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The modern state of Ghana is named after an empire that was actually centred some 500km north-west of where Ghana currently is. Ruling the region between the 8th and 12th centuries, the old Ghana empire was the first great power in the region.
When the Portuguese first arrived on the coast in the 15th century, the Ashanti kings of the Akan people ruled the region. Rich in gold, the Ashanti began to trade with the Portuguese, who set up a trading settlement in 1482.
Other European powers were soon drawn to the region, and another trade became even more profitable than gold. Settlements sprung up all along what became known as the Gold Coast, and from here the slave trade prospered. Up to 10,000 slaves a year departed the shores at the height of the slave trade in the 18th century. The British, Portuguese, Dutch and Danes all competed for control of the trade during this time.
When the slave trade was outlawed in 1807, the British took control of the settlements for use as customs posts. The Ashanti at first profited from the arrangements, however the British became uneasy with their wealth and sacked their capital Kumasi. The Ashanti continued to resist, but their power was eroded.
While exercising control over the region, Britain resisted sending European migrants to the area as it did in many other colonies. By WWI, Ghana - or The Gold Coast as it was then known - was the wealthiest colony in Africa. It had the best schools and social services, and a thriving press. The backbone of the economy was cocoa.
In 1925, the first legislative council elections took place, while a number of independence parties also began to form during that time.
In 1947, the popular Convention People's Party leader Kwame Nkrumah was jailed after calling a general strike that brought the country to a standstill. Two years later, the British released him. Nkrumah became the country's first leader when it finally became independent in 1957, choosing the name Ghana after the first great West African empire. While it was the first black nation to win independence from Britain, the day marked the beginning of a period of economic decline for the country.
Nkrumah embarked on a number of ambitious projects to industrialize the nation, but his heavy borrowing left the country heavily in debt. In 1966, he was ousted in a military coup, due to rampant corruption among officials and a foreign debt of US$1 billion.
The military would play a key role in politics over the next 15 years, with government being transferred back and forth between military and civilian governments. In 1979, Jerry Rawlings siezed power in a coup, initiating a campaign to combat corruption in the government. Power was transferred back to a civilian government, but in 1981 Rawlings again overturned the government in a coup.
Rawlings' military rule lasted until general elections in 1992, in which he was elected President after the adoption of a multi-party constitutional system. Re-elected in 1996, Rawlings' rule saw the economy become less shaky and the country slowly adopt a more democratic style of government.
Because the constitution limits presidents to two elected terms, Rawlings did not contest the 2000 elections. Instead, opposition leader John Kufuor defeated Vice-President John Evans Atta Mills. |
