Osei Tutu’s methods were relatively easy and non-disruptive because the minor states continued to exercise internal self-rule. Osei Tutu developed a strong unity within the confederation. Therefore, in matters of national concern, member states prioritized the interests of the central authority.^[11]

By the mid-18th century, the Asante Empire was highly organized under the rule of King Opoku Ware I, the successor to Osei Tutu, and had the northern states of Dagomba, Gonja, and Mamprusi under Asante influence. By the 1820s, successive Asante rulers extended boundaries southward, bringing the Asante Empire into contact with the coastal states such as the Ewe, Fante, and Ga-Adangbee and the various European merchants that traded with the Gold Coast.^[12]

THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM IN PRE-COLONIAL GHANA

Agriculture formed a significant part of Ghana’s economy.^[13] Similar to many agrarian economies, land ownership was an essential element in determining the economic structure. The available lands were shared among the community members, and products from each land belonged to the family that cultivated them. The land tenure system of West African societies protected the people against the accumulation of land by the privileged few. Thus, every member of the community had the right to own and work on their own land, except for a few who did not belong to a community and therefore had to work for others. Farmers cultivated commodities such as cocoa, coffee, kola nuts, palm oil, and rubber. Every household owned the products from their lands, which they traded on a voluntary basis ^[14].^[15]/ A large part of the economy was characterized by a subsistence form of economic organization with a minimum specialization in material product^[16][17]

Ghana had a well-established economic system before the first Western European traders arrived at its shores.^[18] Ghana participated in the northern trade with other parts of Africa. Ghana was involved in diverse trades, including the slave trade.^[19] Although slavery existed during that period, the use of enslaved laborers was more temperate, and “their standards of living were well above the minimum for bare subsistence.”^[20] However, the trade focus shifted to forest products when the slave trade was abolished in the early 19th century. Salt manufacturing became a lucrative business among the coastal peoples, allowing them to exchange salt and dried fish for cloth, food, and other forest products. Because the people already participated in the trading system of Western Africa, it was easier for them to forge a European trade alliance.^[21]

In 1471, the Portuguese traders were the first Western Europeans to trade with Ghana, where they found a stable economic system.^[22] The Portuguese soon learned these trading practices and perfected the existing economic system for specialized trading.^[23] By the end of the 16th century, Ghana’s economic production had grown exponentially both regionally and locally. Ghana had developed about twenty European forts and castles to facilitate the trade business. While the forts and castles were set up in the coastal regions, other trading centers were established in the north to promote trading in the northern markets.^[24]/[25]

Until the early 17th century, all of the markets involved in the trade business were primarily interested in the gold trade.^[26] Thus, demand increased for gold, leading to a need to solve the problem of inadequate labor and the lack of sophisticated equipment for mining. To solve the labor problem, the Portuguese initiated the practice of selling captives from Benin in modern-day Nigeria to the local miners. Like many West African societies, the local people quickly absorbed and integrated these formerly enslaved individuals into society. Since most of these captives were women, they helped increase the population through voluntary unions with local miners, thereby eventually solving the problem of inadequate labor. The population increase sustained a high level of gold production to maintain the northern trade with other parts of Africa and the southern coastal or trans-Atlantic trade with Europe.^[27]

By the end of the 16th century, the Portuguese were carrying one-tenth of the world’s gold supply from Ghana. Because the Portuguese gold export was critical to their economy, they attempted to monopolize the trade by building a fort on Ghana’s mainland. The Portuguese also introduced new crops, such as cassava and maize, which became staple crops.^[28] The Portuguese maintained the gold trade monopoly until the 1530s when the French and the English challenged their position.

The Dutch were the second European traders to arrive in Ghana toward the end of the 16th century.^[29] The Dutch also established many forts to sustain their trade with Ghana. By the early 17th century, Holland had become dependent solely on the gold from Ghana for its coinage. The increase in the trans-Atlantic slave trade did not deter the high production of gold. Thus, by the end of the 17th century, the Brandenburgs, Danes, Dutch, English, and Portuguese were actively involved in the gold and slave trade with the Gold Coast.^[30]/[31]

Ghana became a source of rivalry among the Europeans, all of whom sought control of the land. Thus, the Danes, Dutch, English, French, Portuguese, and Swedes, among others, settled in Ghana at different times. Most of these Europeans built trading forts and castles along the coast of Ghana, numbering about twenty.^[32]/[33] The British succeeded in ruling over Ghana from 1820; however, the rule became firmly entrenched only in 1901 after years of resistance from the Asante Kingdom.^[34]

COLONIAL GHANA

THE GOLD COAST

The entire region of Gold Coast was officially annexed as a colony to the British Crown on January 1, 1902.^[35]/[36] The colony was made up of the coastal regions and extended inland that established the initial Gold Coast Colony on July 24, 1874, including the Northern Territories, the Asante Kingdom, and the Trans-Volta Togoland^[37] (Figure 3). The coastal regions were the first to form an alliance with the British and become a protectorate because of the military confrontations between them and the Asante Kingdom. The British fought the Asante peoples in 1874 and managed to extend their territories inland toward the borders of the Asante Kingdom. Following this victory over the Asante peoples, the British proclaimed the former coastal protectorate and the extended inland territories a crown colony. The Asante Kingdom became a British protectorate after almost a century of Anglo-Ashanti wars. The British conquered the Asante Kingdom following the Yaa Asantewaa War of 1900–1901 and consequently gained economic and political control over the Asante Kingdom.^[38]

The Northern Territories were initially a district of the British colony in 1889 after agreements between the Northern chiefs of Bona, Dagarti, Mamprusi, and Wa and the British.^[39] The territories were formally established as a British protectorate in 1901. The British concluded treaties for control over the Northern Territories with the assistance of the Fante Surveyor George Ekem Ferguson. The Northern protectorate comprised the Gonja, Mamprugu, and Wala states, and groups of people, such as the Frafra, Kokomba, and Sisala, who were once conquered by the Asante ^[40]ingdom. Because the Northern protectorate did not possess minerals, rubber, or timber like other Gold Coast areas, the British did not invest much in this region. Therefore, the protectorate remained impoverished economically and underdeveloped in terms of infrastructure.

Trans-Volta Togoland, or British Togoland, was the final addition to the Gold Coast colony.^[41] This protectorate joined the Gold Coast colony in 1916. British Togoland was created after World War I when occupied German Togoland was separated into British and French territories. The French division eventually became Togo, and the British half was elected in 1956 to join the Gold Coast and form Ghana through a referendum that was pushed by the United Nations.^[42]

Figure 3: The 1902 Map of the Gold Coast Colony. The map illustrates the areas of the Northern Territories, the Trans-Volta Togoland, the Asante Kingdom, and the initial Gold Coast Colony established in 1874.

BRITISH COLONIAL RULE

British colonialism in the Gold Coast colony was holistic, ranging from economic to social and political to infrastructural development.^[43] The colony had great economic potential with cash crop farming and the mining of natural minerals. Cocoa, palm oil, and palm kernels were among the products that raised substantial export revenue for the colony. Prior to the abolition of the slave trade, the Europeans were already conversant with the use of these products. Palm oil, for instance, was used by the Europeans to support the industrial revolutions in the sustainable production of tin plates, streetlights, candles, and soap.^[44] By 1911, the Gold Coast had become the world’s number one producer of cocoa, with an output of 88.9 million pounds, generating about £6 million, equivalent to over 700 million dollars in the 21st century.^[45] In that same year, cocoa accounted for 46 percent of the colony’s total value of exports.^[46]/[47]

The mining of minerals, such as gold and diamonds, became another primary source of revenue. In 1901, the Gold Coast had an estimated three thousand concessions of gold mining sites.^[48] The British saw the need for convenient transportation of cocoa and minerals, which led to the construction of railways and roads. In 1901, a 41-mile railroad was completed, linking the mining town of Tarkwa to Sekondi. In 1902, the line was extended 124 miles to Obuasi and was further extended 168 miles to Kumasi in 1903.^[49] The Accra-Kumasi railway was also completed in 1923, and in 1926 a branch railway was built to link Kade, a diamond mining center, and Huni Valley in the western part of the Gold Coast.

The British invested extensive resources in developing the Asante and Fante states due to their wealth in cash crops and natural minerals and neglected the other protectorates. The expenditure on the northern protectorate, for instance, was abysmally minimal, owing to the perception that the protectorate was not economically viable.^[50] The British later discovered that the northern protectorate had cotton and established the British Cotton Growers Association in 1906 to promote cotton cultivation. However, the British terminated this initiative since the labor was needed in other parts of the colony to work on palm oil and cocoa plantations.^[51] Some of these policies rendered areas in the colony impoverished economically.

PRE-INDEPENDENCE STRUGGLES

The roots of Ghanaian nationalism date to the early decades of the 20th century, with significant inspiration from the likes of Edward Blyden, W.E.B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, and Sylvester Williams.^[52] These people were pioneers of Pan-Africanism, a movement propagating the unified interests of all indigenous and diaspora peoples of African descent. These Pan-Africanists, as well as the United Kingdom-based West African Students Union, instigated the fight for freedom and nationalism. Du Bois’s first Pan-African Congress in Paris in 1919, for instance, influenced liberation activists in the Gold Coast.

A year after the first Pan-African Congress in Paris, Joseph Casely Hayford, a Gold Coast lawyer, organized the inaugural meeting of the National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA) in London, England.^[53] The organization sought to forge an alliance among the various African nations under British colonial rule in the region. The NCBWA meeting attracted delegates from several British territories such as The Gambia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Ghana. Although the NCBWA started as a platform for the intelligentsia of British West Africa, the organization later aimed at attaining self-governance for British West Africans by constitutional means.^[54] Some of the demands the NCBWA fought for included the election of African representation to both the Legislative and Municipal Councils, the termination of untrained public servants exercising judicial functions, the participation of Africans in the civil service, the establishment of a British West African University in the colony, as well as compulsory education. The efforts of the NCBWA yielded minimum results from the British Crown. In 1930, the death of Casely Hayford caused the wane of the organization, resulting in the suspension of fights for liberation.^[55] However, in October 1945, during the fifth Pan-African Congress in Manchester, England, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who later became the first president of Ghana, returned to the Gold Coast to fan the flame of liberation efforts, upon the invitation of the members of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC). The UGCC was, however, not officially formed until August 4, 1947.

Nkrumah returned to Ghana to serve as the General Secretary of the UGCC. The UGCC was the first independence movement political party founded in the Gold Coast. Its founding members were made up of lawyers and academics, including Ebenezer Ako-Adjei, Edward Akufo-Addo, William Ofori Atta, Joseph Boakye Danquah, and Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey. Ako-Adjei was a statesman, politician, lawyer, and journalist. Akufo-Addo was a politician and lawyer. Ofori Atta was a politician and lawyer. Boakye Danquah was a scholar, politician, and lawyer. Obetsebi-Lamptey was a political activist and lawyer. Nkrumah joined the five founding members to form the Big Six, who accelerated the fight for independence through a series of boycotts, demonstrations, sit-ins, and publications. The UGCC advocated for independence from the British and had the slogan “Full self-government within the shortest possible time.”^{[56]/[57]/[58]}

Several incidents marked the pre-independence struggle period. For example, in January 1948, the Association of West African Merchants (AWAM) boycotted European goods due to high prices, an action that ended in February of the same year.^[59] Nkrumah and the five other members of the UGCC were arrested, imprisoned, and blamed for the riots associated with the AWAM boycott. The 1948 riots led to the shooting of three former service members, Sergeant Adjetey, Corporal Attipoe, and Private Odartey Lamptey, who flouted the order to stop while proceeding toward the Osu Castle.

Upon the release of the six leaders of the UGCC in 1948, Nkrumah established the Committee on Youth Organization and a newspaper publication called The Evening News to further the course of the UGCC.^[60] The other five members of the UGCC were invited to make recommendations to the 1949 Coussey Committee, advising the governor on the path to independence. Nkrumah broke away from the UGCC party on the grounds of dissonance in strategy, feelings of impatience, and social frustration. In June 1949, Nkrumah formed the Convention People’s Party (CPP) along with Kojo Botsio, Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, and other young men he had recruited from the UGCC. The CPP became a competitor to the UGCC and had the slogan “Full self-government now.”^[61] The two parties continued to work for the same cause, even though they had differences in tactics for the self-governance agenda.^[62]

Nkrumah rose in popularity as his methods of non-violent protests and grassroots advocacy appealed to the masses. Nkrumah’s demands for Positive Action resulted in a series of violent protests leading to the arrest of Nkrumah and other CPP leaders on January 22, 1950. Nkrumah secured a seat in government for his party while in prison, winning a two-thirds majority of the Legislative Assembly under the new Constitution in 1951.^[63] On February 12, 1951, Nkrumah was released from prison to become the leader of Government Business.^[64] The CPP won the June 1954 elections, and Nkrumah was re-elected as the leader of Government Business. The British were uncertain about how the country would be governed in their absence. Therefore, in 1956, the Colonial Secretary announced another general election, after which the British would set a date for independence. The July 1956 election was identical to the previous elections, with Nkrumah and the CPP winning the vote by a majority. On August 3, the assembly voted for independence and accepted Nkrumah’s proposed name, Ghana. In September 1956, the Colonial Office announced March 6, 1957, to be Ghana’s Independence Day.

The aftermath of the 1956 elections involved several deliberations in the Gold Coast Assembly that partly contributed to attaining Ghana’s independence.^[65] The National Liberation Movement, with the support of some religious and regionally based parties such as the Muslim Association Party, the Northern People’s Party, and the Anlo Youth Organization, strongly opposed Kwame Nkrumah’s centralization ideology and plan for independence. The National Liberation Movement’s opposition to centralization and support for a continuing role for traditional leaders threatened to destabilize the independence agenda and led to debates in Parliament.^[66] The United Nations, however, supported the 1956 referendum for Ghana to become the first sub-Saharan African nation to obtain independence from colonial rule.

POST-COLONIAL GHANAGHANA’S INDEPENDENCE

With its independence on March 6, 1957, Ghana earned the whole world’s attention because it was the first of Britain’s African colonies to gain majority-rule independence. Several dignitaries, including Vice President of the United States Richard Nixon; United Nations representative Ralph Bunche; and Queen Elizabeth’s representative, the Duchess of Kent, graced the celebration.

The first government after independence was patterned after the United Kingdom, with Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of the CPP serving as the Prime Minister. On July 1, 1960, Ghana transitioned to become a republic with Nkrumah as the President. Although it started as a parliament, the style of governance later became a one-party state by 1964. Despite Ghana’s efforts to become an independent and democratic nation, the country struggled to maintain the tenets of democracy. For almost three decades, Ghana experienced several military interventions due to controversial leadership practices, economic mismanagement, and corruption.

On February 24, 1966, Nkrumah was overthrown through a coup d’état. Ghana experienced the first military intervention from February 24, 1966, to April 3, 1969, under the leadership of Lt. Gen. Joseph Arthur Ankrah, Lt. Col. (later Lt. Gen.) Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, and Major (later Major Gen.) Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa of the National Liberation Council. Nkrumah had jailed his political opponents and had passed controversial laws that gave him a stronghold on power. There was also an ongoing bitter rivalry with the Asantes and other groups, which made Nkrumah an easy target for violence. Before the 1966 coup, there were several attempts on his life. In August 1962, there was a grenade attack on Nkrumah, which he claimed was orchestrated by leading police officers and some leaders of the UGCC. On January 1, 1964, a police officer stationed at Flagstaff House fired four shots at Nkrumah but missed. The coup by the National Liberation Council, with the code name “Operation Cold Chop,” was the icing on the cake. The National Liberation Council succeeded in the coup because they promised elections and had active support from the Ghana Police. A new constitution was drafted for the Second Republic, after which elections were held in 1969.^[67]

The Second Republic began on October 1, 1969, with Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia of the Progress Party as the Prime Minister and Chief Justice Edward Akufo-Addo as the President. There were continuous economic difficulties in the country, and Busia was accused of economic mismanagement. Busia’s economic structural adjustment programs resulted in high taxes, currency devaluation, and rising import prices. The economic difficulties instigated protests from the Trade Union Congress, which led to arbitrary arrest. Also, the budget adjustments affected all salaried workers, including the army troops and officers who supported Busia. Busia’s authoritarian measures alienated the officers, and the change in the army’s leadership was viewed as the last straw. Serving less than three years, Busia was overthrown on January 13, 1972, through a coup.

Ghana’s second military intervention saw two leaderships: first, under Gen. Ignatius Kutu Acheampong from January 13, 1972, to October 9, 1975, and second, under Lt. Gen. Fred William Kwasi Akuffo from July 5, 1978, to June 4, 1979. Gen. Akuffo overthrew and imprisoned Gen. Acheampong for corruption and despotism. The two heads of state were members of the National Redemption Council, which later became the Supreme Military Council.^[68]

Ghana experienced the third military intervention on June 4, 1979, under the leadership of Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council. Inept, corrupt policies in the government inspired this coup. Rawlings accused the ruling government of reckless disbursement of state funds to amass wealth. Rawlings and junior ranks in the Ghana Armed Forces succeeded after failing the first attempt at a military revolt on May 15, 1979. However, this military intervention was short-lived, as it ushered in Ghana’s third republic the same year, beginning on September 24, 1979, with Dr. Hilla Limann of the People’s National Party serving as the President. Limann was overthrown on December 31, 1981, through Rawlings’ second coup. Rawlings accused Limann of mismanaging the country’s economy. The fourth military intervention Ghana experienced was in 1981 under Rawlings and the Provisional National Defence Council. Rawlings resigned from the military in 1992 and founded the National Democratic Congress to contest the presidential elections. Rawlings was elected in the 1992 elections to become the first President of the Fourth Republic.^[69]

Ghana is currently in its Fourth Republic, which started on January 7, 1993. Ghana has experienced five governments under the Fourth Republic. Rawlings served two terms from 1993 to 2001. Ghana witnessed the first change of government through elections on January 7, 2001, with John Agyekum Kufuor of the New Patriotic Party as president. Kufuor also served two terms in office, which is the limit according to the Ghanaian Constitution and handed the presidency over to John Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress in January 2009. On July 24, 2012, Mills’ vice president, John Dramani Mahama, assumed the presidency after Mills’ death during his first term. Mahama was elected for his first term and for a second term in the National Democratic Congress in 2012. Mahama lost the 2016 elections and ceded the presidency to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party on January 7, 2017. Akufo-Addo is the first opposition leader in the history of Ghana to win elections against an incumbent government. Ghana’s ability to return to democratic governance and successfully change several governments through elections has built a reputation for other African countries to emulate.

POST-INDEPENDENCE GHANATHE BEACON OF HOPE FOR AFRICAN NATIONS AND AFRICANS IN THE DIASPORA

The period between the 1950s and 1960s is recorded as one of the most significant periods in Africa’s history because several African states attained freedom from colonial rule. ^[70] The independence of Ghana served as a crack in the armor of imperialism in Africa, and Ghana became a platform on which a broader scope of freedom for the African continent could be achieved.^[71] Many colonized African countries still fighting for liberation saw Ghana’s achievement as a beacon of hope for the future.

Political figures, such as Nnamdi Azikiwe, Patrice Lumumba, Kwame Nkrumah, and Sekou Touré, formed Pan-African movements that played a significant role in the development of cultural and political systems necessary for the independence of other African nations. Particularly, Nkrumah’s Western education and cultural experiences with freedom and the rule of law kindled his desire to unify and fight for the liberation of the African peoples.^[72] After Ghana’s independence, seventeen other states had gained independence by 1960. Similarly, Ghana’s independence made an impact in the African diaspora, with visits from African American civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King Jr in 1957 and Malcolm X in 1964 to join in the celebration.^[73]

The Civil Rights Movement was pronounced during this same period in Black American history. The ideas and strategies of the two movements were not completely disparate; both groups promoted the global spread of equality and human rights and opposed segregation and racism.^[74] During the incipient stages of the Civil Rights Movement, many Africans had traveled to the United States to study. Due to the intensity of racism during that era, many African students attended Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). One of these HBCUs, Lincoln University, boasts of two former African presidents (Azikiwe of Nigeria and Nkrumah of Ghana) as alumni. African leaders and peoples were influenced by their experiences in America during their studies. For instance, Nkrumah was so immersed in the ideologies of civil rights activists that he named Ghana’s soccer team, the Black Stars, after Marcus Garvey’s shipping line company. Early civil rights activists Crummell, Delany, and Turner pushed Black Americans toward Africa to help combat Western nationalism and imperialism.

The groundwork by these early activists paved the way for Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and other civil rights activists to raise awareness about the importance of a global fight for equal civil rights, especially in African countries. The civil rights leaders in the United States, realizing Black Africans were going through similar struggles, held several meetings to share tactics and ideas with African anti-colonialist leaders, such as Kenneth Kaunda, Jomo Kenyatta, Seretse Khama, Kwame Nkrumah, and Julius Nyerere. These meetings contributed to the liberation of African countries from colonialism. During this same period, several civil rights protests and demonstrations were ongoing across the United States against racism and oppression, forcing President Dwight Eisenhower to reform American foreign policies that affected the promotion of universal human rights.^[75] Eisenhower instituted anti-discrimination legislation that affected peoples of African descent. During the 1950s and 1960s, African diplomats were confronted with racial segregation in the United States. While the events of the Cold War were ongoing, the United States still paid utmost attention to the continued racial slights toward African diplomats. For instance, on October 10, 1957, President Eisenhower apologized to the Ghanaian Finance Minister, Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, who had been refused service at a restaurant in Dover, Delaware.

Ghana continues to serve as a beacon of hope for African peoples living on the continent and throughout the diaspora. The country has maintained this status through conscious efforts of validating the strengths, struggles, and linkages between African descendants at the Pan-African level. In the 21st century, Ghana has become the destination for millions of African descendants tracing their ancestry and identity in reaction to their marginalization. Ghana is in a unique position of being the location of about 75 percent of the slave dungeons built on Africa’s west coast. Several centuries later, many European forts and castles still stand on the land, reminding people of the intense and complex history of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.^[76]

Ghana’s fifth president of the Fourth Republic, Akufo-Addo, has established a policy to make it a national priority to extend a hand of welcome back home to Africans in the diaspora. Current policies in Ghana have informed the development of programs, including the “Year of Return, Ghana 2019.” This project was an initiative of the Ghana Tourism Authority under the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture. The Ghana Tourism Authority implemented this year-long event in collaboration with the Office of Diaspora Affairs at the Office of the President, the Panafest Foundation, and the Adinkra Group. According to the Ghana Tourism Authority, about 237,000 peoples of African descent visited Ghana between January and September 2019, with most visitors coming from the United States.^[77]

CONCLUSION

This chapter provides a vivid description of Ghana’s economic and political past from pre-colonial, colonial, post-colonial, and post-independence. Ghana’s economic and political history presented is an indication that things did not manifest as many had hoped for at the time of independence. Like all the emerging countries during the Cold War, Ghana faced its fair share of economic and political challenges. Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president, was overthrown nine years after independence. In the next 25 years after Nkrumah’s government, Ghana was governed by a series of military rulers, which immensely impacted the nation politically and economically. Ghana returned to democratic rule in 1992 and has built a reputation as a stable, liberal economy. Ghana, in the 21st century, continues to offer hope for all peoples of African descent.

END NOTES

1. The History Files. “African Kingdoms.” N.d. (August 22, 2020). https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsAfrica/AfricaGhana.htm ↑

2. Bennette Laverle, “Federal Research Division. Ghana: A Country Study,” (June 14, 1995). https://www.loc.gov/item/95018891/ ↑

3. Stephen Hymer, “Economic Forms in Pre-Colonial Ghana,” The Journal of Economic History 30, no. 1 (1970): 33-50 ↑

4. GhanaWeb, “Pre-Colonial Period,” N.d. (September 15, 2020). https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/pre-colonial.php# ↑

5. Gavin Hilson, “Small‐Scale Mining and its Socio‐Economic Impact in Developing Countries,” Natural Resources Forum 26, no. 1 (2002): 3-13 ↑

6. KY Daaku, “Aspects of Precolonial Akan Economy,” The International Journal of African Historical Studies 5, no. 2 (1972): 235-247 ↑

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60. Arden-Clarke, “Eight Years of Transition in Ghana,” 14 ↑

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74. Williams, “The Pan-African Movement,” 19 ↑

75. Danielle Paquette, “Ghana to Black Americans: Come Home. We’ll Help you Build a Life Here,” (July 4, 2020). https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/ghana-to-black-americans-come-home-well-help-you-build-a-life-here/2020/07/03/1b11a914-b4e3-11ea-9a1d-d3db1cbe07ce_story.html ↑

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