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| A reminder of colonial times, a statue of Queen Victoria in the town of Cape Coast |
Ghana’s rich history centres on the once-great Ashanti empire, which rose
to power during the late seventeenth century. By this time, the Ashanti empire
had conquered the majority of the other tribal states and turned its attention
to controlling trade routes to the coast. The trade in gold, ivory, and slaves
made the Ashanti, and later the Europeans, very rich. The Portuguese were the
first of a long line of European powers to arrive in Ghana, then called 'the
Gold Coast'. The British invaded in the 1870s, although warfare with the Ashanti
lasted until the 1900s.
In the 1920s and 1930s, a number of political parties
arose, dedicated to achieving independence from British Colonial rule, but it wasn’t
until 1951 that a general election was held. The election was won by Kwame Nkrumah who
founded the Convention People’s Party. In 1957, under Nkrumah’s leadership,
Ghana became the first African country to gain its independence from European colonisers.
In 1966, Nkrumah was ousted by a coup, because of growing dissatisfaction with the
economic and political situation. A series of military governments with intervals of
civilian rule followed. Months before a scheduled democratic election in 1979, a group of
young soldiers led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings took power, promising to rid Ghana
of corruption. His regime introduced tough economic reforms and controlled any opposition;
however, it allowed democratic elections in 1989. At present, there is a
democratically-elected government, and Rawlings remains Chief of State, President, and
head of the government.
the slave trade
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A permanent exhibition of artefacts from the slave trade, inside Cape Coast Castle |
In 1471, the Portuguese landed on Ghana's shores in search of gold, which they found in abundance. By the end of the seventeenth century, Britain had joined the Portuguese and other European powers in the fight for Ghana's many resources. But instead of dealing in gold, Britain decided to get into an even more lucrative business, the slave trade.
A slave trade had existed in Africa long before the Europeans or Americans arrived, but slaves were incidental captives of inter-tribal war and relatively few in number. The transatlantic slave trade operated on an unprecedented scale, was ruthlessly well-organised, and had a devastating effect on African society. It is estimated that between 12 and 20 million Africans were transported across the Atlantic between the late seventeenth century and early nineteenth century. Slaves were subjected to a five-week trip in conditions so cramped and unhygienic that it was not unusual for a boat to lose half its slaves in transit.
The slave trade out of the Gold Coast continued unabated throughout the eighteenth century, but as the century drew to a close ,the anti-slavery lobby became an increasingly powerful voice in Europe. In 1804, Denmark abolished the slave trade, followed by Britain in 1807, the USA in 1808, and Holland, France, Portugal, and Spain between 1814 and1817.
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Photos for Oxfam GB
by Penny Tweedie