Modern Ghana, far from Ancient Ghana
Ghana History
John Kufuor, President of Ghana and then President-in-Office, African Union (right). EU High Representative Javier Solana (left). Africa-EU Summit 2007.
© European Council
There is strong symbolism. In 1957, when the Gold Coast was the first African country in line for independence from colonial rule, its leaders retrieved from the past the prestigious name of Ghana. As with ancient Ghana, the modern nation accumulated its wealth from gold. In fact, present-day Ghana has hardly any links with the Ghana of the past, which covered northern parts of today’s Senegal and southern parts of today’s Mauritania. Modern Ghana is located some 600 kilometres south-east. Not only is the location different, but only a few ethnic links exist between the populations of the ancient and modern Ghana.
It was probably on the eve of the first millennium AD that various clans of the Soninke people were gathered by Dinga Cisse to create the nation of Ghana. The real name of the country was the Soninke Kingdom, whereas Ghana was the title of the King. Arab writers retained it, however, for the state.
Golden age and decline
Ancient Ghana was rich in gold mines, according to the descriptions of various Arab writers such as Al-Hamdani. It also became wealthy from trade in salt, copper and, on a smaller scale, slaves. Its capital, Kumbi Saleh, took advantage of its location at the end point of the Saharan routes trekked by Maghreb traders. These trading links brought Islam to the country. The Muslims living in Kumbi Saleh at first used to stay far from the King’s Palace but later, some of them, the more literate, were appointed to the local administration.
For a multitude of reasons during the two first centuries of the second millennium, Ghana started to decline. The principal reasons were the long periods of drought and the opening of new routes to other gold mines discovered in Bure, in present-day Guinea. And Ghana was occupied by the Almoravid; it is not clear whether they invaded the country with their army or whether their influence was gradual. Afterwards, the Sosso ruler, Sumanguru, took control of the country but in 1236 he was defeated by Sundiata Keita and fours years later Ghana was absorbed by his Empire, Mali.
Asanté Empire
Archaeological digs indicate that modern Ghana was inhabited in the early Bronze Age, around 4000 BC. But at the beginning of the 10th century, the modern population of Ghana started to settle in the present location of the country. It was only at the end of the 17th century, however, that most of the ethnic groups constituting the Ghanaian nation had assembled, among them Akan, Twifu and Mande, the latter from the modern Nigeria (at the time the Hausa states). One of the branches of the Akan people, the Asante, was to play a prominent role in the constitution of modern Ghana. The Asante were more unified than the other groups and before the mid-17th century they quickly expanded, establishing a strong nation. By the end of the 17th century, their ruler, Osei Tutu, was proclaimed Asantehene, the king of the Asante. The Asante conquered many other Akan states. Their empire gave sufficient autonomy to each minor state, yet the common interest was always safeguarded, resulting in a very well-organised state from the middle of the 18th century which was still solid at the beginning of the 19th century.
British era
From the beginning of the 16th century, inhabitants of the Gold Coast, specifically the Akan, used to trade with the Portuguese, who arrived in 1471. Adventurers from most European countries tried to settle in the Gold Coast. The Dutch followed the Portuguese and later came the English, Swedish and Danish. The British established the British African Company of Merchants in 1750. The slave trade outshone the gold in the Gold Coast with the establishing of the big plantations in the Americas. The West coast of Africa soon became the first provider of slaves to the American continent. In the 18th century, 4.5 million slaves where shipped from West Africa to America.
In 1844, the British signed a Bond with Fante chiefs. In 1873, they captured the Asante chief, Kumasi, and established a colony on the Gold Coast. Contrary to the French who built a vast colony under the administration of a governor-general, Great Britain opted for separate colonies with relative self-determination.
At the end of a long Anglo-Asante war, the British established a protectorate over Asante in 1896. The local administration was divided in two between the traditional chiefs in the native authorities and the people's elected representatives in the towns and municipal councils. In 1902, the Northern territories were proclaimed a British protectorate. The end of World War I led to a change in German Togo which passed to British control in 1919. During the Second World War, Gold Coast African forces fought in Ethiopia against Italian forces and in Burma alongside the British and Indians against the Japanese army.
Towards Independence
The first nationalist movement to target self-government of the Gold Coast, if not its full independence, was the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) created in 1947 by a group of educated people whose Secretary General was the theoretician and nationalist, Kwame Nkrumah. After studies in the United States of America and in Great Britain, Nkrumah was one of the activists who participated in the 1945 Manchester Congress of the Pan-African Congress. In June 1949, Kwame Nkrumah broke with the UGCC, which he considered too conservative, and put in place a genuine pro-independence organisation, the Convention People's Party (CPP). In the meantime, Nkrumah became one of the ‘Veranda boys’ (close to the ordinary people rather than the intelligentsia). He was arrested and detained and became one of country’s more popular leaders. In 1950, the CPP launched a campaign of ’positive action’ (non-violent action). Nkrumah was arrested again, along with many other leaders. Nkrumah became a symbol, a martyr, a hero. Whilst still in jail, in February 1951, he won a seat in the first legislative elections under the new constitution and his party, the CPP, a two-thirds majority.
The Asante community party, National Liberation Movement (NLM), which was established in 1954, opposed the CPP which demanded immediate independence and the assembly was dissolved in July 1956. The governor agreed to give independence if demanded by two-thirds of the representatives of the assembly. The CPP again won by a two-thirds majority. Prior to this election, a referendum was organised by the United Nations on the future of British Togoland (linked to the Gold Coast) and French Togoland. This referendum led to the reunification of the two parts of Togo under the French regime.
Independence of the new nation named Ghana was celebrated on 6 March 1957. The country became a republic by referendum on 1 July and Nkrumah became one of the prominent leaders of the Third World. In 1964, Ghana was proclaimed a one-party state. Two years later, an army coup overthrew Nkrumah during a visit to China. The National Liberation party took power.
Endless night of the Coup d'Etat
The Progress party headed by Kofi A. Busia won the 1969 elections and he became Prime Minster. But a coup organised by General Ignatius Acheampong brought the National Redemption Council (NRC), a military junta, to power in January 1972. The NRC was replaced in 1975 by another military junta, the Supreme Military Council (SMC), also led by Acheampong. A violent counter-coup was conducted by junior officers commanded by Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings in June 1979. Many members of the SMC were executed and a purge of senior army officers carried out. Hilla Limann became President of the Republic in July 1979 but the civil administration was monitored by the ‘June 4 Movement’, a military group. A high level of inflation and the subsequently increasing cost of living made Limann lose the support of workers and the small section of the army that had backed him. Rawlings staged his second coup on the eve of 1981.
Peaceful end
He remained chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council for 12 years before restoring a multiparty system in 1990 and organising elections which he won in January 1993. He left power on 7 January 2001 after two terms in office and was replaced by John Agyekum Kufuor who is still in the post.
Since the moment that Jerry Rawlings established a multiparty system, Ghana seems to have anchored its democracy and moved ahead with good governance. Its good reputation inside international institutions, as well as amongst investors, bears testimony to this.
1 Comment
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#1 Liz wrote at 02.01.2009 23:58:
Ummmm... can you give me specifics on Government and Ancient government. Between 1500's and 500's Please. Other than that good job.