A Political and Economic History of Ghana, 1957–2003

Ghana lies along the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa. It has a population of about 20 million in 10 administrative regions. The capital is Accra, with population of about 2 million. The country is named after the old West African Empire of that name which flourished some 600 miles north. The 250-mile-long coastline is dotted with more than 100 castles and forts, testifying to a long history of Western interest and involvement. The first Europeans to set foot on the shore, around 1475, were the Portuguese. They built their first castle in 1482 and named the region ‘Gold Coast’ for the vast quantities of gold they found. They were followed by the Dutch, the Danes, the English and the Swedes. The castles and forts served variously as slave posts, trading posts, army garrisons, colonial residences and territorial markers. By the 1850s, only the Dutch and British were left. When the Dutch withdrew in 1874, the British proceeded to make the Gold Coast a Crown colony. At the time, the Asante were a dominant political and empire force in the central and forest regions of the area. A proud and warlike people steeped in tradi-tion, custom and wealth, the Asante were not subdued easily. The British made friends with more compliant coastal peoples such as the Gas and Fantes. Between 1817 and 1896, several wars, negotiations and treaties between the British and various Asante kings brought the Asantes into partial submission, and their king was exiled to the Seychelles.