Gold Coast Imperialism

Gold Coast has been through many ups and down with its colonization from 1482 - 1990. It all started in 1482 when the Portuguese created and settled in a fort at Elmina. This region was found to have an abundance of gold and was then created to be a major supplier of gold to Europe. As a result of this discovery the region was later renamed as Gold Coast. When the 16th century came around the Gold Coast had been deep within the slave trade and gold prospects. About 9 million slaves were taken from Africa and brought into slavery. An estimated 20 percent of the 9 million slaves were exported from Gold Coast. These events caught the attention of Europe and by the 18th century, the British colonized the region. Colonization of this area from Britain

This decline eventual lead to many European forts on the Gold Coast to be abandoned. In 1850 the Danes left their fort and the Dutch gained hold of the region in 1872. The British designated the coastal region as the crown colony of the Gold Coast in 1874. In the 19th century the Asante tribes invaded the region inhabited by the Fanti. The action taken by the Ashantis brought a sense of threat to the British forts. This lead to the British fighting with the Asante Empire to keep the crown colony as it

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originally belonged to Britain. The fight between the British and the Asante brought many wars to the region for the next 25 years. The final victor was the United Kingdom in 1901. In a victory stage the United Kingdom joined Asante lands and the territory to the north and into the Gold coast.

In the year 1951, for the first time ever the African majority controlled the government. On March sixth 1957 Gold Coast gained its independence from Britain. After Gold Coast gained its independence it was renamed to Ghana and was often referred to as the first sub-Saharan African colony to gain independence. In 1966 Joseph Ankrah led a military group to arrest Nkrumah, who was in Vietnam. Ankrah freed Nkrumah's political prisoners. He also created the NLC (national Liberation Council) to overlook the government until a better government was created. Three years later the NLC handed military power to a civilian

Nationalist activity began during this time. Gold Coast went through a highly accelerated political development. While this happened the United Kingdom allowed more self-government. When Kwame Nkrumah became president in 1960, the Gold Coast created a new constitution that made Ghana a republic. After a few years though, Nkrumah became an oppressive president. The government seriously limited the self-rule of the judiciary. When development projects fell apart and cargo prices declined the economy of Ghana took a downturn. Ghana as one of the most successful countries in Africa was now buried in debt with economic conditions in the chaotic state. In 1979 Hilla Limann was declared as president